1

Software Engineering Manager Jobs in Ladera Ranch, CA

The Director of Software Engineering reports to Director of Product Development and leads Diality ... Manage software organizations, employees, contractors, offshore development teams, consultants ...

Director, Software Engineering

Irvine, CA · On-site

$223K - $260K/yr

The Director of Software Engineering reports to Director of Product Development and leads Diality ... Manage software organizations, employees, contractors, offshore development teams, consultants ...

Senior Director, Software Engineering

Irvine, CA · On-site

$271K/yr

Mentor engineering managers and senior ICs, building a high‑performance, accountable engineering ... Experience integrating AI or agentic tooling into the software development lifecycle to improve ...

Showing results 21-40

Software Engineering Manager information

See Ladera Ranch, CA salary details

$105.8K

$180.1K

$213.1K

How much do software engineering manager jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 12, 2026, the average yearly pay for software engineering manager in Ladera Ranch, CA is $180,058.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $183,900.00 and $183,900.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

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 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 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.

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 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 are popular job titles related to Software Engineering Manager jobs in Ladera Ranch, CA?

For Software Engineering Manager jobs in Ladera Ranch, CA, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Software Engineering Manager jobs in Ladera Ranch, CA look for?

The top searched job categories for Software Engineering Manager jobs in Ladera Ranch, CA are:

What cities near Ladera Ranch, CA are hiring for Software Engineering Manager jobs?

Cities near Ladera Ranch, CA with the most Software Engineering Manager job openings:

Infographic showing various Software Engineering Manager job openings in Ladera Ranch, CA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 86% In-person, and 14% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $180,058 per year, or $86.6 per hour.

Senior Manager, Software Engineering

Costa Mesa, CA • On-site

Anduril Industries
Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing • 501 - 1,000 employees

Full-time

Re-posted 2 days ago


Anduril rating

9.1

Company rating: 9.1 out of 10

Anduril

Based on 17 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz


Job description

ABOUT THE TEAM:

CorpTech Platform is the internal engineering force multiplier behind Anduril's corporate systems.
It drives CorpTech engineering forward through strategic investment in data platforms, software platforms, QA and release excellence, ERP engineering, and AI infrastructure.
We build the foundations that power both CorpOS, enabling Finance and Growth to operate with speed and precision, and ArsenalOS, the digital backbone of Anduril's hardware enterprise. By unifying systems, accelerating development velocity, and embedding intelligence into every layer, CorpTech Platform transforms how the company operates end to end.
We are also driving Anduril toward becoming an autonomous enterprise. Through initiatives like the Autonomous Software Factory, we are rethinking how software is built, tested, deployed, and evolved by integrating AI directly into the engineering lifecycle.
This is not a support function. It is a strategic engine. CorpTech Platform is how Anduril scales its business systems with the same rigor, speed, and adaptability as its mission critical products.

ABOUT THE JOB:

This Senior Manager role sits where three disciplines meet: software engineering, reliability engineering, and applied AI. The team builds and operates production systems that are themselves AI-enabled, while also adopting AI-accelerated development practices in how those systems are designed, shipped, and maintained. The person in this role is accountable for the software their team produces, the reliability of the systems it runs, and the maturity of the AI-enabled engineering practices the team uses and models for the broader org.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

  • Lead a software engineering team responsible for building, shipping, and operating production software at the intersection of AI and software engineering.
  • Set and drive the team's roadmap across feature delivery, reliability investments, AI-enabled capabilities, and operational improvements, converting ambiguous priorities into a coherent execution plan.
  • Manage, coach, and develop software engineers and tech leads, including goal setting, performance management, hiring, and succession planning.
  • Partner closely with product, AI engineering, platform, infrastructure, and downstream stakeholders to align on priorities, trade-offs, and delivery commitments.
  • Establish and reinforce engineering norms around design review, code review, testing, release management, on-call, incident response, and production ownership for the systems your team owns.
  • Drive reliability and operational excellence across your team's services, including service ownership, observability, release confidence, and preventative work that reduces recurring classes of failure.
  • Raise the bar on how the team applies AI to its own engineering work, including effective use of AI coding assistants, agentic automation, and evaluation-driven development of AI-enabled features.
  • Ensure your team builds AI-enabled systems responsibly, with practical quality, safety, and reliability controls appropriate to non-deterministic behavior.
  • Contribute to cross-team engineering standards, operating mechanisms, and platform decisions as a senior manager inside CorpTech Platform.
  • Communicate strategy, risks, trade-offs, and execution status clearly to senior engineering leadership and cross-functional partners.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

  • 7+ years of experience in software engineering, reliability engineering, or closely related disciplines, including at least 2 years of direct people management of software engineers.
  • Demonstrated success managing an engineering team that owned production systems end to end, including delivery, reliability, and on-call responsibility.
  • Strong technical fluency in modern software architectures, APIs, distributed systems, CI/CD, observability, and cloud or platform infrastructure; able to engage credibly with senior engineers on architectural and execution trade-offs.
  • Practical experience with AI-enabled software systems and AI-accelerated engineering workflows, including LLM-based features, AI coding assistants, or agentic automation, and awareness of the quality and reliability challenges they introduce.
  • Strong people leadership skills, including hiring, coaching, performance management, and development of engineers and tech leads at varied career stages.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead through ambiguity, create clarity from incomplete information, and balance speed with engineering rigor under real delivery pressure.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence senior engineers, executive leadership, and cross-functional partners.
  • Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
  • U.S. Person status is required as this position needs to access export controlled data.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Experience leading teams that combine software engineering with site reliability engineering, production engineering, or quality engineering responsibilities under a single charter.
  • Experience operationalizing AI-enabled systems in production, including evaluation frameworks, guardrails, observability for model behavior, and incident response for non-deterministic failures.
  • Experience improving release cadence, test strategy, observability, and on-call health for teams carrying meaningful operational load.
  • Familiarity with frontier AI tooling, AI coding assistants, MCP, agentic systems, and evaluation-driven development workflows.
  • Experience in hyper growth startup-like environments, with demonstrated success balancing speed, organizational scale, and long-term engineering health.
  • Familiarity with enterprise systems and business process domains such as ERP, MES, WMS, CRM, finance systems, or manufacturing systems.
  • Eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance.

Working at Anduril

About Anduril, in their own words

From Anduril

As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril delivers cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the warfighter in months, not years.


What Anduril employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom


Anduril Industries logo

About Anduril Industries

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Anduril Industries is a trailblazer in the technology industry based in Costa Mesa, CA, US. Founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, the creator of Oculus VR, the company focuses on developing innovative technology to equip and empower those in the defense sector. Its primary products include cutting-edge autonomous systems and AI software that assist in combating threats to national and global security. The mission of Anduril Industries is to integrate technology and defense by building transformative, scalable solutions that ensure a safer world.

Industry

Guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing

Company size

501 - 1,000 Employees

Headquarters location

Costa Mesa, CA, US

Year founded

2017

Social media