Senior Engineering Manager
Bayer · Chicago · $127,000–$191,000 (stated in the posting)
At Bayer we’re visionaries, driven to solve the world’s toughest challenges and striving for a world where 'Health for all Hunger for none’ is no longer a dream, but a real possibility. We’re doing it with energy, curiosity and sheer dedication, always learning from unique perspectives of those around us, expanding our thinking, growing our capabilities and redefining ‘impossible’. There are so many reasons to join us. If you’re hungry to build a varied and meaningful career in a community of brilliant and diverse minds to make a real difference, there’s only one choice.
Senior Engineering Manager
The Senior Engineering Manager at Digital Farming Solutions (DFS) is a senior leadership role responsible for driving engineering outcomes across multiple teams or a complex delivery area. This role exists to ensure results are delivered, even in the presence of ambiguity, competing priorities, and imperfect inputs.
You will lead engineering outcomes across multiple teams or complex delivery areas, turning strategy and evolving priorities into consistent, high-quality results for digital agriculture platforms. Operating effectively in ambiguity, you will bring structure, clarity, and momentum where it does not naturally exist — aligning teams, managing dependencies, and driving progress across data-intensive systems such as precision agriculture and geospatial capabilities, even when inputs are incomplete. You will partner closely with Product, Design, Science, and technical leaders as a peer, shaping direction jointly rather than simply executing against it, while balancing delivery commitments with long-term system health. Through strong execution discipline, thoughtful prioritization, and influence beyond your direct reporting lines, you will ensure teams deliver meaningful outcomes for farmers while continuing to grow in capability, accountability, and autonomy.
YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The primary responsibilities of this role are:
Driving Results & Execution:
Own delivery outcomes across multiple engineering teams or a major capability area
Translate strategy, priorities, and roadmaps into clear, executable plans
Ensure commitments are met through proactive risk management and course correction
Drive progress and outcomes even when requirements or inputs are incomplete
Take full ownership for results rather than delegating accountability
Engineering Excellence & Technical Leadership:
Ensure solutions align with DFS technical direction and engineering standards
Balance near-term delivery needs with long-term system health and sustainability
Drive continuous improvement in quality, reliability, and operational excellence
Partner with senior technical leaders on architectural decisions and technical investments
Act as a strong technical steward, even when not the primary architect
People & Leadership Development:
Lead, coach, and develop Engineering Managers and senior engineers
Set clear expectations and hold leaders and teams accountable with empathy
Build strong teams through talent flow, coaching, and succession planning
Address performance issues directly and constructively
Create an environment where leaders can operate independently and effectively
Cross-Functional Leadership & Collaboration:
Partner closely with Product, Design, Architecture, and other technical leaders
Resolve cross-team dependencies and organizational friction
Influence outcomes beyond direct reporting lines
Treat peer leadership teams as a first team, not an escalation path
Act as a connector and multiplier across the broader organization
What Success Looks Like:
Delivery commitments are met more consistently, with fewer surprises
Teams are aligned on priorities, expectations, and tradeoffs
Senior engineers under your leadership grow in effectiveness and autonomy
Technical quality improves without sacrificing delivery speed
Stakeholders trust commitments and leadership judgment
Issues are surfaced early and addressed decisively
WHO YOU ARE
Bayer seeks an incumbent who possesses the following:
Required:
8+ years of professional experience in software engineering, with at least 3+ years in a formal people management capacity.
Management Scope: Proven experience managing multiple engineering teams or managing other Engineering Managers/Team Leads.
Technical Foundation: A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent practical experience).
Cloud Proficiency: Hands-on experience operating and deploying production workloads specifically on AWS (EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda).
Agile Mastery: Strong experience leading teams within a standard Agile/Scrum framework, including sprint planning, retrospectives, and backlog grooming.
DevOps Fundamentals: Demonstrated ability to manage and improve CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment workflows.
Preferred:
Cloud Expertise: Advanced knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform, CloudFormation, or AWS CDK.
Architectural Strategy: Experience overseeing the migration from monolithic architectures to microservices or serverless environments.
Performance Metrics: Ability to use DORA metrics (Deployment Frequency, Lead Time for Changes, MTTR, Change Failure Rate) to drive operational improvements.
Talent Development: A track record of successfully mentoring Senior Engineers into Staff/Principal roles and developing high-potential junior managers.
Observability: Familiarity with modern monitoring and observability stacks such as Datadog, New Relic, or AWS CloudWatch.
Business Acumen: Experience partnering closely with Product and Design leaders to influence the long-term product roadmap and resource allocation.
Employees can expect to be paid a salary of approximately $127k-191k. Additional compensation may includ