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- Tasks: Lead the development of innovative AI-powered software solutions at GitHub.
- Company: Join GitHub, a leader in shaping the future of software development.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, remote work flexibility, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Diverse and inclusive workplace with excellent career advancement opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on millions of developers worldwide with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Extensive experience in software engineering and strong leadership skills required.
The predicted salary is between 90000 - 120000 ÂŁ per year.
Locations: Remote, United Kingdom
Overview: GitHub is shaping the future of software development in the age of AI agents — and search is at the heart of it. As GitHub's lexical and semantic code search engine, Blackbird powers context retrieval for business‑critical experiences across the platform and our Copilot products, including Cloud Agent, Code Review, Copilot CLI, and VS Code. We're looking for a Principal Engineering Manager to lead the development of Blackbird. You'll be part of our Copilot Agents organization, positively impacting millions of software developers and AI agents around the world who are building everything from open source to global enterprises.
Responsibilities:
- Drive and execute technical roadmap that aligns with product goals, ensuring engineering efforts are strategically prioritized and incorporate new technologies and methodologies where applicable.
- Work with organizational leaders to shape GitHub’s AI product portfolio, identifying opportunities for innovation and leading initiatives that scale globally.
- Drive employee growth and development, manage performance, and ensure the engineering team's skills remain current by staying abreast of industry developments and best practices.
- Own incident response and reliability practices, ensuring live services meet SLOs and postmortems drive systemic improvements; oversee capacity planning to ensure performance, reliability, and compliance.
- Champion experimentation and telemetry‑driven development, enabling rapid iteration and data‑informed decisions.
- Identify novel bottlenecks in AI‑powered development workflows to improve team and organizational impact.
- Drive engineering excellence through automation, tooling, and standardization across deployment, testing, and operations; facilitate cross‑team communications, identify dependencies, and resolve conflicts to ensure seamless integration and support across products, applications, and services.
- Partner with stakeholders such as product managers and technical leads to determine requirements for services or complex scenarios, leveraging feedback channels to incorporate insights into future designs.
Qualifications:
Required Qualifications:
- 11+ years of experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software in languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python.
- OR Associate’s Degree in a related field and 10+ years of experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software in languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python.
- OR Bachelor's Degree in a related field and 9+ years of experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software in languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python.
- OR Master's Degree in a related field and 7+ years of experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software in languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python.
- OR PhD in a related field and 5+ years of experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software in languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python.
- OR equivalent experience.
- 5+ years of people management experience.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience building or operating web‑scale search, information retrieval, or context retrieval systems.
- Expertise with systems programming languages, ideally Rust.
- Proven track record of building and scaling engineering organizations in high‑growth or ambiguous environments.
- Experience designing or integrating AI/ML‑powered features into production systems.
Equal Employment Opportunity: GitHub is made up of people from a wide variety of backgrounds and lifestyles. We embrace diversity and invite applications from people of all walks of life. We don't discriminate against employees or applicants based on gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, national origin, citizenship, disability, pregnancy status, veteran status, or any other differences. Also, if you have a disability, please let us know if there's any way we can make the interview process better for you; we're happy to accommodate!
Principal Software Engineering Manager employer: GitHub
Contact Detail:
GitHub Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Software Engineering Manager
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in your industry on LinkedIn or at meetups. A personal connection can often get you a foot in the door faster than any application.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews! Research GitHub’s products and think about how your experience aligns with their goals. We want to see you shine, so practice common interview questions and have your own questions ready.
✨Tip Number 3
Show off your projects! If you've worked on relevant software or AI projects, make sure to discuss them during interviews. We love seeing real-world applications of your skills!
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in being part of our team at GitHub.
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Software Engineering Manager
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the role of Principal Software Engineering Manager. Highlight your experience with software development, especially in languages mentioned in the job description, and showcase any leadership roles you've held.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to explain why you're passionate about AI and software development. Mention specific projects or achievements that align with GitHub's goals and how you can contribute to the Blackbird team.
Showcase Your Management Skills: Since this role involves people management, be sure to highlight your experience in leading teams. Discuss how you've driven employee growth and development, and share examples of how you've managed performance effectively.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother application process. It helps us keep track of your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates!
How to prepare for a job interview at GitHub
✨Know Your Tech Stack
Make sure you’re well-versed in the programming languages and technologies mentioned in the job description, like C++, Java, or Python. Brush up on your knowledge of web-scale search systems and AI/ML features, as these will likely come up during the interview.
✨Showcase Leadership Experience
As a Principal Software Engineering Manager, your leadership skills are crucial. Prepare examples of how you've driven team growth, managed performance, and led projects. Be ready to discuss how you’ve fostered innovation and collaboration in previous roles.
✨Understand the Company’s Vision
Research GitHub’s products, especially Blackbird and Copilot. Understand their impact on software development and be prepared to discuss how you can contribute to their goals. This shows your genuine interest and alignment with their mission.
✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect questions that assess your problem-solving skills and ability to handle real-world challenges. Think about past incidents you've managed, how you ensured reliability, and how you drove improvements. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers.