Skip to main content
Autodesk logo

Software Development Manager, Horizontal Services

Autodesk

San Francisco, CAJob$148–265K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

See where you stand before you apply. No sign-up to start.

You apply on the posting's application page, with no Olive account needed.

Watch jobs like this.

Don't just apply. Show up ready.

Olive works from this exact posting.

At a glance

Compensation
$148–265K/yr
Location
San Francisco, CA
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive focuses on jobs in the United States, including remote roles you can work from there.

Job overview

Autodesk is seeking a hands-on Software Engineering Manager to lead a full-stack team supporting horizontal services and core technology platforms. The manager will balance technical direction with people leadership, guide architectural decisions, deliver scalable solutions, and partner with Product, Design, and Engineering. The role focuses on distributed systems, backend services, experimentation frameworks, content management, and self-service platforms.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

People Leadership, requiredComputer Science, requiredSoftware Architecture, requiredSoftware Design, requiredDistributed Systems, requiredMicroservices, requiredRESTful APIs, requiredEvent-Driven Development, requiredKafka, requiredReact, requiredContent Management Systems, requiredProgramming, requiredCommunication, requiredCross-Functional Partnership, requiredExperimentation Platforms, nice to haveA/B Testing, nice to haveSelf-Service Platforms, nice to haveInternal Engineering Tools, nice to haveCloud-Native Architecture, nice to haveDistributed Infrastructure, nice to haveAsynchronous Processing, nice to haveMessaging Architectures, nice to haveAutomation, nice to haveDeveloper Productivity, nice to have

Qualifications

3+ Years People Leadership, required10+ Years Software Engineering, required

Benefits

Medical Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off

Full job description

Job Requisition ID #

25WD94232

Position Overview

We’re looking for a seasoned, hands-on Software Engineering Manager to lead a high-performing full-stack engineering team supporting our horizontal services and core technology platforms.

In this role, you’ll balance technical leadership with people management while guiding engineers through complex architectural decisions, delivering scalable solutions, and driving technical strategy across core domains. You’ll partner closely with Product Management, Visual Design, and engineering teams to translate business requirements into reliable, scalable, and developer-friendly solutions.

This is a hands-on leadership opportunity where you’ll mentor and grow engineers, remove technical and delivery blockers, communicate project health and risks to stakeholders, and drive engineering excellence across modern application and platform environments.

The ideal candidate brings strong software engineering fundamentals, robust backend infrastructure experience, and experience building and scaling (CMS), experimentation frameworks, and self-service platforms.

Responsibilities

  • Lead, mentor, and support the growth of a high-performing full-stack engineering team

  • Foster an inclusive, collaborative environment that empowers engineers to make autonomous technical decisions

  • Own project delivery, including roadmap execution, planning, risk management, and operational follow-through

  • Provide regular project status updates, metrics, progress reporting, and risk assessments to cross-functional stakeholders and leadership

  • Proactively identify and resolve technical and project bottlenecks, escalating issues effectively to keep initiatives on track

  • Partner closely with Product Management, Visual Design, and engineering teams to align priorities and deliver business outcomes

  • Drive technical direction and architectural decisions for core horizontal services and platforms

  • Champion strong software engineering principles, code quality, scalability, maintainability, and system reliability

  • Design and scale distributed systems, microservices, and RESTful APIs

  • Guide engineering teams in developing resilient, scalable, and maintainable backend services

  • Promote engineering best practices across architecture, development, testing, deployment, and operational excellence

  • Oversee the development and scaling of experimentation frameworks, (CMS), and self-service workflows

  • Build platforms and tools that enable engineering teams and internal customers to work more efficiently and independently

  • Partner with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for automation, scalability, and improved developer experiences

  • Drive technical solutions that support evolving business requirements and high-scale application environments

  • Design and support event-driven architectures and distributed systems

  • Work with streaming and messaging technologies such as Kafka

  • Guide the development of reliable APIs, microservices, and asynchronous workflows

  • Evaluate and improve system scalability, performance, reliability, and operational resilience

Minimum Qualifications

  • 3+ years of people leadership experience managing and developing software engineers

  • 10+ years of total software engineering experience

  • Strong foundation in computer science, software architecture, and software design principles

  • Proven experience leading engineering teams through complex technical projects and delivering business-critical solutions

  • Strong experience designing and scaling distributed systems, microservices, and RESTful APIs

  • Experience with event-driven development and streaming/messaging technologies such as Kafka

  • Strong understanding of modern frontend ecosystems, including React

  • Experience with modern (CMS)

  • Proficiency in at least one programming language such as Java, Python, or Node.js

  • Strong communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate project health, technical risks, dependencies, and escalation resolutions to stakeholders and leadership

  • Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with Product, Design, and Engineering organizations

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience building or operating experimentation or A/B testing platforms

  • Experience developing self-service platforms and internal engineering tools

  • Experience with large-scale content management platforms and workflows

  • Strong understanding of cloud-native application architecture and distributed infrastructure

  • Experience with asynchronous processing, event-driven systems, and messaging architectures

  • Experience leading cross-functional technical initiatives spanning multiple engineering teams

  • Experience improving developer productivity through automation, platform capabilities, and reusable services

  • Strong track record of developing engineering talent and building high-performing technical organizations

Learn More

About Autodesk

Welcome to Autodesk! Amazing things are created every day with our software – from the greenest buildings and cleanest cars to the smartest factories and biggest hit movies. We help innovators turn their ideas into reality, transforming not only how things are made, but what can be made.

We take great pride in our culture here at Autodesk – it’s at the core of everything we do. Our culture guides the way we work and treat each other, informs how we connect with customers and partners, and defines how we show up in the world.

When you’re an Autodesker, you can do meaningful work that helps build a better world designed and made for all. Ready to shape the world and your future? Join us!

Benefits

From health and financial benefits to time away and everyday wellness, we give Autodeskers the best, so they can do their best work. Learn more about our benefits in the U.S. by visiting https://benefits.autodesk.com/

Salary transparency

Salary is one part of Autodesk’s competitive compensation package. For U.S.-based roles, we expect a starting base salary between $148,000 and $264,990. Offers are based on the candidate’s experience and geographic location, and may exceed this range. In addition to base salaries, our compensation package may include annual cash bonuses, commissions for sales roles, stock grants, and a comprehensive benefits package.

Equal Employment Opportunity

At Autodesk, we're building a diverse workplace and an inclusive culture to give more people the chance to imagine, design, and make a better world. Autodesk is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected characteristic. We also consider for employment all qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.

Belonging

We take pride in cultivating a culture of belonging where everyone can thrive. Learn more here: https://www.autodesk.com/company/global-belonging

In-Person Onboarding and Identity Verification

This role may require in-person onboarding and/or in-person ID verification.

How this job compares

Set against the 1,188 open Software Engineering Manager jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 14, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$148–265K/yr
  • California median$207–300K/yr206 salary ranges
  • US median$142–262K/yr1,037 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $206K, is 19% below the California median midpoint ($254K) — in the lowest quarter of Software Engineering Manager salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 238 open Software Engineering Manager jobs in California and 1,188 across the US. 4% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
This posting asks for at least 10 years of experience; Software Engineering Manager postings that state a minimum ask for 8 years at the median (1,091 postings).
Education
411 of the 1,188 open Software Engineering Manager jobs (35%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Pay, requirements and demand for Software Engineer jobs

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 14, 2026. Figures based on too few postings are left out.

Prepare for this role

You've read the whole posting — now see how you match it.