Sr. Software Engineering Manager/Coach

Speridian Technologies is recruiting for a Sr. Software Engineering Manager/Coach for our State of California Client, the Department of Healthcare Services, Behavioral Health. This person will be part of a long-term, fully budgeted, state-of-the-art, extremely vast technical modernization project working with a variety of cross-functional teams and stakeholders.This is a remote role; however, there will be meetings in the Sacramento area several times a year.  Candidates are expected to work business hours, Monday-Friday, Pacific Time Zone.Join DHCS’s Behavioral Health Transformation: Where Purpose Meets InnovationLocation: RemoteDepartment: Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS), Behavioral Health Transformation (BHT)Commitment: Full-Time Consultant (W2 employee of Speridian or 1099/IC for Speridian) Why DHCS?At DHCS we are leading a transformative journey in Behavioral Health, reshaping systems and services to ensure better outcomes for communities across California. Our Behavioral Health transformation initiative is more than a project—it’s a movement to make California a leader in accessible, high-quality health services. We’re setting the stage for a new era of government services built on agile methodologies, cutting-edge technology, continuous improvement, and a relentless commitment to serving the public good.At DHCS, we’re looking for innovators who are passionate about purposeful work and excited by the opportunity to drive lasting change through innovative solutions.Our core values are what make us successful and define the impact we have on the DHCS program and California’s citizens. 

• Partnership:  Respect Other, Practice Empathy, Earn Trust
• Ownership:   Take Accountability, Show Reliability, Act with Integrity
• Grit:  Bring Passion, Exhibit Perseverance, Demonstrate Resilience
• Value:  Drive Outcomes, Maximize Impact, Keep Improving

Are you ready to transform how government delivers technology to millions of Californians? Join the Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS) as a Senior Engineering Manager, where you'll lead the charge in modernizing critical healthcare systems that directly impact the lives of our state's most vulnerable populations.As a Senior Engineering Manager, you'll command a team of engineers building next-generation platforms that process billions in healthcare transactions and serve millions of residents daily. This isn't maintaining legacy systems – this is architecting the future of government technology with modern cloud-native solutions, microservices, and cutting-edge DevOps practices. Your technical decisions will directly influence healthcare outcomes for real people, making government work at the speed of Silicon Valley while maintaining the stability of mission-critical infrastructure.

DHCS offers a unique opportunity to apply private-sector engineering excellence to public-sector impact at unprecedented scale. You'll have the autonomy to build your team, shape technical strategy, and drive measurable business outcomes with full P&L ownership. Our remote-first culture emphasizes results over process, and your leadership will be instrumental in setting new standards for what government technology can achieve.

We're seeking a technical leader who combines deep engineering expertise with business acumen – someone who can debate system architecture with principal engineers while articulating ROI to executives, and who believes that government technology should be as innovative and user-centric as the best consumer products.Responsibilities & Outcomes1. Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Drive technical strategy and architecture decisions for team's domain
• Conduct architecture reviews and ensure alignment with enterprise standards
• Champion engineering best practices including code quality, testing, and documentation
• Make critical technical trade-off decisions balancing delivery speed with technical sustainability

Outcome: Teams deliver technically sound solutions that scale and maintain long-term viability

2. Business Ownership & Financial Accountability

• Own business metrics and ROI for engineering investments within team's domain
• Develop and track cost-benefit analyses for technical initiatives and architectural decisions
• Manage team budget including contractor costs, tooling, and infrastructure spend
• Translate engineering work into business value and financial impact for stakeholders
• Drive efficiency improvements that reduce operational costs while maintaining quality

Outcome: Engineering decisions driven by business value with clear ROI and financial accountability

3. People Management & Development

• Manage, mentor, and develop a team of 10-20 software engineers
• Conduct regular 1:1s focused on career development and performance
• Execute performance management including promotions, improvement plans, and difficult conversations
• Build diverse, inclusive teams through thoughtful hiring and team composition

Outcome: High-performing teams with strong retention, clear growth paths, and engaged engineers

4. Engineering Excellence & Quality

• Establish and maintain engineering standards for code quality, testing, and operations
• Drive continuous improvement in development practices and tooling
• Ensure appropriate technical debt management and remediation
• Implement metrics and monitoring for system reliability and performance

Outcome: Consistent delivery of high-quality, reliable software with reduced production incidents

5. Cross-functional Partnership

• Partner with Delivery Manager on execution and timeline management
• Collaborate with Product Management on technical feasibility and solution design
• Work with other engineering teams on integration points and shared infrastructure
• Communicate technical concepts and trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders

Outcome: Strong partnerships enabling smooth delivery and aligned technical decisions

6. Talent Strategy & Team Building

• Lead technical interviews and hiring decisions for engineering roles
• Develop team skills through mentoring, training, and stretch assignments
• Identify and cultivate future technical leaders
• Build team culture emphasizing ownership, innovation, and continuous learning

Outcome: Strong talent pipeline with engineers growing into senior and leadership rolesRequired Qualifications

• Proven track record managing engineering teams of 20+ members
• Experience owning P&L or budget responsibility for technical teams or products
• Demonstrated ability to connect engineering work to business outcomes and ROI
• Experience building and shipping production software systems at scale
• Strong background in modern software development practices and cloud technologies
• Demonstrated ability to make architectural decisions and technical trade-offs
• Experience with full software development lifecycle from design through operations
• Track record of developing engineers and building strong engineering cultures
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience

Technical 

• Languages & Frameworks: Proficiency in multiple programming languages and modern frameworks
• Cloud & Infrastructure: Experience with AWS/Azure/GCP and infrastructure as code
• Architecture: Microservices, APIs, distributed systems, and system design
• DevOps: CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, observability, and automation
• Data: Database design, data modeling, and performance optimization

Business & Financial

• Financial Management: Budget ownership, cost optimization, and ROI analysis
• Business Metrics: Defining and tracking KPIs that connect to business outcomes
• Value Communication: Articulating technical investments in business terms
• Resource Planning: Capacity planning and resource allocation based on business priorities
• Vendor Management: Evaluating and managing third-party tools and services

Leadership

• People Management: Performance management, career development, and difficult conversations
• Team Building: Hiring, onboarding, and creating inclusive team environments
• Communication: Technical and non-technical stakeholder management
• Decision Making: Data-driven decisions balancing multiple constraints
• Strategic Thinking: Aligning team efforts with organizational goals
• Change Management: Leading teams through technical and organizational changes

General

• Problem-Solving: Complex technical and organizational challenge resolution
• Collaboration: Working effectively with Product, Design, and other functions
• Mentorship: Developing junior and senior engineers
• Process Improvement: Identifying and implementing efficiency improvements
• Business Acumen: Understanding business context and impact of technical decisions

Interview Process:Recruiter Call and then:

• Codility Assessment
• Interview Panel- 4 interviews

 (People Management & Communication)(Culture) (Technical) (Executive & Critical Thinking)A little bit more about us and why you might want to join us: We work within government, for government—but we don’t work like government.We’re agile in practice and philosophy.We’re purpose-driven and outcome-obsessed.We’re modernizing behavioral health technology in California—including addressing overdose, suicide, and the crises that leave people on the streets.We’re honest about the challenges—state government is bureaucratic, and we can't match most tech salaries. But here’s what we can offer:Purpose that mattersTeammates who care deeplyWork-life balance (no nights, weekends, or burnout)Fully remote workWe're not just changing systems—we're changing how government worksSperidian is an EEO employer 

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