Senior Software Engineering Manager - AI

Senior Engineering Manager - Pearson Learning Studio

Pearson Learning Studio (PLS)

We are seeking a Senior Engineering Manager to lead and scale our Agentic Workflow engineering organization within the Pearson Learning Studio (PLS) product. This leader will oversee a team of 8-16 engineers across multiple Scrum pods , driving both technical excellence and strong people leadership in a globally distributed environment (India and Sri Lanka).

This role is ideal for a leader who thrives at the intersection of people development, execution at scale, and data-driven product engineering . You will be responsible not just for delivery, but for building a high-performing, engaged engineering organization .

Key Responsibilities

Organizational & People Leadership (Primary Focus)

+ Lead, manage, and scale a distributed engineering team of 10-20 engineers , including senior engineers and team leads.

+ Build a strong leadership bench by mentoring tech leads and emerging managers.

+ Drive performance management , including goal setting, regular feedback, and career development plans.

+ Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, psychological safety, and continuous learning .

+ Manage hiring, onboarding, and team capacity planning to support business growth.

+ Ensure high levels of team engagement, retention, and productivity across geographies.

Execution & Delivery Excellence

+ Own end-to-end delivery for the Insights & Recommendations domain across multiple Scrum teams.

+ Establish predictable execution rhythms , ensuring on-time, high-quality releases.

+ Partner with Product, Design, and Analytics to translate strategy into clear engineering roadmaps .

+ Identify risks early and proactively remove organizational, technical, or process bottlenecks.

+ Drive operational excellence , including metrics, KPIs, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Technical Leadership & Strategy

+ Provide architectural oversight for data-driven applications , analytics pipelines, and web platforms.

+ Guide teams on best practices in SQL, data systems, React

JS, and Java-based services .

+ Ensure scalable system design, performance optimization, and reliability.

+ Lead technical design reviews and promote sound engineering decisions across teams.

+ Balance hands-on involvement (as needed) with effective delegation to senior engineers and tech leads.

Agile & Cross-Functional Leadership

+ Champion Agile best practices across multiple teams (planning, backlog management, retrospectives).

+ Align engineering efforts with business outcomes and customer impact .

+ Collaborate with global stakeholders across time zones with strong communication discipline.

+ Drive transparency through clear reporting, stakeholder updates, and data-driven decision-making.

Required Qualifications

+ 8+ years of engineering leadership experience , including managing teams of 10+ engineers .

+ 12+ years of overall experience in software engineering.

+ Proven experience scaling and leading distributed engineering teams across geographies.

+ Strong technical background in:

+ SQL & data analytics systems

+ ReactJS

+ Java-based backend systems

+ Demonstrated success in delivering data-driven platforms or analytics products .

+ Strong experience with Agile/Scrum at scale (multiple teams) .

+ Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and organizational leadership skills.

+ Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.

Preferred Qualifications

+ Experience building or leading high-performing engineering organizations at scale .

+ Experience in education technology and Learning science.

+ Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) .

+

Experience with data visualization and analytics frameworks .

+ Prior experience managing managers or tech leads (second-line leadership) .

_This is a hybrid work setup, where the candidate will be required to work three days onsite at our Hoboken office._

_Applications will be accepted through April 24. This window may be extended depending on business needs._

_Compensation at Pearson is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. As required by the…