Engineering Manager - Technical Partner Management

Engineering Manager - Technical Partner Management

Location:

Austin, TX - ON-SITE ROLE

Salary: $150,000-$170,000/Year + Bonus & Incentives

We are seeking an experienced Engineering Manager, Technical Partner Management to lead a team of Technical Leads responsible for ensuring the success and technical quality of work delivered by external development partners.

Reporting to the Head of Engineering, this role serves as the critical technical bridge between external studios and internal Production, QA, and Engineering teams. The ideal candidate combines strong engineering leadership, deep software architecture expertise, and exceptional relationship management skills. Operating under a "Trust but Verify" philosophy, you'll help ensure projects remain technically sound, milestones stay achievable, and quality standards are consistently met without compromising partner relationships.

This is an excellent opportunity for a leader who thrives in collaborative environments and enjoys influencing technical outcomes across multiple teams and external organizations.

What You'll Do

Lead and Develop Technical Leadership Talent

• Manage, mentor, and grow a team of Technical Leads responsible for overseeing external development partners.
• Coach team members on effective technical auditing, partner communication, risk assessment, and relationship management.
• Conduct regular 1:1s, provide performance feedback, and support career development.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Own External Partner Technical Oversight

• Lead the technical partner management function, ensuring external engineering teams meet internal standards for architecture, code quality, build stability, platform compliance, and milestone readiness.
• Establish and maintain review processes for code quality, architecture, builds, technical risks, and milestone delivery.
• Create scalable frameworks and best practices for evaluating partner performance and technical health.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and escalation point for complex technical and partner-related challenges.

Drive Technical Excellence and Risk Management

• Review external partner architectures, technical roadmaps, and development plans to proactively identify risks, dependencies, and technical debt.
• Guide Technical Leads in conducting audits of third-party codebases, artifacts, and engineering processes.
• Partner with stakeholders to identify issues early and implement corrective actions before they impact project delivery.
• Ensure technical concerns are communicated clearly, professionally, and constructively to both internal teams and external partners.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate closely with Production to validate project plans, scope, and milestone expectations.
• Partner with QA to establish measurable quality standards and ensure technical readiness throughout development.
• Work with the Head of Engineering to align partner technical strategies with internal engineering standards and long-term goals.
• Help maintain strong, productive relationships with development partners while ensuring accountability and transparency.

Technical Governance & Reviews

• Establish regular partner review cadences, including architecture reviews, code reviews, build reviews, risk assessments, technical health checks, and milestone readiness reviews.
• Ensure partner deliverables meet expectations before reaching critical project milestones.
• Provide objective technical assessments and recommendations to leadership teams.

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience managing, mentoring, and developing engineers or technical leaders.
• 8+ years of hands-on software engineering experience, including significant experience with software architecture, code reviews, and technical leadership.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong professional experience with C++ development and software architecture.
• Proven ability to evaluate complex codebases and identify technical risks.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence across organizations.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive experience conducting architecture reviews, technical audits, and engineering assessments.
• Deep understanding of source control systems such as Perforce and Git, including branching strategies, merging workflows, and build pipelines.
• Experience translating highly technical concepts into clear, actionable recommendations for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience managing external software development vendors or technical partnerships.
• Experience working directly with video game publishers or first-party platform teams.
• Strong understanding of Agile, Scrum, and modern software development methodologies.
• Experience operating within Co-Development or External Development environments.
• Background shipping AAA titles, ports,…