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Software Manager Jobs in Appleton, WI (NOW HIRING)

Prioritize tasks, manage timelines, and effectively communicate progress and challenges to meet ... Knowledge of software development methodologies and best practices, including version control, code ...

Software Development Manager

Menasha, WI · On-site

$126K - $166K/yr

The main responsibilities of theManager of Digital Analystsinclude managing and coaching the Digital Analyst team members, acting as Tech Lead on medium to large technical, systems, or business ...

Design, develop, and test robust, scalable software solutions across various application teams, including creating and managing APIs and data flows * Analyze, design, program, test, and implement new ...

The Software Developer is responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining web applications ... Experience with a Configuration Management Database and the Common Service Data Model. * Experience ...

As a Principal Software Architect, you will be part of the Engineering Department supporting cross ... managing the talent that enables them to win. We develop innovative solutions for hundreds of ...

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Software Manager information

See Appleton, WI salary details

$72.7K

$139.3K

$173.6K

How much do software manager jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 10, 2026, the average yearly pay for software manager in Appleton, WI is $139,300.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $125,800.00 and $165,300.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a Software Manager do?

A Software Manager oversees software development teams, ensuring projects are completed on time and meet quality standards. They coordinate between team members, manage resources, and communicate with stakeholders about progress and requirements. Additionally, they may be responsible for hiring, mentoring, and evaluating team performance. Their role bridges the gap between technical staff and upper management to align technology goals with business objectives.

What Is a Software Manager?

A software manager oversees the development, installation, and maintenance of new or upgraded software for an organization. As a software manager, you coordinate with staff to determine client needs and expectations, establish budget and timelines, and ensure that employees use the product correctly. You may also train company employees on how to utilize the software after it is installed and help troubleshoot problems that arise.

What is the difference between Software Manager vs Software Engineer?

AspectSoftware ManagerSoftware Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or higher in CS or related field; management experienceBachelor's or higher in CS or related field; coding skills
Work EnvironmentOversees teams, manages projects, strategic planningDevelops software, writes code, tests applications
Employer & Industry UsageUsed in tech companies, startups, large enterprisesUsed across all tech sectors, startups, corporate IT

The main difference between a Software Manager and a Software Engineer lies in their roles. Software Managers focus on team leadership, project management, and strategic planning, while Software Engineers are primarily responsible for coding and developing software. Both roles require technical knowledge, but their responsibilities and work focus differ significantly.

How does a Software Manager typically balance hands-on technical work with leadership responsibilities?

Software Managers often juggle both technical and leadership duties, but the balance can vary depending on the organization and team size. In many cases, Software Managers spend a significant portion of their time on people management tasks such as mentoring team members, conducting code reviews, planning sprints, and facilitating communication between stakeholders. However, they may also remain involved in architectural decisions or critical technical challenges to stay connected with the team's work. Effective Software Managers prioritize delegating coding tasks to their team while focusing on enabling productivity, resolving blockers, and ensuring project alignment with business goals.

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

To thrive as a Software Manager, you need a strong background in software development, project management, and leadership, often supported by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with Agile methodologies, version control systems like Git, and project management tools such as Jira is typically required. Exceptional communication, problem-solving, and team-building skills set outstanding managers apart in this role. These competencies are essential for delivering projects on time, fostering effective collaboration, and driving high-performing engineering teams.
What are the most commonly searched types of Software jobs in Appleton, WI? The most popular types of Software jobs in Appleton, WI are:
What are popular job titles related to Software Manager jobs in Appleton, WI? For Software Manager jobs in Appleton, WI, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Software Manager jobs in Appleton, WI look for? The top searched job categories for Software Manager jobs in Appleton, WI are:
What cities near Appleton, WI are hiring for Software Manager jobs? Cities near Appleton, WI with the most Software Manager job openings:
Infographic showing various Software Manager job openings in Appleton, WI as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 85% Full Time, 13% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 86% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 13% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $139,300 per year, or $67 per hour.
Software Test Engineering Manager (IGEN)

Software Test Engineering Manager (IGEN)

U.S. Venture, Inc.

Appleton, WI • On-site

Full-time

Posted 5 days ago


U.S. Venture rating

7.3

Company rating: 7.3 out of 10

Based on 16 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

171st of 358 rated retail wholesalers


Job description

POSITION SUMMARY
IGEN is seeking a Software Test Engineering Manager to lead and evolve our Quality Engineering function across all software products and platforms. This role is responsible for defining and executing a modern, automation-first, and AI-enabled quality strategy that ensures scalable, reliable, and high-performing SaaS solutions.
This individual will operate within a Microsoft-based technology ecosystem and Scrum-driven Agile model, partnering closely with Engineering, Product, Platform, and domain experts (tax advisors / logic experts) to ensure both technical quality and business logic accuracy.
The ideal candidate is passionate about driving continuous improvement, intelligent automation, and agentic testing capabilities, while ensuring logic fidelity, regulatory compliance, and customer trust in all product outputs.
The location for this role is on-site in Appleton, WI for 4 days per week (Monday - Thursday) and remote Friday's as business needs allow.
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Quality Strategy, Vision & Governance
  • Define and execute a portfolio-wide Quality Engineering strategy across all IGEN software products
  • Establish a quality-first culture where quality is embedded in design, development, and delivery
  • Translate product risk, customer impact, and system complexity into measurable quality KPIs and release criteria
  • Define and govern:
  • Defect escape rate
  • Test coverage across layers
  • Release confidence scoring
  • MTTR / MTTD

Microsoft & Platform Quality Engineering
  • Lead quality engineering within a Microsoft-centric ecosystem, including:
  • Azure-based SaaS platforms
  • Azure DevOps / GitHub CI/CD pipelines
  • .NET-based services and APIs
  • Define best practices for testing in:
  • Distributed cloud environments
  • Identity-enabled systems (Entra / IAM)
  • Ensure QA is deeply integrated into platform engineering practices

Scrum & Product Team Quality Ownership
  • Embed QA into Scrum teams, ensuring quality ownership throughout the sprint lifecycle
  • Define and enforce Definition of Done, including automation coverage and quality gates
  • Influence:
  • Sprint planning (test strategy and risk)
  • Backlog refinement (testability and acceptance criteria clarity)
  • Ensure product teams deliver with clear accountability for quality outcomes

Logic Validation & Domain Quality (Critical for IGEN)
  • Partner closely with logic experts (tax advisors and domain specialists) to validate:
    • Business rules
    • Regulatory logic
    • Calculation accuracy and scenario coverage
  • Establish structured processes for:
    • Logic validation testing (rule-based and scenario-driven testing)
    • Domain test case design tied to real-world client scenarios
    • Business acceptance validation beyond functional correctness
    • Ensure software quality includes confidence in both technical performance and domain correctness
    • Drive traceability between:
    • Requirements → rules → test coverage → expected outcomes

AI & Agentic Quality Engineering
  • Lead adoption of AI-driven and agentic QA capabilities, including:
  • Autonomous test generation from requirements and user stories
  • AI-assisted test maintenance and self-healing automation
  • Intelligent identification of coverage gaps
  • Establish governance for AI-generated testing and validation outputs
  • Drive evolution toward autonomous QA systems capable of adaptive testing at scale

Test Architecture & Automation Strategy
  • Define and own the enterprise test architecture, including:
  • UI, API, integration, contract, and end-to-end testing
  • Build and scale modular, reusable automation frameworks
  • Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines with:
    • Automated quality gates
    • Real-time feedback loops
    • Drive best practices:
    • API-first testing
    • Test data management
    • Service virtualization
    • Test stability and flakiness reduction

DevOps, CI/CD & TestOps Integration
  • Embed quality engineering into CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps / GitHub Actions)
  • Implement TestOps practices with continuous quality monitoring
  • Drive shift-left and shift-right quality strategies:
  • Early validation within development
  • Production validation via telemetry

Observability & Production Quality
  • Leverage logs, metrics, and traces for production quality validation
  • Implement:
  • Synthetic monitoring
  • Release validation strategies
  • Establish feedback loops from production insights into:
    • Defect analysis
    • Risk prioritization
    • Backlog improvements

Leadership & Team Development
  • Lead, mentor, and develop QA Engineers, SDETs, and automation specialists
  • Act as a player-coach, contributing to design and technical implementation
  • Build organizational capability in:
    • Automation engineering
    • AI-enabled QA
    • Cloud-native testing
    • Foster a culture of shared ownership of quality across engineering teams

Core Behavioral Expectations
  • Strategic thinker with ability to balance speed, risk, and quality
  • Strong communication skills across technical and business stakeholders
  • Ability to lead in a fast-paced, Agile environment
  • Excellent problem-solving and decision-making skills
  • Passion for innovation and continuous improvement
  • Lives IGEN values:
    • High Performance
    • Caring Relationships
    • Strategic Foresight
    • Entrepreneurial Spirit
    • Champions efforts to Find a Better Way through innovation and optimization

QUALIFICATIONS
Required:
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience
  • 5+ years of experience in QA, automation, or SDET roles
  • 3+ years in a leadership role
  • Strong experience with:
    • Test automation frameworks (Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, etc.)
    • API and integration testing
    • CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions)
  • Experience working in Scrum-based Agile environments
  • Programming experience (C#, JavaScript, Python, or Java)
  • Experience with cloud-native SaaS architectures (Azure preferred)

Preferred:
  • Experience with AI-driven or agentic QA approaches
  • Experience with:
  • Performance testing tools
  • Observability platforms
  • Experience integrating security testing and SCA tools
  • Experience working with domain-heavy systems requiring logic validation (e.g., tax, regulatory, or rules-based platforms)

DIVISION:
IGEN
U.S. Venture will not offer sponsorship for employment status (including, but not limited to, H-1B, TN, E-3, F1, CPT, OPT, STEM OPT, visa status and other employment-based nonimmigrant visas) for this position. Accordingly, all applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis and must not require U.S. Venture's sponsorship to continue to work legally in the United States. In general, U.S. Venture does not sponsor candidates for nonimmigrant visas or permanent residency except when there is a specific business need.
U.S. Venture will not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or employment agencies. In the absence of an executed recruitment Master Service Agreement, there will be no obligation to any referral compensation or recruiter fee. In the event a recruiter or agency submits a resume or candidate without an agreement, U.S. Venture shall reserve the right to pursue and hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers, shall be deemed the property of U.S. Venture.
U.S. Venture, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We ensure equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or other protected characteristic. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may call Human Resources at (920) 739-6101.
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