Staff Engineering Manager (Remote - US)

be part of a team that values safety, inclusion, and excellence

we are one of the largest U.S. railroads transporting the nation’s freight across 28 western states and 3 Canadian provinces. as a member of our team, you will play a role in supporting the movement of essential products and materials that help feed, clothe, supply, and power communities throughout America and the world.

bnsf | tech: innovating and transforming the future of freight rail

bnsf | tech is the technology division making BNSF the preeminent freight and mobility company in north america.

are you ready to drive change?

if you are passionate about making a difference and eager to advance your career in a dynamic and supportive environment, we want you on our team! join us in reshaping the future of freight rail and discover a fulfilling career where your contributions matter.

we are committed to a culture where all employees are included, belong, and have equal opportunity to achieve their full potential. Come make a difference with us!

Learn more about BNSF and our Benefits

Job Location: [[filter4]]

Anticipated Start Date: [[req_targetStartDate]]

The US base salary range for this full-time position is provided below:

Salary Range: [[req_startingSalary]]

The range represents the amount bnsf | tech reasonably expects to pay for the position based on the level, scope, and responsibilities of the role. Individual compensation and level of position offered is determined by the hiring location and additional factors including but not limited to job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. In addition to base pay and bonus eligibility, BNSF offers a comprehensive benefits package.

This is a full-time remote position. Employees may work from anywhere within the contiguous 48 states of the United States

Travel is up to 20%. Employees will be required to occasionally travel to our corporate headquarters in Fort Worth, TX for in person meetings. Travel expenses for business needs will be covered by BNSF.

This position is open to candidates who are currently authorized to work in the United States. We are also open to sponsoring H-1B transfers, TN nonimmigrant status, and STEM OPT candidates with at least 2 years of remaining eligibility.

Apply early as this job may be removed or filled prior to the closing date, which is approximately seven (7) days after the posting date.

As a Staff Engineering Manager, you will lead and mentor engineering teams across a variety of technical domains. You will drive architectural decisions, ensure engineering excellence, and deliver innovative solutions that impact core freight movement operations.

Key responsibilities may include:

Lead a team of 6-10 engineers, guiding end-to-end technical execution.

Drive technical vision and strategy across distributed systems.

Mentor junior and senior engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align on technical solutions.

Ensure secure coding practices and platform reliability.

Own architecture for large-scale systems and making critical technical decisions.

Translate railroad business requirements into scalable digital solutions.

Establish engineering best practices, observability, and technical debt management.

Demonstrate operational excellence by monitoring, troubleshooting, and resolving production issues, including participating in a 24/7 on-call rotation

The duties and responsibilities in this posting are representative categories to be used in deciding whether to apply for this position. This is not an exhaustive list of the position’s duties.

At BNSF Railway, we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, showcasing their skills, experiences and development. We provide resources and tools to help you reach your full potential, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment.

Basic Qualifications

• Authorized to work in the US.
• Minimum of 9 years’ experience as a software engineer and/or manager.
• Minimum of 6 years' experience as an engineer.
• 6+ years of programming experience in at least one modern language (e.g., Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, etc.)
• Experience with distributed systems and technologies such as Kafka, RabbitMQ, API gateways, SQL/NoSQL/Graph databases, caching systems, and serverless platforms
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Git workflows, and DevOps practices
• Experience building enterprise products leveraging open-source platform and infrastructure technologies
• Familiarity with observability stacks (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry)
• Experience with secure coding practices and platform security principles
• Ability to work in cross-functional teams and communicate with stakeholders
• Experience participating in design reviews, incident retrospectives, or RFC processes
• Demonstrated ability to learn new technical concepts and adapt quickly
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Experience leading multiple teams and delivering cross organizational platform and products.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science, or related field
• Able to work now and in the future without BNSF’s assistance (whether monetary, through sponsorship, or otherwise) in obtaining, maintaining, or extending employment authorization (including H-1B, STEM OPT/CPT, or TN nonimmigrant status).
• 6+ years of full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations experience.
• Engineering experience with a public PaaS or cloud provider (AWS, Azure or GCP)
• Experience developing and operating large scale distributed systems in production
• Experience with serverless runtimes and event-driven architectures
• Familiarity with developer tooling as a builder and/or user
• Interest in sustainable infrastructure and cost/resource awareness
• Experience with single-pane-of-glass management platforms or control planes for distributed systems
• Familiarity with frameworks like React, Angular, Node.js, Spring Boot

At BNSF, you will have access to a comprehensive and competitive benefits package including:

• An industry-leading 401(k) and renowned Railroad Retirement program.
• A range of robust health care options for you and your dependents (including domestic partners), including medical, dental, vision, telemedicine, mental health, cancer support, and high-quality care network options.
• Health care spending accounts (HSA) with employer contributions, as well as life and disability insurance, provided at no cost.
• Family benefits including parental, pediatric and family building support, adoption and surrogacy reimbursement, and dependent care spending account (with employer match).
• Access to discounts on travel, gym memberships, counseling services and wellness support.
• Annual bonus (Incentive Compensation Program)
• Generous leave / time off policies.
• For more information, visit Benefits.

Please be aware of potential fraud that can occur when searching for new career opportunities. Please review our FAQ for more information and awareness.

All positions require pre-employment background verification, medical review and pre-employment drug screen. You can find more information by reviewing the Hiring Process. Federal authority requires BNSF employees, whose work requires unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities, to obtain a TWIC. More information is available at https://www.tsa.gov/for-industry/twic

BNSF Railway is an Equal Opportunity Employer, all qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

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