Engineering Manager

The Engineering Manager leads the agency’s software development practices and engineering operations, ensuring code quality, secure deployment, and scalable systems. This position establishes engineering standards and workflows, and provides hands-on technical leadership. The role works with agency leadership, community partners, and cross-functional teams to align software solutions with organizational priorities.

• Collaborate with executive staff and community partners to establish strategic direction, policies, and deliverables for data systems programs and initiatives.
• Oversee software development and delivery of secure, scalable solutions; support incident response and troubleshoot complex technical issues.
• Establish coding standards, development workflows, and best practices for security by design, data privacy, and technical risk management.
• Work with product management, design, and other teams to define requirements and priorities; participate in architectural and technical design decisions.
• Manage project timelines, resources, and risks; adjust plans, escalate issues, and report progress and engineering performance to leadership.
• Ensure code, systems, and processes are documented for maintainability and knowledge sharing, and meet applicable policies, security standards, and regulations.
• Develop requests for proposals, scopes of work, and technical specifications; evaluate proposals, negotiate contracts, and monitor vendor compliance and service quality.
• Develop and monitor program budgets, cost estimates, projections, and expenditures; coordinate vendors and subcontractors within available funding.
• Plan and manage subcontractors; set goals, monitor quality and timeliness

Minimum Qualifications:

Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. Additional experience and/or education can be substituted to meet typical qualifications. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

Five (5) years of increasingly responsible experience in program management, administration, and development specific to software engineering and design and completion of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in computer science, information technology, or a closely related field.

Additional relevant work experience may be substituted to meet the college coursework/bachelor's degree standard.

Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of employee supervision, including work planning, assignment review and evaluation, discipline, and the training of staff in work procedures.
• Principles and practices of leadership.
• Principles and techniques for working with groups and fostering effective team interaction to ensure teamwork is conducted smoothly.
• Principles and practices of program management including planning, development, implementation, and evaluation.
• Public Agency budgetary, contract administration, administrative practices, and general principles of risk management related to the functions of the assigned area.
• Practices, procedures, and techniques involved in obtaining and maintaining grants and other funding sources and the preparation and development of related proposals and contracts.
• Modern software engineering practices, including coding standards, testing methodologies, and version control systems.
• Software architecture and system design principles, with emphasis on scalability, security, and maintainability.
• Software development lifecycle (SDLC) tools and processes, including CI/CD pipelines and automated testing frameworks.
• Application security principles and secure coding best practices.
• Project planning, prioritization, and requirements gathering in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Organizational policies, industry regulations, and compliance standards relevant to software development.
• Technical documentation standards for systems, processes, and codebases.
• Agile development methodologies and iterative development cycles.
• Applicable federal, state, and local laws, codes, and regulations as well as industry standards and best practices pertinent to the assigned area of responsibility.
• Agency and mandated safety rules, regulations, and protocols
• Techniques for providing a high level of customer service, by effectively dealing with the public, vendors, contractors, and Agency staff.
• The structure and content of the English language, including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Modern equipment and communication tools used for business functions and program, project, and task coordination, including computers and software programs relevant to work performed.

Ability to:

• Select and supervise staff, provide training and development opportunities, ensure work is performed effectively, and evaluate performance in an objective and positive manner.
• Develop and implement goals, objectives, practices, policies, procedures, and work standards.
• Provide administrative, management, and professional leadership for the assigned program.
• Effectively manage and administer program operations and activities.
• Prepare and administer complex funds and program budgets; allocate limited resources in a cost- effective manner.
• Adapt to changes in priorities or resources that impact pre-established timelines and courses of action.
• Design, develop, test, and deploy high-quality software solutions.
• Translate business requirements into clear technical plans and deliverables.
• Work independently and take ownership of engineering projects in the absence of an established team.
• Balance short-term delivery needs with long-term architectural and scalability goals.
• Collaborate effectively with product managers, designers, and non-technical stakeholders. • Document systems, processes, and standards to support future team adoption and maintainability.
• Evaluate and recommend tools, platforms, and technologies to support engineering needs.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex technical issues under time constraints.
• Adapt and evolve responsibilities as the organization grows, including mentoring and supporting future engineers.
• Ensure compliance with organizational policies, security standards, and industry regulations in software development activities.
• Understand, interpret, and apply all pertinent laws, codes, regulations, policies and procedures, and standards relevant to work performed.
• Prepare clear and concise correspondence, documentation, and other written materials.
• Use tact, initiative, prudence, and independent judgment within general policy and procedural guidelines.
• Independently organize work, set priorities, meet critical deadlines, and follow-up on assignments.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, using appropriate English grammar and syntax.
• Establish, maintain, and foster positive and effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
• Effectively use computer systems, software applications relevant to work performed, and modern business equipment to perform a variety of work tasks.

Please note:

• We are working a hybrid in-office schedule and may return full-time at an undetermined date.
• All First 5 employees must live and work in California.
• The salary range for this position is $121,000 to $175,000 and as an independent government agency, the posted salary is the set salary range for this position. We cannot offer salaries above this posted range.

About First 5 Alameda County

First 5 Alameda County believes every child in Alameda County should have optimal health, development, and well-being to reach their greatest potential. Through innovative programs and policy advocacy, we help provide children and their families access to resources that support their first five years of development.

Join our mission-driven team that in partnership with the community, supports a county-wide continuous prevention and early intervention system that promotes optimal health and development, narrows disparities, and improves peak years of child development.

First 5 Alameda County Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package with health care options to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. These benefits include but are not limited to Medical, Dental, & Vision Coverage, $1,500 credit per year to spend on benefits, Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Employer Paid & Voluntary Life & AD&D Insurance, Long-Term Disability Insurance, Retirement Plans including the ACERA Pension Plan, Commuter Benefits, Employee Assistance Plan and more.

We also offer paid vacation, paid time off and sick time. We have 17 paid holidays including the week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day as paid time off.