Software Engineering Manager Jobs in Irvine, CA

Cox Automotive is seeking a Senior Manager, Software Engineering to lead and work side by side with teams modernizing the Dealer.com platform, a cornerstone of Cox Automotive's digital retail ecosystem powering thousands of dealership websites and connecting millions of consumers to their next vehicle.

This role is at the center of the AI transformation of both the teams and the platform. It is not a steady-state management position. It is a transformation role, one that requires equal parts, technical judgment, people leadership, and the ability to drive structural change while keeping delivery on track.

This role will report to the AVP of Software Engineering and works across engineering, product, design, and architecture, spanning both the Dealer.com platform and AI-driven initiatives, in close alignment with the AVP and Director of Engineering. The Sr. Manager will lead a team of Engineering Managers and a group of individual contributors working across consumer-facing dealer websites and the dealer tooling that powers them, systems that run on a significant scale with real consequences when they go wrong.

This role operates with a high degree of autonomy. The Sr. Manager will set technical direction, make decisions, and move the organization forward.

What You'll Do

Provides leadership and oversight to the Software Engineering group. Oversee team efforts to apply the principles of secure software engineering to the design, development, maintenance, testing and evaluation of software and cloud infrastructure. Engages with cross-functional leadership to understand business requirements, architecture and technology direction and evaluate alternative approaches, ensuring software and systems are designed accordingly. Incorporates state-of-the-art concepts and practices to facilitate system functionality, scalability, resilience and security, as well as ease-of-use (developer / user experience). Ensures appropriate application of agile principles to software development with a focus on delivery of business value, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Directs the efforts of subordinate managers and professional staff.
• Creates and/or reviews technical assessments, rough order of magnitudes and high-level requirements for assigned projects.
• Works with customer facing organizations to produce final specifications.
• Collaborates with software and other engineers on developing and maintaining Solution Architecture's roadmap and vision.
• Drives execution of solution development through allocation and management of resources.
• Drives decision-making processes to consensus and ensures that steps are taken to implement the solution roadmap.
• Defines and monitors the team's success metrics.

Who You Are:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field, and 8 years' experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 6 years' experience; a Ph.D. and 3 years' experience in a related field; or 20 years' experience in a related field.
• Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship. No OPT, CPT, STEM/OPT or visa sponsorship now or in future.
• Skilled in analytical thinking, business acumen, requirements analysis, software installation and support and technology savvy.
• Skilled in building partnerships, engaging others, guiding team success, leading change and leading with vision.
• Experience with an Agile or SCRUM/KANBAN based methodology.
• Effective communicator both verbal and written.
• Exceptional and proven leadership skills.
• Ability to diagnose and resolve problems independently with creative approaches.
• Ability to create clear goals and foster accountability/ownership.
• Skilled in balancing risk with time-to-market objectives.

How We Work

• AI-First: AI accelerates. Engineers decide. Every team defaults to AI tooling before reaching for a human solution - then a senior engineer owns the outcome.
• Spec Before Code: Nothing ships without a spec. Acceptance criteria, architecture decisions, tests, and observability requirements are written before the first line of code is committed.
• Outcomes Over Output: We measure delivery by platform health and business impact, not lines of code or ticket velocity.
• Data Before Opinion: Decisions come from production telemetry and measured outcomes, not seniority or whoever spoke last in the room.
• Operate With Autonomy: Bring recommendations, not questions. Bring solutions, not status updates.
Cross-Functional Alignment: Work across Product, Design, Architecture, and Engineering to align on direction and delivery. Engineering does not execute in isolation.

AI and AI-Transformed (AIT) Engineering model

• Stand up and sustain AI-Transformed team structures across all engineering domains - smaller, more leveraged teams that deliver at a pace traditional staffing models cannot match.
• Establish spec-driven development as the non-negotiable default. Every feature is fully specified before a line of code is written, with AI used to accelerate spec scaffolding and test generation.
• Integrate AI coding assistants as production-grade team tools, not optional experiments. Track AI-assisted throughput as a performance signal and use it to inform resourcing decisions.
• Establish clear quality gates for AI-generated output. Engineers own review, validation, and production accountability for everything AI assists in producing. AI accelerates; humans are accountable.

USD 148,500.00 - 247,500.00 per year

Compensation:

Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $148,500.00 - $247,500.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate's knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

Benefits:

The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company's needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.

EOE, including disability/vets