Manager, Software Engineering Product Manager

Manager, Software Engineering Product Manager

If you're passionate about innovation and love working in an environment where you can constantly improve and adopt new technologies to drive business results, then Nationwide's Information Technology team could be the place for you! At Nationwide®, "on your side" goes beyond just words. Our customers are at the center of everything we do and we're looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care. This role will work a hybrid schedule coming into the Columbus, Ohio office 2 days per week on Wednesdays & Thursdays.

Join Our Team as a Manager, Software Engineering Product Manager! We're looking for a Manager, Software Engineering Product Manager (SEPM) who is a supportive leader with a heart for people and a passion for delivering meaningful outcomes. This role will support three agile development lines focused on Life Insurance Product Development on our OIPA Life application and Member Communications, helping us elevate our position in the industry and enhance satisfaction for both Members and Financial Professionals.

Our ideal candidate is a creative thought leader who sees the bigger picture, is value-driven and outcome-focused, and isn't afraid to challenge the status quo. You'll bring energy, vision, and a growth mindset to a team that's committed to excellence and innovation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead with Purpose: Inspire and develop engineering talent across three delivery lines. Foster a culture of growth, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Plan for the Future: Own workforce planning and roadmap development to ensure alignment with strategic goals and delivery excellence.
• Drive Delivery: Partner closely with Product Owners, Agile Leaders, Architects, and Tech Leads to guide plan, build, and run activities across all lines.
• Build Relationships: Strengthen key partnerships—internal and external—to ensure smooth collaboration and shared success.
• Champion Innovation: Dive into challenges and bring creative solutions that improve experiences for our teams, partners, and members.

Qualifications:

• Experience leading software engineering teams in an Agile environment.
• Familiarity with product-centric delivery models.
• Strong strategic thinking and organizational skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• Proven ability to lead through influence and inspire teams toward shared goals.
• Background in Life Insurance or Financial Services is a plus.
• Familiarity with all or any of the following is a plus: Oracle OIPA application, Member Communication, ODM, Ace, Quadient, CSF, Real-time Data Transfer, Test Automation.

Why You'll Love It Here:

• Exciting Challenges: Our growing Life Insurance business means you'll tackle meaningful problems that directly impact our members and our mission.
• Opportunity for Innovation: With a mix of legacy and emerging technologies, you'll help shape the future of our tech landscape.
• Collaborative Culture: Join a team that values creativity, agility, and continuous learning. We work together to build something better every day.
• Empowered Leadership: You'll have the autonomy to lead with vision and the support to make a real impact.

If you're enthusiastic about delivering secure technology solutions to support a company providing extraordinary care to its customers, then Nationwide Technology is the place for you. Nationwide's industry-leading technology workforce embraces an agile work environment and a collaborative culture to deliver outstanding solutions and results. If that sounds like something you aspire to, we want to hear from you!

As a Software Engineering Product Manager, you'll be accountable for a suite of in-house or third-party applications. You'll lead teams of technology professionals to enable business outcomes and provide reliable customer-centric solutions and experiences.

Key Responsibilities:

• Responsible for applying secure software and systems engineering practices throughout the delivery lifecycle to ensure our data and technology solutions are protected from threats and vulnerabilities.
• Partners with leaders to ensure a viable total cost of ownership and ongoing health and wellness of applications.
• Assists in the development and implementation of application suite roadmaps through the evaluation of business needs, competitive landscape, technology currency and information security considerations.
• Manages risk mitigation controls and provides support for internal and external audits.
• Supports the engineering build of the application suite and non-technical efforts for the products.
• Represents voice of the customer, acts in a forward-facing role to business partners as an active member of a portfolio management team in the advocation of business case development, planning, financial management and evaluation of portfolio.
• Hire and develop talent, provide consistent coaching and feedback.
• Responsible for delivery availability and resiliency following established operating mechanisms and best practices.

Reporting Relationships: Reports to Technology Director or above. Leads a team of 5 or more technology professionals.

Typical Skills and Experiences:

Education: Undergraduate studies in management information systems, engineering, math, computer science or comparable experience and education preferred.

Experience: Six years of experience in application suite management with four years or more leading numerous teams across multiple technologies. Proven experience in empowering and building an engaged team.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills: Detailed understanding and knowledge of the systems development life cycle and modern methodologies, practices, tools, and techniques. Solid understanding of concepts and techniques in project delivery, budgeting, forecasting and financial analysis. Ability to develop and implement roadmap strategies. Proven decision-making and problem-solving skills. Coaching and career development of team. Ability to develop and maintain positive relationships. Insurance/financial services industry knowledge is a plus.

Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.

Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager's leader and Human Resources Business Partner.

Values:

Regularly and consistently demonstrates Nationwide Values.

Job Conditions:

Overtime Eligibility: Not Eligible (Exempt)

Working Conditions: Normal office environment. Associates may have on-call responsibility after normal working hours and/or on weekends.

ADA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.

Benefits:

We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision, life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more. To learn more about the benefits we offer, click here.

Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.

NOTE TO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES:

We value the partnerships we have built with our preferred vendors. Nationwide does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies.