Senior Manager, Software Engineering

The Senior Manager of Software Engineering at Possible is responsible for leading the Platform Team, overseeing infrastructure, deployment systems, developer experience initiatives, and CI/CD practices. You will guide the design and development of shared components, participate in architectural discussions, and drive improvements in system reliability and incident response, ultimately facilitating our financial products' efficiency and quality.

To qualify for the Senior Manager of Software Engineering position at Possible, candidates should have over 5 years of engineering management experience, especially leading both product and platform teams. A strong technical background in cloud infrastructure, containerization, and CI/CD systems is essential, along with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field. Experience in designing shared components and knowledge of observability systems will also be beneficial.

As the Senior Manager of Software Engineering, you will play a pivotal role in enabling Possible's mission to provide affordable credit and improve financial health for our customers. By leading the development of reliable infrastructure and coding standards, you ensure that our products can be delivered effectively, helping to uplift the communities we serve and make economic mobility a reality.

The work culture at Possible is collaborative and focused on continuous improvement. As the Senior Manager of Software Engineering, you will promote a culture of technical excellence while actively working with diverse teams. With a hybrid work style and regular team meetings in Seattle, there’s a strong emphasis on maintaining a supportive environment that values diverse perspectives.

In the Senior Manager of Software Engineering role at Possible, you will lead projects related to enhancing CI/CD pipelines, improving infrastructure reliability, and developing shared components that accelerate product development. Your involvement will also extend to architectural discussions for new features, driving security and compliance initiatives, and mentoring engineers in technical challenges.

In discussing your experience managing engineering teams, focus on your leadership style, how you set goals, and your approach to fostering a culture of innovation and excellence. Share specific examples of successful projects and teamwork that highlight your ability to effectively lead diverse teams toward achieving technical and organizational objectives.

When answering this question, emphasize your approach to establishing monitoring solutions, using observability tools, and driving system improvements. Discuss how you implement CI/CD practices and advocate for rigorous testing standards to maintain high performance and reliability in software solutions.

Explain your experience in creating and enforcing coding standards by illustrating examples of frameworks or practices you’ve implemented. Highlight how you facilitate code reviews and encourage collaborative coding sessions to ensure adherence while fostering a strong engineering culture focused on quality.

Reflect on your background in cloud infrastructure by discussing the specific platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) you have worked with, including examples of projects that involved setting up infrastructure, containerization, and managing CI/CD pipelines. This is a great opportunity to showcase your technical depth and problem-solving capabilities.

Articulate your method for leading architectural discussions by sharing your process for evaluating trade-offs, engaging team members, and considering both short-term and long-term impacts of decisions. Highlight examples where you’ve guided architecture in alignment with business goals and engineering best practices.

Discuss your mentoring philosophy and methods for developing engineers, such as providing regular feedback, encouraging professional growth opportunities, and facilitating training sessions. Sharing examples of successful mentoring relationships can illustrate your commitment to nurturing talent.

Describe your approach to prioritizing initiatives by mentioning how you assess the needs of product teams, evaluate impact, and collaborate with stakeholders to align on priorities. It’s always great to mention the importance of balancing short-term needs with long-term strategic goals.

Outline the specific monitoring and incident response tools you have experience with, such as logging solutions and alerting frameworks. Discuss how you leverage these tools to ensure system reliability and respond to incidents promptly while also emphasizing the importance of a proactive approach.

Discuss how you gather feedback from team members, stakeholders, and users to refine processes and products. Sharing specific instances where feedback led to improvements or shifts in strategy will highlight your commitment to continuous improvement.

Provide examples where you successfully advocated for a technical decision, focusing on your preparation, communication strategy, and the outcome. This will demonstrate your ability to influence cross-team collaboration and navigate challenges in decision-making.