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Software Engineering Manager information

See Iowa salary details

$93.5K

$159.1K

$188.3K

How much do software engineering manager jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 9, 2026, the average yearly pay for software engineering manager in Iowa is $159,094.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $162,500.00 and $162,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some common challenges faced by Software Engineering Managers when leading diverse development teams?

Software Engineering Managers often encounter challenges such as balancing technical leadership with people management, aligning team members with different backgrounds and skill sets, and ensuring effective communication across remote or cross-functional teams. Navigating these challenges involves fostering an inclusive environment, setting clear expectations, and adapting management styles to individual team members’ needs. Successful managers also prioritize regular check-ins and feedback to keep projects on track and support professional growth within the team.

What Does a Software Engineering Manager Do?

A software engineering manager oversees a team of people who are working on the development of new computer software or the enhancement of existing computer programs. Because this is a management job, your duties may include coordinating and planning with other departments within the company and with company executives. In addition to management skills, you need a firm understanding of the technical aspects of software engineering. Another aspect of this career involves understanding the market and competitor’s products so that your software can compete and meet market demands.

What is the difference between Software Engineering Manager vs Software Developer?

AspectSoftware Engineering ManagerSoftware Developer
CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in CS or related field, often with leadership experienceBachelor's or higher in CS or related field
Work EnvironmentLeads teams, manages projects, collaborates with stakeholdersFocuses on coding, debugging, and implementing features
Employer & Industry UsageUsed across tech companies, startups, and large enterprisesCommon in all software development settings
Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding managerial roles, leadership responsibilitiesFocus on technical skills, coding tasks

The main difference between a Software Engineering Manager and a Software Developer lies in their roles and responsibilities. Managers oversee teams, coordinate projects, and handle strategic planning, while developers focus on coding and technical implementation. Both roles are essential in the software development lifecycle, but they serve different functions within an organization.

What does a Software Engineering Manager do?

A Software Engineering Manager oversees a team of software engineers, guiding the development of software projects from planning to implementation. They are responsible for managing the team's workflow, ensuring high-quality code, and meeting project deadlines. In addition to technical leadership, they also handle hiring, mentoring, and performance reviews. Their role bridges the gap between technical execution and business objectives, ensuring that software solutions align with strategic goals.

What does a software engineer manager do?

A software engineering manager oversees software development teams, coordinates project planning, sets technical goals, and ensures timely delivery of software products. They also handle team management, performance evaluations, and collaborate with stakeholders to align technical efforts with business objectives.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Software Engineering Manager, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Software Engineering Manager, you need a solid background in software development, team leadership, and project management, often backed by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with development tools, agile methodologies, version control systems, and, in some cases, certifications like PMP or Scrum Master are valuable. Exceptional communication, problem-solving, and mentoring skills distinguish top performers in this role. These competencies are crucial for successfully guiding technical teams, delivering projects efficiently, and fostering a collaborative and innovative engineering culture.

How much do software engineer managers get paid?

Software engineering managers typically earn a median annual salary ranging from $120,000 to $180,000, depending on experience, location, and company size. They often receive additional benefits such as bonuses, stock options, and health insurance, and may lead teams using project management tools and Agile methodologies.

Can I make 200k a year as a software engineer?

Software engineering managers and senior software engineers in high-cost-of-living areas or with extensive experience and specialized skills can earn $200,000 or more annually. Compensation depends on factors such as location, company size, industry, and individual expertise, with roles involving leadership, complex projects, or advanced technical skills often commanding higher salaries.

What engineer makes $500,000 a year?

Senior software engineering managers and highly experienced software engineers at large tech companies can earn $500,000 or more annually, often including bonuses, stock options, and other incentives. These roles typically require extensive experience, leadership skills, and expertise in areas like cloud computing, system architecture, or specialized domains.
More about Software Engineering Manager jobs
What are the most commonly searched types of Software Engineering jobs in Iowa? The most popular types of Software Engineering jobs in Iowa are:
What are popular job titles related to Software Engineering Manager jobs in Iowa? For Software Engineering Manager jobs in Iowa, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Software Engineering Manager jobs in Iowa look for? The top searched job categories for Software Engineering Manager jobs in Iowa are:
What cities in Iowa are hiring for Software Engineering Manager jobs? Cities in Iowa with the most Software Engineering Manager job openings:
Software Engineering Manager jobs near you
Software Engineering Manager

Software Engineering Manager

VIDA Diagnostics

Coralville, IA

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Posted 26 days ago

Job description

About VIDA

VIDA is the global leader in AI-powered Biomarker Intelligence Solutions. We use our secure, cloud-native medical imaging technology to create quantitative imaging biomarkers. Our engineering teams sit at the intersection of large-scale data processing, AI/ML, and distributed computer vision workloads.

This position is Hybrid out of our Coralville, IA or Edina, MN office.

Role Overview

As a Software Engineering Manager at VIDA, you will have a strong technical depth in cloud-native, distributed data processing systems – high-throughout, horizontally scalable architectures capable of processing millions to billions of events, managing fan-out/fan-in workflows, and orchestrating large-scale data movement across distributed compute clusters. In this role, you will manage and grow a team of backend and platform engineers responsible for building VIDA’s distributed compute and data backbone: high-volume ingestion pipelines, scalable workflow engines, secure data storage layers, and AI/ML-supporting infrastructure for the VIDA Intelligence Platform and VIDA Biobank. You’ll partner closely with Product, Data Science, QA, Security, and Operations to deliver highly reliable, compliant, multi-tenant systems that support pharma trials, large-scale imaging research, and next-generation AI workloads.

As a Software Engineering Manager, your key responsibilities will be:

Team Leadership & Delivery

  • Lead, mentor, and develop a team of software engineers focused on backend services, distributed systems, and cloud infrastructure.
  • Build and engineering culture grounded in reliability, observability, automation, and high accountability.
  • Drive execution of critical platform initiatives: scalable DICOM ingestion, distributed workflow orchestration, batch data processing pipelines, and date lake/lakehouse systems.
  • Ensure Engineering best practices across code quality, testing, CI/CD, IaC, and operational readiness.

Technical Ownership & Architecture

  • Provide strong hands-on technical guidance in system design, distributed systems patterns, and cloud-native architecture.
  • Own the reliability and performance of distributed components such as:
    • Event-driven pipelines (Kinesis, Kafka, Pub/Sub equivalents)
    • Workflow orchestration (Step Functions, Temporal, Airflow)
    • Scalable microservices for multi-tenant data access
  • Collaborate with senior architects and the VP of Engineering on platform roadmaps and architectural evolution.
  • Champion modern distributed systems practices including idempotent operations, partitioning, caching, backpressure management, and autoscaling.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

  • Work with Product Management to break down features into clear technical plans and deliverable increments.
  • Partner with Data Science/ML teams to support model training, inference workflows, and large-scale compute jobs.
  • Coordinate with Security, Compliance, and DevOps to ensure systems meet HIPAA, SOC2, GDPR, and GxP standards.
  • Collaborate with Customer Success and Support teams to diagnose issues and improve platform-level SLAs.

Required Qualifications

  • 7+ years of experience building large-scale backend or distributed systems; 2+ years managing or leading technical teams.
  • Deep experience with cloud-native distributed architectures (AWS preferred).
  • Hands-on knowledge of:
    • Event-driven systems (Kafka/Kinesis/PubSub)
    • Microservices at scale (ECS/EKS/Lambda)
    • Distributed data storage (S3, RDS, DynamoDB, Delta Lake)
    • Workflow orchestration frameworks
    • LLM Coding tools (Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, or Gemini Antigravity
  • Strong design and distributed systems fundamentals: consensus, partitioning, caching, backpressure, idempotency, retries, stream processing.
  • Proficient in modern programming languages (Python, Go, Java, or similar).
  • Experience building or managing multi-tenant SaaS systems with strict SLAs.
  • Experience operating systems in compliance-sensitive environments (healthcare, finance, enterprise SaaS).
  • Strong experience with aligning teams to adopt AI assisted programming methodologies

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with medical imaging, DICOM, or AI/ML data processing.
  • Familiarity with lakehouse architectures, Databricks, large-scale batch compute platforms.

All VIDA employees are expected to be flexible and have an entrepreneurial mindset.  Other duties may be assigned as needed. In addition, VIDA offers a wide selection of benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement planning (401k), and paid time off to name a few. 

VIDA is an equal opportunity employer.  Qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran’s status, age or disability.