Senior Software Development Manager - Developer Tools - Search

What is The Role: Senior Software Development Manager - Developer Tools - Search

The Developer Tools Team at Elastic builds the client libraries and ecosystem integrations that enable developers to easily and effectively build on Elastic products. This team maintains Elasticsearch language clients across eight programming languages and develops integrations with third-party frameworks and platforms, especially within the AI ecosystem. Our core focus is on delivering tools and APIs that "just work," with a strong emphasis on quality, consistency, and superior 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 Software Development Manager to lead this globally distributed team of 12 engineers. In this critical role, you will significantly contribute to roadmap definition and project planning, and you will 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 for the team's initiatives.

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.

Additional Information - We Take Care of Our People:

As a distributed company, diversity is at the core of Elastic's identity. Whether you’re looking to launch a new career or grow an existing one, Elastic is a company where you can achieve a great balance between work and life. Your age is not a barrier; we value what you can do. We strive for parity of benefits across regions, recognizing that regulations differ, but our commitment to caring for our people remains steadfast.

• Competitive pay based on your contributions, not your past salary.
• Health coverage for you and your family in numerous locations.
• Flexible locations and schedules for many roles, allowing you to craft your calendar.
• Generous number of vacation days each year.
• Increased impact through our matching program for financial donations and service, up to $2000 (or local currency equivalent).
• Up to 40 hours each year dedicated to volunteer projects you are passionate about.
• Comprehensive parental leave with a minimum of 16 weeks to support new parents.

Compensation:

Compensation for this role is in the form of a base salary and is eligible for Elastic's stock program. Our total rewards package also includes a company-matched Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) with dollar-for-dollar matching up to 6% of eligible earnings, alongside a range of other benefits focused on employee well-being. The typical starting salary range for new hires in Canada for this role is $154,000—$243,600 CAD. An employee's position within this range is based on factors such as education, qualifications, experience, skills, geographic location, performance, and business needs.

Key skills/competency

• Engineering Leadership
• Remote Team Management
• Developer Tools
• Open-Source Development
• API Design
• Product Delivery
• Programming Languages
• AI Ecosystem Integration
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Performance Management