Contract Software Engineering Manager Jobs in Minnesota

About the Role:

We are seeking an Engineering Manager to join our rapidly growing product and engineering development team.
Our company specializes in enterprise-level media measurement and optimization across various industries.
In this role, you will take a leadership position within a cross-functional team responsible for creating, optimizing, and maintaining scalable software and data solutions to enhance performance, stability, and scalability. You will play a pivotal role in guiding the team and working closely with internal and client stakeholders throughout the entire software development lifecycle, from concept to deployment.
The ideal candidate will bring extensive experience in iterative development practices, a strong focus on building testable solutions, and both conceptual and pragmatic problem-solving skills. You actively leverage AI-assisted development tools to improve velocity and quality, and you help your team adopt these practices effectively. Your outstanding attention to detail and strong written and oral communication skills will enable you to work directly with business users, understanding their objectives and translating them into technical requirements. As a valuable team member, you will have the opportunity to mentor junior team members, contribute to innovative ideas, and drive the adoption of cutting-edge technologies within the team and foster your own professional growth.

Responsibilities of an Engineering Manager:

Partner in sprint and interval planning with product and technical leaders to align goals, scope, timing, dependencies, and delivery readiness.
Support backlog refinement by helping ensure work entering delivery is clear, ready, and sized appropriately.
Lead the team's core delivery ceremonies and own the team's delivery rhythm, surfacing blockers, tradeoffs, and replanning needs early to keep work moving.
Use team capacity, velocity, and delivery patterns to set realistic commitments and improve the team's delivery system over time.
Mentor and coach engineering team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning, growth, and collaboration.
Provide clear expectations, regular feedback, and consistent support through 1:1s and day-to-day leadership.
Create stretch opportunities that help team members grow in ownership, versatility, and resilience while aligning to team and business needs.
Foster a culture of teamwork and technical excellence, creating an environment where team members are inspired to achieve their best.
Drive adherence to strong engineering practices across code quality, documentation, testing, maintainability, and technical health, ensuring the team consistently delivers high-quality, reliable software in partnership with QA.
Partner directly with Product Managers, Product Owners, and stakeholders to understand goals, clarify requirements, and translate work into actionable technical direction for the team.
Represent the team in cross-team discussions, helping surface dependencies, risks, and decisions needed to keep work moving.
Advocate for the team within the organization, ensuring the team's needs, constraints, and perspectives are understood in the right forums.
Communicate status, risks, and key decisions clearly so the team is represented as a reliable and effective partner.
Ensure the team follows SDLC and DevOps best practices, maintaining strong standards for delivery quality, deployment discipline, reliability, and security.
Partner effectively with IT, Infosec, QA and other functions as needed to ensure the team consistently delivers high-quality, reliable software and maintains a strong security and compliance posture.
Champion the adoption of AI-assisted development tools and practices across the team, establishing effective patterns for responsible use that improve velocity while protecting quality and security.

Requirements:

5+ years of relevant experience in computer science, software engineering, or another technical discipline
Experience leading high-performance team. Including lead engineers
Experience and passion for leading and growing cross-functional technical team members in their personal development
Experience working collaboratively with cross-functional team members, product owners, and stakeholders to drive and support business goals.
Strong organization skills and ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines
Experience influencing and communicating with non-technical decision makers as a technical thought leader
Experience with at least one major programming language (e.g., JavaScript, Python, Java).
Familiarity with web technologies (e.g., JavaScript, HTML, CSS), data manipulation (e.g., SQL), and version control systems (e.g., GitHub)
Familiarity with cloud environments (e.g., Google Cloud Platform, Azure, Amazon Web Services, etc.)
Familiarity with DevOps practices/principles, Agile/Scrum methodologies, and the product development lifecycle
Experience leading and shaping Agile delivery practices
Experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies and scaled Agile frameworks (e.g., SAFe), with demonstrated ability to support and guide sprint planning and iterative delivery

Preferred:

Experience with, or a strong demonstrable interest in, agentic AI technologies and their practical applications.
Experience with marketing APIs and/or automating data pulls from marketing platforms
Experience in client or stakeholder-facing, consultative roles
Familiarity with modern web APIs and full stack frameworks.
Experience influencing budget and investment decisions for engineering organizations

Benefits of Working at Ovative Group:

We provide strong, competitive, holistic benefits that understand the importance of your life inside and out of work.

Culture:

Culture matters and we've been recognized as a Top Workplace for tenyears running because of it. We demand trust and transparency from each other. We believe in doing the hard and complicated work others put off. We're open in communication and floor plan. We're flat - our interns sit next to VPs, our analysts work closely with senior leaders, and our CEO interacts with every single person daily. Put together, these elements help foster an environment where smart people can support each other in performing to their highest potential.

Ovative is committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can participate and thrive. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind, including on the basis of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Our policies reflect this commitment-for example, our medical leave benefits are inclusive of same-sex partners, ensuring equitable care and support for all families.

Compensation and Insurance:

We strive to hire and retain the best talent. Paying fair, competitive compensation, with a large bonus incentive, and phenomenal health insurance is an important part of this mix.

We're rewarded fairly and when the company performs well, we all benefit.

Tangible amenities we enjoy:

• Access to all office spaces in MSP, NYC, and CHI

• Frequent, paid travel to our Minneapolis headquarters for company events, team events, and in-person collaboration with teams

• Generous paid vacation policy

• 401k match program

• Top-notch health insurance options, inclusive of same sex partners

• Family formation benefits including reimbursement options for fertility, pregnancy, and parenting needs

• Monthly stipend for your mobile phone and data plan

• Sabbatical program

• Charitable giving via our time and a financial match program

• Shenanigan's Day

Working at Ovative won't be easy, but if you like getting your hands dirty, driving results, and being surrounded by the best talent, it'll be the most rewarding job you'll ever have. If you think you can make us better, we want to hear from you!