EM 4 - Senior Engineering Manager

I autonomously drive impactful outcomes by executing strategic roadmaps while proactively developing leadership capabilities within my team.

Scope

You lead your team to research, plan, and execute several strategic projects on a roadmap. You ensure the direction of your team by collaborating with key stakeholders across the department. You partner with QA, design, product, data engineering, and data science managers. You coach and develop short-term and long-term career plans for your direct reports. You may manage a team of ICs and other Engineering Managers within your group.

Craft

Your focus is to make sure your team delivers aligned results. You may provide coaching and career mentorship to managers and individual contributors. You ensure your teams work with their product counterparts to ensure feasibility, identify dependencies, and coordinate release dates. You work with your team and engineering managers in your group to champion operational excellence. You manage other managers by focusing on their career coaching of others.

You align the group's mission and vision with the business. You set objectives and key results for your team and individuals quarterly. You regularly seek opportunities to learn more about the business and infuse learning into your team. You partner with several departments in the organization and begin to play a larger role in departmental strategy.

Responsibility	Behaviors
Direction	I collaborate with product and organizational leaders to set the vision for my team. I understand the objectives of the business and communicate them to my team regularly. I set attainable goals for my team that span weekly and quarterly timeframes.
Career	I proactively grow members of my team.
Alignment	I align the team’s purpose and direction with the business. I provide input on product roadmap to align with team and business goals. I proactively communicate team progress internally and externally to ensure alignment.
Execution	I efficiently deliver on the roadmap of an area with results. I drive estimation and work breakdown sessions to enable a sustainable velocity and regular delivery cadence. I ensure my team is structured/staffed properly to successfully deliver on my team's responsibilities. I balance long-term strategic goals with short-term tactical goals.

Communication and Collaboration

You regularly make sure your team understands the reasoning behind business needs. You collaborate with other engineering managers to identify overlaps and opportunities for collaboration. You work closely with your peers to discover and implement improvements to management practices.

You drive alignment with the product and design teams by integrating technical context into road mapping and execution discussions. You ensure 360-degree communication excellence, especially regarding company business priorities, project prioritization, detailed project plans, domain health, incident management, and project/service status.

You are widely recognized as a trusted advisor for your areas of responsibility within Software. You proactively anticipate, identify, and mitigate risks that could impede your team. You clearly communicate strategic goals and updates to your team members.

Responsibility	Behaviors
Teamwork	I create an environment where my team engages with one another to accomplish shared goals against the team vision.
Accountability	I communicate team progress towards goals internally and externally.
Data Driven	I measure the engagement and technical key performance indicators to ensure my team is delivering. I focus my team on delivering upon departmental key performance indicators and key results. I partner with other leaders to align on operational excellence goals and empower my teams to meet them.
Culture	I identify opportunities for growth for my direct reports with encouragement and support.

Coaching & Mentorship

You play a pivotal role in coaching and mentorship by working closely with Staff+ engineers to elevate the skills and performance of your team members. Collaborating with senior engineers ensures that everyone on your team continuously improves and reaches their full potential.

You leverage retrospectives within your team to identify areas for improvement, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth. Beyond your immediate team, you extend your mentorship to other individuals in the software department, contributing to the overall development and success of the broader engineering community.

Responsibility	Behaviors
Mentorship	I mentor other individuals in Software beyond my immediate team.
Coaching	I leverage retrospectives in my team to identify improvement opportunities.
Company and Department Influence	I collaborate with product and organizational leaders to set the vision for my group. I communicate weekly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual objectives to my groupI deliver timely feedback with actionable outcomes.

Impact

You drive business impact by ensuring your team fully understands the reasoning behind business needs, aligning their efforts with company priorities. You collaborate with other engineering managers to identify overlaps and foster opportunities for collaboration, creating synergies that enhance overall performance. Your work with peers to refine management practices further strengthens the team, leading to more efficient and effective operations.

You create technical impact by driving alignment with the product and design teams, injecting critical technical context into road mapping and execution discussions. You proactively anticipate, identify, and mitigate risks, ensuring that technical challenges do not impede progress. Maintaining clear communication about strategic goals and updates ensures that your team remains focused and aligned with broader organizational objectives.

Responsibility	Behaviors
Projects and Initiatives	I successfully land (multiple smaller or 1 large) project execution, ensure technical excellence, and encourage a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within your team. I enable efficient implementation of technologies and solutions by aligning engineering efforts with organizational goals. I identify and set OKR-aligned KPIs for my team to enable data-driven decisions.
Productivity	I proactively drive process improvements that enhance development experiences. I effectively collaborate, mentor, and resource efficiently, resulting in concrete results at both the team and project levels. I guide individuals and the team on time management techniques. I co-create measurable, achievable, relevant, & time-bound goals with team members to enhance productivity and focus. I leverage retrospectives to gather insights from team members on productivity blockers and implement strategies to overcome them. I monitor key productivity metrics and performance indicators, identifying areas for improvement and implementing solutions to address them.
Adoption And Innovation	I promote a culture of innovation within the team by fostering creativity and supporting experimentation. I proactively seek collaboration with cross-functional teams to assess the adoption of industry best practices and cutting-edge technologies.

Strategy

You set clear goals and objectives for your team, ensuring they are aligned with the broader organizational goals. You establish key performance indicators (KPIs) that enable your team to make data-driven decisions, allowing them to stay on track and measure progress effectively. By setting these goals at the sprint, monthly, and quarterly cadence, you provide a structured approach that keeps your team focused and aligned with the company’s strategic direction.

You communicate a clear and compelling narrative about where the team is headed and how their work contributes to the organization's overall success. You ensure that each team member understands the broader business context, which empowers them to navigate changes with clarity and purpose. Your ability to connect daily tasks to the larger strategic goals helps your team stay motivated and aligned with the company’s vision.

You maintain organizational agility by guiding your team through change with empathy and foresight. You clearly communicate the impact of changes on group strategy and execution, helping your team adapt quickly and effectively. By fostering an environment that values flexibility and responsiveness, you ensure that your team remains nimble, ready to pivot as needed to meet evolving business needs and maintain strategic momentum.

Responsibility	Behaviors
Organization	I identify and set KPIs for my team to enable data-driven decisions. I set goals and objectives for my team at the sprint, month, and quarterly cadence.
Vision & Direction	I set goals and objectives for my team to align them with organizational goals.
Staying Nimble	I guide my team through change with empathy by providing business context. I communicate the impact of changes on group strategy and execution.

Moving to the EM 5 level

• You successfully operating at EM5 level for 18 months
• You demonstrate strategic thinking and leadership within your domain
• You develop a more profound business sense and a strategic mindset