Software Engineering Manager

Description

At Terabase Energy, we believe that digitalization and automation will drive the next wave of innovation and cost reduction in large scale solar. To fully unlock the potential of this opportunity, Terabase is developing an interconnected software and construction automation platform. We work alongside project developers, owners, and engineering & construction firms to support the design, optimization, and construction of huge solar projects around the world. Our team is a blend of solar-industry veterans and newbies, thought-leaders, dreamers, software, electrical and mechanical engineers, coders, product managers, project managers, and sales and marketing professionals. We are based in Northern California, with several other offices in the United States and around the world. 

Position Overview 

The Software Engineering Manager is a senior-level, “player-coach” engineering role that combines direct technical contribution with team leadership responsibilities within the Terafab product area. This role is responsible for guiding the day-to-day execution, coordination, and technical direction of a team of software engineers while remaining a strong individual contributor. The manager serves as the primary interface between the Terafab software engineering team and adjacent hardware-focused teams including Autonomy, IoT, and Controls, defining and maintaining clear cross-team technical interfaces. This role reports to the Sr. Director of Software, Data, IoT, and Autonomy. 

Key Responsibilities 

Strategic Technical Leadership 

• Lead design and implementation of significant features, services, or architectural components within Fab 
• Design and implement complex data models, APIs, and system integrations that balance current needs with future scalability 
• Define, establish, and maintain technical interfaces between Fab software and adjacent systems including Autonomy, IoT, and Controls/SCADA 
• Define and drive technical strategy and architecture for Terafab’s manufacturing execution system (Fab) 

• Drive technical decisions and architectural direction for construction automation orchestration workflows 

• Identify and lead efforts to address technical debt, refactoring, and system modernization within Fab 

• Establish and evolve coding patterns, best practices, and technical standards within the team 

• Evaluate and introduce new technologies, tools, or approaches that improve team productivity or product capabilities 

• Conduct thorough code reviews with a focus on architecture, maintainability, and knowledge transfer 

• Represent engineering in planning discussions with product and cross-functional stakeholders 

Complex Problem Solving and Execution 

• Resolve complex technical challenges that span multiple systems or have ambiguous requirements, particularly at the boundaries between Fab and hardware-adjacent systems 

• Proactively identify systemic issues, performance bottlenecks, or architectural limitations and drive resolution 

• Lead investigations into production issues, root cause analysis, and implementation of long-term fixes 

• Balance technical perfection with business pragmatism, making strategic trade-offs that serve team and product goals 

• Contribute to technical planning, estimation, and risk assessment for major Fab initiatives 

• Serve as technical escalation point for production incidents requiring expert-level intervention 

People Management and Team Coordination 

• Manage a small team of software engineers, including performance oversight, career development, and regular 1:1s 

• Own and facilitate the team's scrum process: sprint planning, backlog grooming, daily standups, retrospectives, and sprint reviews, with support from senior management 

• Coordinate task prioritization and delivery across the team, resolving blockers and managing dependencies 

• Serve as the primary point of coordination between the Fab engineering team and cross-functional partners including Autonomy, IoT, and Controls teams, with support from senior management on more strategic coordination and decisions 

• Translate product requirements and stakeholder needs into actionable technical work for the team 

• Mentor team members through code reviews, pairing sessions, and technical guidance 

• Raise the technical bar for the team through knowledge sharing and establishing engineering best practices 

• Assist the Sr. Director in engineering planning, resource estimation, and risk assessment for Fab initiatives 

• Contribute to engineering hiring, technical candidate assessment, and onboarding of new team members 

• Contribute positively to engineering culture, team process improvements, and cross-functional relationships 

Required 

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience
• 1+ years of experience managing or leading a small engineering team, including people management, performance feedback, and career development
• Passion for developing other engineers through mentorship, goal-setting, and clear, direct communication

• Recent experience shipping production code that you have written 

• Expert proficiency in Python and building scalable backend services with modern frameworks (e.g., Django)

• Strong architectural thinking with proven ability to design systems that scale across multiple dimensions (performance, team size, feature complexity) 

• Strong experience with modern frontend frameworks (e.g., Angular, React), including complex state management and performance optimization 

• Experience with relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and query optimization 

• Productive, non-dependent use of AI-assisted coding tools (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor), with demonstrated ability to set appropriate guardrails for junior engineers; balances velocity gains against code quality, long-term maintainability, and ensuring the team develops durable technical skills 

• Proven experience designing and implementing complex data models with intricate relationships and constraints 

• Demonstrated experience defining and maintaining technical interfaces between software and hardware-adjacent systems (e.g., industrial automation, robotics, or IoT systems) 

• Hands-on experience participating in and facilitating agile/scrum processes including sprint planning, backlog management, and team velocity tracking 

Preferred 

• Davis, CA or regional presence for easier collaboration with hardware teams; candidates based in Pacific or Mountain time zones strongly preferred
• Deep experience with workflow orchestration or state machine systems, event-driven architectures, discrete event simulation, or industrial automation — particularly in the context of construction or manufacturing execution 

• Familiarity with hardware integration protocols and patterns relevant to construction robotics or field automation (e.g., Modbus, OPC-UA, MQTT, CAN bus, or similar) 

• Experience with real-time monitoring and telemetry systems, edge computing, or IoT data pipelines 

• Proficiency with PostGIS or similar tools for spatial data workloads
• Strong experience with cloud infrastructure and infrastructure as code (AWS, CloudFormation, Terraform) 

• Subject matter expertise in construction technology, industrial automation, renewable energy systems, or related domains 

• Track record of technical and team leadership in fast-paced, high-growth startup or scale-up environments 

• Experience with microservices architectures and distributed systems 

• Experience with performance optimization, scaling, and reliability engineering 

Compensation And Benefits

Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. This role offers a base salary of $145,000– $180,000. Within each posted range, individual pay is determined, dependent on work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Terabase offers competitive compensation along with a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Generous time off and holiday policy

• Hybrid flexibility

• Flexible time off

• Comprehensive benefits package

• Career progression

• 401k match

• Stock options

• Home office set up allowance

• And much more!

Terabase is an equal opportunity employer. We recruit, hire, employ, train, promote, and compensate individuals based on job-related qualifications and abilities. We strongly encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.

We do not discriminate for any reason including race, color, sex, gender, age, religion or religious creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, physical or mental disability, military/ veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We offer a welcoming and inclusive environment in service to one another, our products, the diverse consumers we represent, and the communities we call home.

Principals only. This role is not open to receiving agency candidates, and any contingent submissions will not be considered. Terabase Energy does not utilize third-party recruitment agencies. Please contact our Recruiting team at [email protected] with any staffing-related inquiries.