Software Engineering Manager, Backend Development (python)

Backend Engineering Manager

Kensho is S&P Global's hub for AI innovation and transformation. With expertise in Machine Learning and data discovery, we develop and deploy novel solutions for S&P Global and its customers worldwide. Our solutions help businesses harness the power of data and Artificial Intelligence to innovate and drive progress. Kensho's solutions and research focus on Generative AI, LLM Agents, speech recognition, entity linking, document extraction, text classification, natural language processing, and more.

At Kensho, we hire talented people and give them the autonomy and support needed to build amazing technology and products. We collaborate using our teammates' diverse perspectives to solve hard problems. Our communication with one another is open, honest, and efficient. We dedicate time and resources to explore new ideas, but always rooted in engineering best practices. As a result, we can innovate rapidly to produce technology that is scalable, robust, and useful.

Kensho's Applications group builds the applications, backend services, and APIs that deliver Kensho's AI capabilities to customers. Our teams are small, product-focused, and committed to shipping reliable, well-architected systems that scale. We work closely with Machine Learning, Product, and Infrastructure teams to turn advanced AI technology into high-quality, production-ready software.

The Applications group provides the core services, orchestration layers, and API frameworks that make Kensho's AI products fast, dependable, and easy to integrate. We value engineers who bring strong technical judgment, curiosity, and a commitment to building backend systems that enable robust, high-impact AI applications.

What We Are Looking For

• Overall 8+ years of experience, with at least 4+ years of hands-on experience in developing customer-facing APIs within a team

• At least 3 years of experience developing production-grade software and leading remote or multi-site teams of 3-4+ engineers

• Experience developing RESTful APIs using a variety of tools

• Strong understanding of distributed system concepts, concurrency, and event-driven architectures

• Experience building and scaling high-volume, low-latency backend services

• Sound reasoning about the behavior and performance of loosely coupled systems

• Proficiency with algorithms (including time and space complexity analysis), data structures, and software architecture

• Experience with CI/CD practices and tools to streamline deployment processes

• Experience with containerisation technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) for application deployment and orchestration

• Experience deploying and operating backend systems on a major cloud platform (AWS preferred)

• Experience working across all stages of the software development lifecycle

• Thoughtful and efficient communication skills (both verbal and written)

• Experience using quantitative and qualitative measures to assess and improve the health of teams and projects

• Experience providing ongoing technical and interpersonal coaching and performance management to a diverse set of engineers

• Experience turning abstract business requirements into concrete technical plans

What You'll Do

• Lead High-Quality Backend Delivery: Guide the design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance of backend services and APIs that power Kensho's AI applications, ensuring reliability, security, and performance.

• Develop Retrieval & Orchestration Systems: Oversee the architecture and implementation of retrieval and orchestration services that integrate with ML systems and enable grounded, verifiable GenAI outputs.

• Drive Performance & Operational Excellence: Set standards for diagnosing and resolving latency, throughput, and scalability issues. Ensure strong monitoring, logging, alerting, and instrumentation practices.

• Strengthen System Architecture: Shape the architectural roadmap for backend foundations supporting both the GenAI platform and ML toolkits such as Link and NERD. Review and approve designs that improve clarity, maintainability, and reliability.

• Ensure Security & Compliance: Maintain rigorous API security, authentication, authorization, and data-privacy practices aligned with Kensho and S&P Global requirements.

• Improve Reliability & Manage Technical Debt: Establish processes for identifying technical debt, improving code quality, and enhancing fault tolerance. Contribute individually where needed.

• Develop Engineering Talent: Coach, mentor, and grow engineers through ongoing feedback, clear expectations, and structured development plans.

• Manage Priorities & Delivery: Coordinate multiple project streams, deadlines, and deliverables. Allocate engineering capacity across existing commitments and new initiatives.

• Collaborate Across Teams: Partner proactively with Product, ML, Design, and Infrastructure teams to align roadmaps, clarify requirements, and ensure effective cross-functional execution.

• Support User Experience Through Backend Excellence: Ensure backend systems enable smooth, intuitive, and reliable experiences in customer-facing applications.

• Foster Innovation & Experimentation: Encourage prototyping, instrumentation, and data-driven experimentation to validate ideas and drive platform improvements.

• Model Kensho's Culture & Values: Build a team environment grounded in inclusion, curiosity, transparency, empowerment, and excellence

Technology You'll Encounter: Python, Flask, FastAPI, Django REST Framework, PostgreSQL, Celery, RabbitMQ, Redis, Kafka, OpenSearch, AWS, Docker & other orchestration tools, Sentry, Prometheus, Git, Jenkins, Github Actions, Jsonnet, Terraform, Grafana

What's In It For You?

Our Mission: Advancing Essential Intelligence.

Our People: We're more than 35,000 strong worldwide—so we're able to understand nuances while having a broad perspective. Our team is driven by curiosity and a shared belief that Essential Intelligence can help build a more prosperous future for us all. From finding new ways to measure sustainability to analyzing energy transition across the supply chain to building workflow solutions that make it easy to tap into insight and apply it. We are changing the way people see things and empowering them to make an impact on the world we live in. We are committed to a more equitable future and to helping our customers find new, sustainable ways of doing business. Join us and help create the critical insights that truly make a difference.

Our Values: Integrity, Discovery, Partnership

Throughout our history, the world's leading organizations have relied on us for the Essential Intelligence they need to make confident decisions about the road ahead. We start with a foundation of integrity in all we do, bring a spirit of discovery to our work, and collaborate in close partnership with each other and our customers to achieve shared goals.

Benefits: We take care of you, so you can take care of business. We care about our people. That's why we provide everything you—and your career—need to thrive at S&P Global. Our benefits include:

• Health & Wellness: Health care coverage designed for the mind and body.

• Flexible Downtime: Generous time off helps keep you energized for your time on.

• Continuous Learning: Access a wealth of resources to grow your career and learn valuable new skills.

• Invest in Your Future: Secure your financial future through competitive pay, retirement planning, a continuing education program with a company-matched student loan contribution, and financial wellness programs.

• Family Friendly Perks: It's not just about you. S&P Global has perks for your partners and little ones, too, with some best-in class benefits for families.

• Beyond the Basics: From retail discounts to referral incentive awards—small perks can make a big difference.

For more information on benefits by country visit: https://spgbenefits.com/benefit-summaries

Global Hiring and Opportunity at S&P Global

At S&P Global, we are committed to fostering a connected and engaged workplace where all individuals have access to opportunities based on their skills, experience, and contributions. Our hiring practices emphasize fairness, transparency, and merit, ensuring that we attract and retain top talent. By valuing different perspectives and promoting a culture of respect and collaboration, we drive innovation and power global markets.

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