Full Stack Software Engineering Manager

Company Overview

Wilson Elser is a national law firm with more than 1,400 attorneys across 46 offices nationwide. The firm is recognized among the top 100 law firms by The American Lawyer and ranked #36 in the National Law Journal’s survey of the nation’s largest law firms.

Our success is built on a culture of collaboration, innovation, client service, and mutual respect. We are committed to fostering an environment where employees are empowered to grow their careers, contribute meaningfully, and thrive professionally.

The Position

Software Engineering Manager – The role leads the design, development, delivery, and operational support of modern full stack applications and cloud-native platforms as part of the firm’s ongoing digital transformation initiative. The position combines strong technical leadership with people management and operational excellence, requiring deep expertise in full stack software engineering, cloud architecture, DevOps, and secure software delivery practices.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience in Microsoft Azure, modern software development frameworks, and operational processes, and can lead high‑performing engineering teams in a fast‑paced, project‑driven environment. The manager collaborates closely with data engineers, DevOps engineers, cybersecurity architects, infrastructure architects, business analysts, project managers, and firm leadership to deliver scalable, secure and innovative technology solutions that support the firm’s strategic goals.

The manager drives innovation, mentors engineering talent, establishes engineering best practices and helps create new opportunities for teams to leverage cutting‑edge technologies while ensuring enterprise systems remain secure, reliable, and highly available.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor and develop a team of full stack software engineers and technical contributors.
• Foster a collaborative, innovative and high‑performing engineering culture focused on continuous improvement and technical excellence.
• Manage team priorities, sprint planning, workload balancing, and delivery timelines across multiple initiatives.
• Partner with leadership, stakeholders and product managers to align technology solutions with business objectives and strategic initiatives.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, coaching, performance management and career development for engineering staff.
• Promote Agile/Scrum methodologies and engineering best practices across development teams.
• Oversee the design, development, testing, deployment and maintenance of full stack web applications, APIs and enterprise integrations.
• Provide technical leadership in front‑end and back‑end architecture, cloud‑native development and scalable application design.
• Guide teams in developing responsive, user‑friendly interfaces and highly scalable back‑end services and microservices.
• Participate in architecture reviews, technical design discussions and code reviews to ensure maintainability, performance and security.
• Drive adoption of modern engineering standards, coding practices and reusable frameworks.
• Lead engineering efforts supporting the firm’s cloud strategy utilizing Microsoft Azure and modern cloud‑native technologies.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines, deployment automation and Infrastructure as Code initiatives using tools such as Terraform and Bicep.
• Co‑develop DevOps and DevSecOps methodologies throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Ensure operational excellence through monitoring, observability, automation and proactive issue management.
• Partner with infrastructure and cybersecurity teams to support resilient, scalable and secure cloud environments.
• Champion secure coding standards and contribute to a robust Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC).
• Embed authentication, authorization and application security best practices into all development activities.
• Lead shift‑left security initiatives, including code scanning, dependency management, vulnerability remediation and code quality practices.
• Evaluate and mitigate technical and operational risks associated with software development and cloud implementations.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity teams to ensure compliance with firm security standards and regulatory requirements.
• Oversee production support activities, issue resolution, release management and application lifecycle management.
• Ensure high availability, reliability, scalability and performance of enterprise applications and integrations.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, deployment procedures, architectural diagrams and operational standards.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, improve operational efficiency and modernize existing platforms.
• Communicate technical concepts and delivery plans effectively to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in full stack software development.
• 2+ years of experience leading engineering teams, technical initiatives or software delivery efforts.
• Strong experience with front‑end technologies such as HTML5, CSS3 and React, Angular or Vue.js.
• Strong experience with back‑end development using Node.js, .NET, Java or Python, and RESTful APIs and microservices.
• Experience with relational and NoSQL databases such as SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MongoDB or Cosmos DB.
• Familiarity with Git‑based source control and CI/CD tools.
• Understanding of application security, authentication, authorization and secure coding practices.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving and communication skills.
• 3+ years of experience with Azure DevOps (Repos, Pipelines, Test Plans, and Artifacts).
• 3+ years of experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Bicep, etc).
• 2+ years of experience with Atlassian product suite (Jira, Jira Service Management, Confluence).
• Ability to read, analyze and adapt code with a security/risk mindset.
• Deep knowledge of Microsoft Azure, from common features to data security solutions.
• Ability to work with scenarios, cloud architecture and concepts.
• Experience with shift‑left code security practices (Snyk, etc.) – a big plus.
• Experience with code quality tools (Sonar, etc.) – a big plus.
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments and managing technical project delivery.
• Experience collaborating with cross‑functional teams in large enterprise environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience implementing DevOps, DevSecOps and platform engineering practices.
• Experience building enterprise‑scale or cloud‑native applications.
• Familiarity with automated testing frameworks and test‑driven development (TDD).
• Experience with monitoring, observability and logging platforms.
• Certifications related to cloud platforms or software development – a plus.

Education

• Bachelor of science degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Engineering or a relevant field.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $150,000 USD – $190,000 USD.

Wilson Elser offers a competitive salary and benefits package designed to support employees both professionally and personally. The package includes a 401(k) retirement savings plan, medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance. Detailed participation information will be provided upon offer.

Why Should You Apply?

• Outstanding benefits package, including 401(k) match and generous PTO plan.
• Ample opportunities for professional development and advancement.
• Access to corporate discount plans and other employee perks.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Wilson Elser is committed to a collegial work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Employment is based on merit, qualifications and competence. Decisions are made without regard to race, color, age, sex, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, physical or mental disability, status as a victim of domestic violence, or any other characteristic protected by law. Wilson Elser endeavors to make the website accessible to all users.

California residents may review our CCPA notice for applicants and employees here.

Agency Submissions

Wilson Elser welcomes submissions of candidates for our open positions exclusively from recruitment agencies with an active, signed fee agreement through our Recruitment Agency Portal. Submissions from agencies without such an agreement will not be considered.