Software Engineering Manager

Skywise is a leading flight operations specialist, operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus. We provide comprehensive ground and onboard solutions designed to increase productivity for aircraft operators worldwide. We combine deep industry know-how with an agile development culture to drive innovation in operational efficiency and sustainable aviation. As a Software Engineering Manager (Backend Chapter Lead) you’ll be responsible for driving the technical direction and engineering excellence of our backend discipline within a dynamic Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) environment. Operating in a matrix structure, you will set the standard for code quality by defining robust design patterns and championing Non-Functional Requirements to ensure our software remains sustainable and scalable. You will balance this technical leadership with people management, empowering your chapter members distributed across various Scrum teams to deliver high-performing, secure and reliable solutions. Please note that this job offer is for a position based at the Skywise office in Gdańsk. Responsibilities: • Technical Strategy: Define and maintain the backend technical vision, ensuring alignment with the broader architectural roadmap. • Standards & Best Practices: Lead the "Community of Practice" for backend engineering. Enforce coding and testing standards, security best practices, code review guidelines and testing protocols to ensure craftsmanship and consistency across all squads. • Architecture: Actively participate in architectural reviews. Balance feature delivery with long-term technical health, advocating for the strategic reduction of technical debt and modernization of legacy systems. • Operational Excellence: Champion a "You Build It, You Run It" culture. Drive initiatives to improve high availability, observability (logging, tracing, metrics), and reliability of backend services. • Growth & Mentorship: Drive performance reviews and career development conversations. Mentor engineers from Junior to Senior levels, helping them navigate technical and organizational challenges. • Resource Allocation: Collaborate with ART Trio (PM/SA/RTE) to ensure the right engineers are deployed to the right squads based on skills, business needs, and individual growth goals. • Psychological Safety: Foster an inclusive environment where engineers feel safe to take calculated risks, voice dissent and innovate. Must-Haves: • Engineering Background: 4+ years of hands-on software engineering experience in backend development using C# / .NET with a deep understanding of distributed systems, software performance, databases, concurrency and data structures. • System Design: Strong grasp of microservices architecture, REST APIs, ASP.NET Web API and AWS cloud-native principles. Ability to understand and review scalable systems design that can handle complex business logic. • Management Experience: 2+ years of experience directly managing engineers, including performance management, hiring, and handling difficult conversations. • Communication: Exceptional ability to translate complex technical concepts into business value for stakeholders and to bridge the gap between technical and non-technical teams. Nice-to-Haves: • DevOps Mindset: Practical experience with CI/CD pipelines (e.g., AWS, GitLab), Infrastructure as Code, Docker. • Experience with Matrix/SAFe organisations: Proven ability to influence without absolute authority and navigate complex matrix structures where your direct reports work in different squads. Experience operating within the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). • Aviation Domain Knowledge: Understanding of airline operations, specifically Operations Control (OCC), Flight Planning, or Crew Management. Experience building mission-critical software where high availability and safety are non-negotiable standards. We offer:  • Stable, full-time employment contract • Flexible working hours with a hybrid model (4 days per week in our Gdansk office at Olivia Business Centre) • Training and development opportunities to support your career growth (3000 PLN gross per year after the probationary period) • Co-funding for meals and commuting  • Access to the latest knowledge and technologies enabling professional development  • Opportunity to work on international projects and collaborate with global teams, including occasional international travel • Private medical coverage for you and your family  • Sport card  • Mental health support platform  • Life insurance for you and your family • Employee Stock Ownership Plan • Employee referral program bonus (5000 PLN) Recruitment Roadmap: • Prescreening meeting with HR • Management skills interview • Technical, system design interview • Final interview with the HR Business Partner • Get-to-know meeting with Head of Software • Offer