Sr. Manager of Application Software

Marmon Foodservice Technologies, Inc.As a part of the global industrial organization Marmon Holdings—which is backed by Berkshire Hathaway—you’ll be doing things that matter, leading at every level, and winning a better way. We’re committed to making a positive impact on the world, providing you with diverse learning and working opportunities, and fostering a culture where everyone’s empowered to be their best.Though you may not know us by name, you’ve most likely enjoyed meals and refreshments supported by our industry-leading brand portfolio. For decades, we’ve designed and manufactured foodservice equipment for some of the world’s biggest, most recognized consumer brands.We are driven to innovate with a clear purpose in mind: revolutionizing the future of foodservice. Guided by our commitment to Doing Things That Matter, Leading at Every Level, and Winning a Better Way, we focus on delivering meaningful impact for our customers, our communities, and each other.As Sr. Manager of Application Software, you will be responsible for leading and scaling a multidisciplinary software organization that develops embedded, IoT, and cloud-connected solutions for commercial equipment and appliances. This role combines technical leadership, people leadership, and strategic vision, ensuring delivery of secure, high‑quality software across multiple product platforms. Your subject-matter expertise and innovative thinking will help ensure we offer cutting-edge and reliable technology solutions that enhances the customer experience and our market advantage. This role is subject to our hybrid work model: we collaborate in the office on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. The rest of the week, you have flexibility to work wherever it suits you best. What You’ll Do Strategy & Architecture Define and execute a long-term software architecture strategy that enables standardization, scalability, reuse, and faster innovation across multiple product platforms. Serve as MFT’s subject-matter expert in software architecture, IoT, and security; conduct technology research in new and adjacent markets and own software technology platforms and roadmaps. Maintain a strong understanding of industry trends, competitive landscape, design partners, and customer portfolios. Cross-Functional Partnership Partner closely with Product Management, Marketing, Engineering, and Operations to translate market and customer needs into technology platforms and product modules built on tactically selected innovative technologies in the commercial appliances space. Serve as the primary software engineering interface to Systems, Hardware, Manufacturing, IT, and Cybersecurity teams — aligning software architecture, release plans, and quality requirements with hardware milestones and production readiness to deliver fully integrated products. Represent software engineering with executive leadership and in roadmap planning and portfolio reviews, communicating strategy, risks, progress, and tradeoffs in business terms. Technical Delivery Ensure robust design and implementation of embedded Linux applications (C++/Qt), IoT messaging and connectivity (MQTT, Wi-Fi, Ethernet), secure device-to-cloud and cloud-to-cloud API integrations, and customer-facing web portals for device management and monitoring. Drive best practices in software architecture and design patterns, secure coding and cybersecurity, and DevOps, CI/CD, test automation, and release management. Own delivery of software programs and projects against scope, schedule, quality, and cost commitments, with clear metrics for software quality, delivery performance, team health, and operational excellence. Lead Agile software development practices — Scrum or Kanban, sprint planning, backlog management, estimation, and retrospectives — adapted to hardware-coupled programs where software releases must align with fixed hardware and NPD stage-gate milestones. Balance short-term execution with long-term technical sustainability — proactively managing technical debt and scaling development processes as products, platforms, and teams grow. AI Enablement Drive adoption of AI and generative AI tools across the software organization — AI-assisted coding, code review, test generation, and documentation — with measurable productivity and quality targets, governed by approved tooling, data and IP protections, mandatory human review of AI-generated code, and SOC 2 alignment. Evaluate and integrate AI/ML capabilities into product software — predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and intelligent device features — partnering with Product Management to prioritize high-value use cases. People & Organization Lead, coach, and develop engineers and senior technical leaders, building a culture of ownership, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Assess competency across embedded, IoT, backend, frontend, and security disciplines, and close skill or capacity gaps through hiring, training and upskilling, mentorship and succession planning, and strategic use of contractors or partners. Attract and retain top engineering talent through clear career paths, performance expectations, and organizational structures aligned with product and platform strategy. Manage departmental budgets, staffing plans, and resource allocation, making informed tradeoffs between internal development, external partners, and platform reuse to support both new product introductions and sustaining engineering. Security & Compliance Embed secure-by-design and cybersecurity best practices throughout the software lifecycle across embedded devices, cloud services, APIs, and web applications; maintain and enhance SOC 2 compliance with IT, Security, and Compliance teams. Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory, safety, and industry standards relevant to commercial equipment. Sustain audit readiness with IT, Security, and Compliance — including evidence collection, remediation tracking, and third-party assessment support across embedded, cloud, and web components. Who You Are Subject-Matter Enthusiast: Passionate about software architecture and systems design, emerging technologies, continuously learning and educating others in the field. Collaborative Partner: Uses interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with cross-functional teams, customers, and suppliers. Strategic Thinker: Relies on analytical and problem-solving skills to think strategically and execute tactically. AI-Forward Practitioner: Uses AI tools in their own work, applies judgment about where they add value versus where they introduce risk, and brings teams along through hands-on coaching. Independent Self-Starter: Takes prompt, proactive action to accomplish work goals with limited oversight. Skills/Experience We’re Looking For Demonstrated experience with end-to-end software architecture, system design, analysis, and data management, applied through full product development cycles and product launches, including programming in various languages (e.g., C/C++, Java, Python). Experience with technology research, idea generation, and technology platforming strategies, combined with a systems-thinking approach to analysis that focuses on how a system’s individual parts interact and how the system delivers expected results. Innovative mindset to tactically select appropriate technologies, systems, and tools and apply them to foodservice products based in the Industry 4.0 technologies (IoT, smart equipment, AI, autonomous systems, etc.). Knowledgeable of emerging technologies such as IoT, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, and software security. Hands-on experience with AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude, Cursor) and a track record of deploying them across an engineering team with clear guardrails and adoption metrics, plus working knowledge of applying AI/ML to embedded and connected products, including model deployment at the edge and in the cloud and the data pipelines required to support it. Knowledge of communication protocols such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular, and of secure OTA updates. Required Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field (Master’s preferred). 10+ years of progressive software engineering experience, with 5+ years in engineering leadership roles. Demonstrated experience leading teams developing: Embedded Linux software (C/C++, Qt or equivalent GUI frameworks). Networked and connected devices (IoT). Cloud-connected systems using APIs and messaging protocols (e.g., MQTT). Proven track record of delivering complex, multi‑discipline software products to market. Demonstrated experience leading Agile software development (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or equivalent) in a hardware-coupled product environment, including backlog management, iterative delivery, and coordinating sprint cadence with stage-gate new product development processes. Strong understanding of: Software architecture and system design. Networking and communication protocols. Secure software development practices. Modern software development processes and tools. Experience leading, mentoring, and scaling engineering teams. Preferred Qualifications Experience in commercial equipment, appliances, industrial systems, or regulated environments. Direct experience developing or maintaining customer-facing web portals. Familiarity with SOC 2 or other security/compliance frameworks. Experience establishing AI usage policies or developer AI-enablement programs in a regulated or security-conscious environment. Experience defining and migrating to standardized software platforms across product lines. Background working closely with hardware and systems engineering teams. Benefits We support your well-being with comprehensive and easy-to-use benefits that you’ll be eligible to enroll in on your first day of employment. Here are some of the highlights: Medical, Dental, Vision, and Prescription Drug insurance plans. Access to a Health Advocate who is an expert in Marmon’s health plan and can help you select the best health benefits for you and your family. Tax advantaged spending accounts for health and dependent care expenses. Wellness programs and resources including Telehealth, Mental Health, Fitness, and Family Planning. Generous paid time off for personal use, holidays, and parental leave. Company-sponsored life insurance. 401(k) with fully vested company match; Marmon may also make an additional annual discretionary contribution to your account, whether or not you contribute on your own. Financial and retirement advising. About Marmon HoldingsMarmon Holdings, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company, comprises 11 groups and more than 100 autonomous businesses with total annual revenue of $10 billion. Marmon’s 28,000-plus team members are celebrating the company's 70th anniversary in 2023 and helping write the next chapter of Marmon's story.Pay Range:136,000.00 - 204,000.00We offer a comprehensive benefits package that may include medical, dental, vision, 401k matching, and more!Following receipt of a conditional offer of employment, candidates will be required to complete additional job-related screening processes as permitted or required by applicable law.We are an equal opportunity employer, and all applicants will be considered for employment without attention to their membership in any protected class. If you require any reasonable accommodation to complete your application or any part of the recruiting process, please email your request to View email address on click.appcast.io, and please be sure to include the title and the location of the position for which you are applying.SummaryLocation: Carol Stream, ILType: Full time