Mgr, Software Engineer

As an Open Source Engineering Manager, you will lead the Open Source Contributions team and help ensure NetApp Instaclustr remains influential across key open source ecosystems, including Cassandra, OpenSearch, Kafka, and Cadence.

You will drive contribution strategies that create customer value, strengthen the platform, and increase NetApp's impact within the communities that matter most. Working closely with Product, Engineering, Developer Relations, Support, and Marketing, you will help translate customer and business needs into meaningful upstream contributions and community engagement.

This role offers the opportunity to shape open source direction, influence project roadmaps, and build strong relationships with maintainers, contributors, and foundations. You will mentor a globally distributed team, establish measurable goals, and ensure contributions deliver improvements in reliability, performance, and user experience for the Instaclustr platform.

What will you do?

• Lead, mentor, and grow a distributed team of open source engineers.
• Define and execute the open source engagement strategy and team OKRs.
• Partner with Product Management to bring community feedback into product planning.
• Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and Support to resolve complex issues involving upstream projects.
• Represent NetApp within strategic open source communities, foundations, and working groups.
• Build relationships with maintainers and influence project direction and governance.
• Track team objectives, delivery plans, risks, budgets, and resource allocation.
• Drive hiring, onboarding, performance management, coaching, and career development.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, inclusion, and continuous improvement.
• Promote best practices for community participation and open source contributions.
• Encourage adoption of AI tools and practices that improve team productivity.
• Provide regular executive updates and stakeholder communications.
• Participate in community discussions, technical forums, and industry events.

Team Culture

The Open Source Engagement team consists of passionate individuals dedicated to helping open source communities thrive while delivering value to customers. The team is collaborative, globally distributed, and committed to authenticity, innovation, and continuous learning.

This role requires up to 10% travel, including occasional international travel.