Jobs › Barry-Wehmiller

Software Engineering Manager

Barry-Wehmiller · Chicago, IL · $140,000–$180,000 a year · Full time

Posted Sep 3, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a software team you managed. How big was it and what did you deliver?

What they are checking: Whether they have real experience leading engineers and shipping results.

How do you balance staying technical with managing people?

What they are checking: Whether they keep enough technical depth to guide decisions without becoming the bottleneck.

Tell me about a time you had to tell a client that their requested feature would take longer than they wanted.

What they are checking: Whether they communicate honestly with clients and offer options.

How do you hire engineers, and what do you look for beyond technical skill?

What they are checking: Whether they build teams that fit both the technical and people-first culture.

How would you grow your team's skills over the next year?

What they are checking: Whether they invest in development through mentoring, stretch work and learning time.

What would you do

A strong engineer on your team is struggling and their work has slipped. How do you handle it?

What they are checking: Whether they address performance with care, looking for causes before jumping to consequences.

Two senior engineers on your team disagree on architecture. How do you resolve it?

What they are checking: Whether they facilitate good decisions without forcing their own opinion or avoiding the conflict.

About the work

Our software often connects to manufacturing systems. How would you approach building software that has to work with plant-floor equipment?

What they are checking: Whether they understand integration with control systems and the reliability needs of manufacturing.

How do you estimate software work for a client project with fixed fees?

What they are checking: Whether they understand estimation risk in a consulting setting and how to protect margin.

How do you build code quality into your team's process?

What they are checking: Whether they use code reviews, testing and standards to keep quality consistent.

Practice this interview out loud.

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The full job description

As published by Barry-Wehmiller.

About Us: BW Design Group is a fully integrated architecture, engineering, construction, system integration, and consulting firm committed to helping our clients realize their most critical goals from Strategy to Commercialization. As the only firm born from a manufacturing technology company to become an independent and fully integrated firm, we combine deep domain expertise in the manufacturing environment with an approach that is built to serve the dynamic needs of our clients. Rooted in our distinct culture of Truly Human Leadership, we cultivate the leaders who will define tomorrow and partner with our clients in the food & beverage, life sciences, industrial, and advanced technology industries to build the future of manufacturing and technology. Barry-Wehmiller is a diversified global supplier of engineering consulting and manufacturing technology for the packaging, corrugating, sheeting and paper-converting industries. By blending people-centric leadership with disciplined operational strategies and purpose-driven growth, Barry-Wehmiller has become a $3 billion organization with nearly 12,000 team members united by a common belief: to use the power of business to build a better world. Job Description: Who You’ll Work With You will join one of our 45 offices in the US, be part of a committed team of over 1500 professionals, and work in teams and directly with our clients doing work that is shaping the world around us. You will be welcomed into a rapidly growing business and team and empowered to make an impact. You will be valued, cared for, and challenged on your path to becoming a world-class professional consultant and surrounded by leaders who are committed to creating an environment that enables you to realize your own success and fulfillment. As a Software Engineer Manager for the Information Solutions team y ou will have overall responsibility to lead and develop projects with clients across multiple industry sectors primarily focused on Information Solutions scope. This scope can include projects related t o MES, Custom Software, reporting, I I oT , data collection, reporting, or analytics. What You’ll Do • Accountability for complete project execution including client interaction, team leadership, software architecture design, project leadership, project startup and commissioning support . • Ability to maintain and successfully execute multiple project responsibilities with minimal supervision. • Maintain overall staffing plans for your local team and ensure that engineers are meeting billable targets . • Manage, motivate, and mentor the team; develop training objectives and strategies • Provide a comfortable environment for your engineers to grow and succeed. • Act as a bridge from your local engineers to the rest of the firm, ensuring that engineers have access to firm-wide resources where applicable. • Undertake recruiting responsibilities • Interface with clients to define and manage scope on complex projects. This will require significant technical knowledge as well as project leadership skills. • Leveraging firm-wide Design Group standards and procedures for the execution of Information Solutions projects. This includes participating on councils responsible for overseeing and adopting firm-wide standards. • Technical project execution within the Information Solutions group, which includes providing deliverables , maintaining schedule, quality, and customer satisfaction. • Convey a positive image of Design Group and support for the development of strong Culture consistent with the Guiding Principles of Leadership. • Planning of project timeline and working with various Project Managers to ensure the proper execution of the work. • Drive projects to completion and dive into technical details as necessary to support the project team’s direction and e xecution • Developing and maintaining relationships with key client contacts. • Providing technical leadership to newer professionals and helping drive the Information Solutions group’s growth in technical capability. What You’ll Bring • Minimum 7 years of experience in developing and providing software solutions for the consumer products, life science and/or industrial industries. • Technical experience should include architecting and implementation of MES, data collection/ reporting systems in various platforms. Strong preference for experience with Ignition , Sepasoft , or custom MES /database development. • Prior experience as a system integrator is a plus • Experience developing in Python, SQL, JavaScript, Java, is a plus • Experience leveraging Docker, Kubernetes (K8s), Git version control, or Figma is a plus • Experience should include a strong record of the successful client interface. • Candidate must possess good communication and interpersonal skills, and the ability to interact with all levels of management, clients, and vendors. • Willing and able to travel as necessary for project requirements to include but not be limited to: project installation and start-up activities, client meetings, company sponsored meetings, trainings, industry related seminars, forums, or conventions, etc. • Minimum B.S in related Engineering field is preferred, but consideration will be given to other computer or software degrees based on actual experience. Feel like you're on the path to becoming an Software Engineering Manager but you're not quite there yet? We'd love to connect with you to see if we can take you from where you are today and grow you into a Design Group Engineering Consultant. The approximate pay range for this position is $140k-$180k. Please note that the pay range provided is a good faith estimate for the position at the time of posting. Final compensation may vary based on factors including but not limited to background, knowledge, skills, and abilities as well as geographic location of the position. #LI-CG1 At Barry-Wehmiller we recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job. If your experience is close to what you see listed here, please still consider applying. We know that our differences often can bring about innovation, excellence and meaningful work—therefore, people from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply to our positions. Please let us know if you require reasonable accommodations during the interview process. ​ Barry-Wehmiller is an equal opportunity employer. M/F/D/V This organization uses E-Verify. Applicants may be subject to pre-employment screening which may include drug screening, reference checks, employment verifications, background screening and/or skills assessments. Company: Design Group

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