Senior Manager, Software Engineering - AI Innovation

Senior Manager, Software Engineering - Advanced Technology Activation Team (AT-AT) This role is not eligible for sponsorship. Responsibilities Lead and develop a high-performing engineering team (and potentially managers) to deliver scalable applications/services. Own delivery excellence across architecture, design, implementation, code reviews, automated testing, and production readiness. Be hands-on when needed to accelerate outcomes—design and build POCs, drive Vibe Coding sessions, and create Spec-to-Code demonstrations using Java/JVM, Python, or TypeScript/Next.js. Plan and execute on the domain roadmap: anticipate tech needs, evaluate emerging tools, and map them to business outcomes. Help transform the SDLC into AI-DLC: embed AI across planning, design, coding, test, security, and operations. Ensure high availability, reliability, and performance through monitoring, alerting, SLOs/SLIs, error budgets, and self-healing practices. Safeguard systems and data, promote PCI/SOX compliance, participate in audits, and codify controls via policy-as-code and automated checks. Plan, organize, and deliver multiple complex initiatives with cross-functional partners. Hire, onboard, coach, and grow engineers and managers; foster engagement, psychological safety, and a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and continuous improvement. Influence and establish best practices, reference architectures, reusable components, and guardrails; champion design patterns, quality metrics, and automation. Own incident readiness and response, post-incident learning, and long-term remediation; drive continuous improvement of operational runbooks and disaster recovery guides. Experience, Skills & Competencies Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related discipline (required); Master’s degree preferred. 8+ years building high-volume, mission-critical applications; 5+ years technical leadership; 2+ years people management. Proven success delivering secure, scalable, highly available systems and modern architectures. Exceptional grasp of SDLC and agile practices and experience embedding AI into the lifecycle (AI-DLC). Proficiency in one or more modern stacks: Java/JVM (e.g., Spring Boot), Python (e.g., Streamlit, FastAPI), or TypeScript/Next.js (React). Strong grasp of RESTful and event-driven architectures; experience with SQL & NoSQL databases and distributed data design. Strong communication and stakeholder management, able to translate technical decisions into business value. Ability to mentor technical talent, evangelize designs, and drive cross-functional collaboration. Demonstrates key competencies: Strategic Dexterity, Collaboration & Influence, and Technical Excellence. Team This is a leadership role that will report to the Senior Director, Enterprise Architecture and collaborate with Product, Architecture, PMO, and Business stakeholders. Why Join the Innovation Team? Build the future of hospitality tech for guests, associates, and franchisees through cloud-native platforms, generative AI, and agent-based architectures. Lead POCs, Vibe Coding, and Spec-to-Code demonstrations to transform the SDLC into AI-DLC, unlocking gains in speed, quality, resilience, and developer joy. Benefits Competitive compensation and benefits, including medical, dental, and vision coverage. Paid time-off for holidays, vacation, personal, family, volunteer, sick, jury duty, bereavement, military, and religious observance. Financial benefits for retirement and health savings. Employee recognition programs. Discounts at Choice hotels worldwide. #J-18808-Ljbffr