Software Engineering Manager (m/f/d) (Berlin, Germany)

Software Engineering Manager (m/f/d)

Company Overview

Axel Springer tech is the shared product and technology backbone of Axel Springer. We design, build, source, and operate the technology, platforms and products that power some of the world’s leading media brands and business units. Our mission is simple: enable a scalable, efficient and AI-supported business by delivering the best possible technology and always choosing the solution that creates the greatest value for our brands and their users.

Bringing together expertise from product development, platform engineering, enterprise IT, advertising technology, content management systems, cybersecurity, data, AI, and digital workplace services, Axel Springer tech combines deep technology know-how with a strong understanding of media and publishing. We follow a clear principle: build once, use globally, improve continuously.

At Axel Springer tech, technology is more than infrastructure. It is a strategic enabler for innovation, operational excellence, and future growth. We believe in empowered teams, continuous learning, a strong engineering culture, and collaboration across disciplines, brands and borders.

Job Summary

You are a builder at heart who enjoys turning ideas into products, rethinking existing solutions, and challenging the status quo. As a Software Engineering Manager, you combine technical depth with strong leadership and stay close to the technology while helping engineers grow and teams deliver results. In our matrix organisation, you lead Software Engineers across different domains and contribute hands-on to solutions within your own area, across the organisation, and for our brands. You take ownership proactively, including for complex or uncomfortable topics, and help turn ideas and decisions into concrete outcomes.

We believe in the future of journalism as a business model and invest in forward-looking technologies. Our five essentials are the values that connect us and our compass in our commitment to freedom.

Key Responsibilities

• lead and develop engineers while staying close to the technology and setting clear expectations
• contribute hands-on and help turn ideas into products and solutions
• work with Product and Business teams to shape solutions that create measurable impact
• take ownership of complex topics and drive them forward, even when responsibilities are not obvious
• challenge existing solutions and decisions, propose concrete alternatives, and help implement them
• use data, KPIs, and experimentation to understand what works and improve what does not
• help improve how engineering works across teams and domains

Requirements / Qualifications

• proven management experience combined with a strong software engineering background
• lead by example attitude and a hands-on mindset demonstrated through building products, projects, or startups in the past
• the ability to think across Engineering, Product, and Business and connect technical decisions with outcomes
• a pragmatic and outcome-oriented approach, balancing technical quality with product and business needs
• confidence in taking ownership and addressing complex or uncomfortable topics when necessary
• clear communication and the ability to give and receive direct, constructive feedback
• experience using data and KPIs to challenge assumptions and support decisions

Salary & Benefits

• your personal growth is important to us: we offer trainings and learning lunches, tech conferences, a budget for workshops and much more to expand your knowledge and your skills
• flexible working hours support a healthy work-life balance
• our free food offer: in addition to a breakfast snack, we also offer a free lunch in our canteens
• 30 days vacation plus 10 days working from abroad
• free choice of top-notch office equipment (also for your remote work space and possibility of private usage), up-to-date hardware, software and modern office spaces that provide you with maximum flexibility
• collaboration thrives on direct exchange - we rely on 80% office presence and 20% mobile working from now
• a permanent full- or part-time position in a modern office in the heart of Berlin: http://www.axelspringer-neubau.de/

Application Process

Questions and answers about the application process: The most frequently asked questions and their answers can be found on our FAQ page: career.axelspringer.com/en/faq

Equal Opportunity Statement

Diversity is an essential part of our corporate culture! We are looking forward to receiving all applications regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, ideology, disability, age, sexual orientation and identity. You can find information about the representation for the severely disabled at Axel Springer here: https://career.axelspringer.com/en/rsde