Senior Software Development Manager - Developer Tools - Search

What is The Role

The Developer Tools Team builds the client libraries and ecosystem integrations that enable developers to easily and effectively build on Elastic products. The team maintains Elasticsearch language clients across eight programming languages and develops integrations with third-party frameworks and platforms, particularly within the AI ecosystem. Our focus is on delivering tools and APIs that "just work," with a strong emphasis on quality, consistency, and developer experience. We are a collaborative, open-source–driven team that values clear communication, solid technical judgment, and thoughtful execution.

We are seeking a  Senior Engineering Manager to lead this globally distributed team of 12 engineers. In this role, you will contribute to roadmap definition and project planning and own the successful delivery of those plans. You will partner closely with the Technical Leads and Product Manager to guide execution, coordinate priorities, and ensure timely, high-quality outcomes.

What You Will Be Doing

• Own delivery for the Developer Tools team, ensuring timely, high-quality releases aligned with Elasticsearch schedules and key milestones


• Partner closely with Product Management and Technical Leadership to define roadmaps, priorities, and execution plans


• Drive efficient, time-boxed delivery in a fast-moving, multi-stakeholder environment


• Lead and mentor a globally distributed team of language-specialist engineers


• Balance short-term delivery needs with long-term maintainability and developer experience


• Coordinate work across client libraries, integrations, and third-party ecosystems


• Ensure consistency and quality across languages, frameworks, and platforms


• Collaborate with Documentation, Support, and internal platform teams to deliver a complete developer experience


• Foster a collaborative, inclusive team culture with strong ownership and accountability


• Use data, feedback, and industry trends to continuously improve delivery and prioritization

What You Bring 

• Proven experience (5+ years) leading and scaling engineering teams, including remote management, performance management, and servant leadership


• Strong engineering background with significant experience across static and dynamic programming languages


• A results-oriented mindset with a strong bias to action, enabling teams to move quickly while delivering meaningful impact


• Deep understanding of open-source development, developer communities, and building high-quality developer-facing tools


• Solid knowledge of API design and code generation principles, and a keen interest in the AI ecosystem


• Ability to coordinate and align multiple roadmaps across different language ecosystems and functional areas


• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt messaging for engineers, product managers, leadership, partners, and users