Application Manager

Application Manager
Summary: We are seeking someone who can lead two high-performing application development teams, providing people-first leadership while guiding the delivery of web/mobile and data integration solutions. This role is accountable for coaching and developing a seasoned group of engineers, owning team capacity and planning, and serving as a key liaison between IT and business leaders. The Application Manager will not be hands-on keyboard day to day, but must bring enough technical depth in areas like REST APIs, web/mobile application development, and cloud concepts to make informed decisions, effectively partner with technical leads, and confidently represent the teams with executives and stakeholders.
Lead two senior application engineering teams (Web/Mobile and Data Integration) with a primary focus on people leadership, team performance, and relationship building. This role is responsible for coaching and developing experienced engineers, partnering closely with business and executive stakeholders, and ensuring effective planning, prioritization, and delivery across roadmaps while leveraging a solid understanding of modern web, mobile, API, and cloud-based technologies to guide technical direction (without being hands-on keyboard).
Required Skill Sets:

• 5+ years of experience leading software engineering/application development teams.
• Proven experience in people management, including coaching, developing, and performance-managing senior-level engineers.
• Strong understanding of modern web and mobile application development (e.g., React Native, REST APIs, integrations) and the ability to engage in deep technical discussions.
• Demonstrated ability to manage and prioritize team workload, drive delivery through the SDLC, and track/report on progress and capacity.
• Experience building effective relationships with business stakeholders and executives, including communicating complex technical topics in clear, business-focused terms.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms and services (any major cloud provider) and modern integration patterns.
• Strong organizational, communication, and conflict-resolution skills, with the ability to handle feedback and lead through influence in a fast-paced environment.
• Lead and develop two high-performing application teams (Web/Mobile and Data Integration), providing day-to-day people leadership, coaching, and performance management for a group of approximately 12 engineers plus contractors.
• Build strong relationships with senior, highly tenured engineers, setting clear expectations, removing roadblocks, and holding the team accountable to engineering best practices, delivery commitments, and SDLC processes.
• Partner closely with established and emerging technical leads, leveraging their expertise, providing mentorship and direction, and empowering them to drive technical decisions while you focus on people and delivery leadership.
• Collaborate with business leaders, directors, and executives to understand priorities, communicate status, negotiate trade-offs, and manage changing roadmaps and backlogs in a professional, confident, and solutions-focused manner.
• Own capacity planning and workload management across the Web/Mobile and Data Integration teams, ensuring work is prioritized effectively, tracked accurately, and delivered with quality and predictability.
• Select and develop a technical lead for the Data Integration team and build a strong working relationship with the existing Web/Mobile technical lead to ensure consistent standards, practices, and outcomes across both teams.
• Drive continuous improvement in team culture, communication, and ways of working, including how the teams use tools, track time, report progress, and collaborate in a hybrid environment across St. Louis Park and St. Cloud.
• Learn and oversee the administrative and operational aspects of team management (e.g., performance reviews, budgeting inputs, hiring, vendor and contractor oversight), ensuring compliance with internal processes and timelines.

Nice to Have Skill Sets:

• Experience leading senior-level software engineering teams.
• Experience with web and mobile application development environments (e.g., React Native, REST APIs).
• Experience working with cloud platforms (any major provider such as Google Cloud Platform, Azure, or AWS).
• Experience managing data integration or API-focused teams.
• Experience collaborating with business leaders and executive stakeholders on roadmaps and prioritization.

This is a 6-month Contract-for-Hire with the potential to be a permanent opportunity with our Minneapolis-based client. 100% Paid employee Medical/Dental Benefits, Paid time off, Paid Holidays, and 401(k) (with immediately vested company match) available. H1-B Visa sponsorship is available for this position. No third-parties, please.