Development Manager

Brightly is an experience design (XD) and digital transformation (DX) consultancy focused on turning complex business challenges into elegant, simple software. Brightly is design-led, research-driven, user-focused, and deep on technology. Brightly delivers world-class business software design and product strategy & development expertise to complex custom software projects (including digital products, B2B & B2C e-commerce, SaaS solutions, enterprise web & mobile, as well as proof-of-concept, prototype & innovative applications in AI, machine learning, AR/VR, and more.

Brightly’s clients face unique and complex business issues, therefore we seek team members passionate about their craft with a love for problem-solving, continuous learning, and collaboration. With a geographically diverse team, we work best with self-motivated people with strong communication skills. Brightly offers flexibility in work/life schedule, paid training opportunities, and a growing list of benefits.

The Development Manager role at Brightly is a position that focuses on building, growing, and mentoring a team of cross-disciplinary developers. The Development Manager’s primary responsibilities will be to lead and deliver complex technical projects, manage technical resources, efficiently plan and prioritize technical deliverables across multiple projects, help set/manage client expectations, and ensure quality output. The Development Manager will be client-facing, occasionally leading discoveries, conducting technical requirements gathering, and quoting efforts while working closely with other department leads to ensure a successful integrated project delivery.

Some of our benefits include:

• Four-day work week (optional based on preference)
• Remote work
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid time off
• Paid holidays
• Maternity leave & parental leave
• Mobile phone stipend
• Paid training opportunities
• Memberships/discounts

Schedule

• Full-time salaried

What you’ll do

• Help manage client relationships
  • This includes all clients that are, have, or are going to leverage Brightly development services
  • Identify key stakeholders and develop relationships to help ensure everyone’s happy and get ahead of any issues early
• Support sales efforts
  • Help in identifying new opportunities with existing clients
  • Help in estimating efforts (and validating team estimation efforts) and planning of solutions
  • Supporting the sales team through conversations, attending meetings, and having technical conversations required to close sales
• Support project efforts
  • Interface with Brightly customers to understand requirements, set priorities, and communicate direction and progress
• Stay in lock-step with top-tier Brightly leadership
  • Hold regular meetings with Brightly top-tier leadership around current state, wins, issue prevention, and issues — acting as the main catalyst for leadership visibility into the development team
  • Support leadership, company initiatives, and help lead desired company culture
  • Own and report on operational metrics for the development team
• Lead the development team
  • Nurture team member relationships
  • Hold regular 1:1 meetings with all development team members
  • Help identify and nurture growth paths
  • Help identify and nurture continued education opportunities
  • Help retain Brightly talent and identify early if there are any issues
  • Guide team dynamics
    • Help calmly problem solve and be the steady person in the storm when necessary
    • Advocate for clients in discussions with development team members when necessary
  • Oversee development team hiring process
    • Identify skill sets needed and resourcing forecast for new desired team members
    • Complete job descriptions and oversee posting/recruiting
    • Complete and oversee candidate interviews
    • Craft and deliver job offers + negotiations (all adjustments must be discussed and approved by Brightly top-tier leadership)
• Act as an “obstacle remover” for projects, team members, clients, and leadership initiatives
• Manage development team resourcing based on project need / skill set fit, as well as billability metrics and goals while avoiding over-allocation of key team members, unless (rarely) absolutely necessary
• Review and approve development portion of all monthly project health reports
• Approve development hours ahead of invoicing
  • Ensure time has been logged correctly and meets expectations
• Be in charge of development team members’ yearly reviews and salary adjustments
  • All salary adjustments must be discussed and approved by Brightly top-tier leadership
• Manage all development PTO or flex time requests

What we’d like to see

• Previous management experience
• Proven track record of managing high-velocity workflows by empowering team members, ensuring things move at pace without getting stuck or bottlenecked
• Effective verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to interact professionally with a diverse group of people
• Ability to articulate ideas to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Demonstrated successes in leading clients through business transformation, evolving technology and delivery approach to adopt an Agile methodology to effectively solve complex business problems
• Ability to strategically build, develop, and coach a diverse and talented engineering workforce on an individual and project team level
• Ability to establish a flourishing engineering culture that includes definition of successful standards, processes, and tools to increase productivity and delivery quality
• Deep practical experience in implementing, leading, and delivering significant technology projects
• Holistic technology understanding including front-end, back-end, dev-ops and quality assurance, and enterprise product knowledge
• Genuine commitment to continuous learning and innovation, fostering a collaborative work environment based on intensive knowledge sharing, and work share
• Previous agency and strong cross-disciplinary collaboration experience is a plus
• Passion for pixel-perfect front-end is a plus

Skills

• Strong knowledge in applying Agile practices such as SCRUM for technical delivery in distributed team environments
• Experience with source/version control software is a plus (e.g., GIT and SVN)
• Knowledge of responsive and adaptive design principles and translating into fluid and responsive templates
• Strong working knowledge developing cross-platform/browser compatibility (Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.) for dynamic web applications
• Familiarity with, knowledge of, and adherence to web standards and best practices for load time reduction and accessibility