Software Engineering Manager

This position is ideal for experienced engineering managers with a strong technical background to join the Smile Architect team as an Engineering Manager, leading backend support and development of Ortho-Restorative treatment planning services and In-Face Visualization. Partnering with clinical experts, product owners, and stakeholders across Germany, the US, and Israel, you will drive delivery excellence, own quality processes, and ensure transparent and honest stakeholder communication. This role is critical in advancing Align Technology's Ortho Restorative simulation and treatment planning capabilities.

· Manage multiple stakeholder groups with different communication styles — provide structured updates, manage scope, and know when to escalate.

· Partner with technical experts, product owners, and stakeholders to align on priorities, communicate progress clearly, and deliver on commitments.

· Own technical direction for support and development of backend services, including 2D-3D integration, Ortho Restorative treatment plan calculation, and the orchestration pipeline.

· Own backlog prioritization — ensure every initiative is understood in terms of business and clinical value, and that stakeholder expectations are proactively and honestly managed.

· Build and drive quality processes for treatment plan generation, involving engineers in clinical quality metrics and validation workflows.

· Develop understanding of the Ortho Restorative clinical domain over time, translating clinical requirements into engineering priorities in collaboration with domain experts.

· Lead and grow a distributed team of 8 backend engineers across Armenia and Germany, fostering a culture of ownership, transparency, and accountability.

· Conduct regular 1-1s, manage performance, support engineer growth, and participate in hiring aligned with team direction.

· Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.

· Experience: 3+ years in engineering management; 8+ years in backend software engineering.

· Skills: Strong technical background in backend systems and service architecture; proven ability to manage distributed teams, own delivery end-to-end, and build quality processes.

· Communication: Excellent English; demonstrated experience managing complex stakeholder relationships with competing priorities across geographies — including the ability to set expectations, say no diplomatically, and provide consistent transparency.

· Teamwork: Comfortable working autonomously while collaborating with cross-functional teams across multiple time zones.

· Experience working with distributed teams across different geographies and time zones.

· Product thinking — curiosity about why things are built, ability to connect engineering work to business and clinical outcomes.

· Experience in backlog management, roadmap planning, and expectation-setting in complex multi-stakeholder environments.

· Track record of building engineering quality processes for existing systems and driving accountability across the team.

· Interest in or exposure to medical device software, clinical domains, or regulated environments is a strong plus.