Mechanical Orchard builds Imogen, a modernization platform for rewriting the most critical and complex business applications—the systems that quietly run the world as we know it—so they can continue operating reliably while adapting to new challenges and opportunities. These are business-critical systems where reliability, safety, and correctness are paramount.
Delivery at Mechanical Orchard is where Imogen meets reality. Delivery teams work directly with customers and system integration partners in real production environments to modernize mainframe systems using Imogen. This work delivers customer outcomes while also shaping how the platform evolves, ensuring Imogen is grounded in real-world constraints, risks, and opportunities.
Our Delivery team operates in complex, ambiguous environments with high stakes. We balance long-term modernization outcomes with incremental, production-ready delivery; validate functional equivalence, performance, and operational readiness; and work closely with partners to enable durable handoff and long-term ownership. We value strong fundamentals, pragmatic use of AI, and close collaboration across roles and organizations. Our values are simple: Do the right thing. Do what works. Be kind.
The Role
As an Engineering Manager, Delivery, you operate as a player-coach—working hands-on alongside your team while also owning their growth, performance, and wellbeing.
You’ll pair regularly, contribute directly to delivery, facilitate workshops with customers, and support production systems, while also providing clear leadership, feedback, and career development for engineers. This role balances technical leadership, people management, and client-facing delivery accountability.
You’ll work closely with Delivery Leads, Product Managers, client stakeholders, and internal platform teams to ensure both strong delivery outcomes and healthy, high-functioning teams.
What You’ll Do - As a Engineering Manager in Delivery, you will be expected to:
- Use Imogen to modernize production mainframe systems in collaboration with customers and partners
- Contribute as a core member of a cross-functional XP team, pairing regularly and applying practices such as TDD, refactoring, and CI/CD
- Lead and facilitate technical discovery sessions and workshops with customers and partners, including on-site, to understand existing systems, align on risks, and shape delivery approaches
- Use and experiment with LLM-assisted coding tools, helping define and model evolving best practices for AI use in software engineering
- Design, operate, and support production systems with a focus on durability, operability, and eventual partner ownership, including participating in team on-call rotations
- Guide teams to balance direct delivery with intentional partner enablement, ensuring ownership and expertise transition over time
- Manage and support a team of engineers, including 1:1s, feedback, coaching, performance management, and career development
- Foster a healthy, inclusive team environment with clear expectations, accountability, and growth opportunities
- Partner with Delivery Leads and Product Managers on planning, execution, and team health
- Support hiring, onboarding, and talent development within Delivery
- Collaborate across time zones and travel to customer sites as needed
Things to Consider Before Applying
- This is a hands-on role; it is not people-management-only
- You will balance delivery leadership with people management and frequent context-switching
- This role is client-facing and partner-facing; communication, facilitation and collaboration are core parts of the work
- Much of the work involves legacy mainframe systems (e.g., COBOL, JCL)
- Our technology organization has an on-call rotation essential to operating the systems we deliver
- Pair programming is a foundational practice
- This role may include periodic international travel to client sites—typically a few times per year—to support engagement kickoff, discovery, and critical delivery moments.
- Collaboration across time zones is part of the role, particularly with partners based in the UK and India
The Ideal Candidate
- The ideal candidate is an experienced people manager who remains deeply engaged in hands-on delivery. They have a strong track record of supporting engineer growth, performance, and retention, and are comfortable balancing people leadership with active contribution to technical work.
- They enjoy leading by example—pairing regularly, facilitating technical discovery with customers, and helping teams navigate ambiguity through iteration and learning. They bring client-facing experience and are comfortable representing their team in high-stakes conversations with customers and partners.
- They are enthusiastic about thoughtful use of AI-assisted development tools and interested in modeling effective practices for their teams. They communicate with empathy and clarity, set clear expectations, and foster inclusive, healthy team environments while maintaining a strong focus on delivery outcomes and system quality.
Mechanical Orchard, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Prohibits Discrimination and Harassment of Any Kind. Mechanical Orchard, Inc. is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at Mechanical Orchard, Inc. are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. Mechanical Orchard, Inc. will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. Mechanical Orchard, Inc. encourages applicants of all ages. Mechanical Orchard, Inc. will provide reasonable accommodation to employees who have protected disabilities consistent with local law.
We look forward to reviewing your application. Thanks!
