What does a senior development manager do?
A senior development manager oversees the daily operations of a company's product development team. They mostly have administrative duties, such as spearheading projects and programs, streamlining project requirements, establishing objectives and timelines, setting budgets and guidelines, delegating responsibilities among teams, and monitoring their progress, coordinating every team's efforts to ensure an effective workflow. Being a senior development manager takes years of experience, which they utilize to lead and guide teams in a joint effort to reach project goals and deliver profitable products.
Senior development manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior development manager resumes:
- Hire, train and manage varied staff of developers, technical writer, EDI analyst and computer operations staff.
- Manage both new development and enhancement projects from initial scope through requirements, coding, QA testing, and implementation.
- Develop and lead senior developers to build complex web interfaces using ABAP OO, JCo, Json, and XML.
- Envision and manage the transitioned company to a centralize and structure SharePoint environment.
- Develop and manage robust promotional calendar to incorporate key corporate priorities, maximize POS and profitability.
- Manage programmers in the design, development, testing and debugging of sophisticate computer graphics applications.
- Design custom menu and web parts that utilize JQuery and JavaScript components.
- Manage several financial (portfolio management, decision engine, credit simulation) application software development using JAVA EE technologies.
- Participate in scrum ceremonies, project planning and engineering design sessions.
- Design, develop and maintain web-side JavaScript extensions to the application to enhance the user experience.
- Facilitate sprint planning, backlog grooming, daily scrum, sprint retrospectives, and sprint reviews.
- Develop front to back end code to meet user requirements using standard J2EE technologies and ThinkCAP.
- Develop UNIX web base screen scripts to apply bulk transaction processing using DIFMS application web screens.
- Utilize structured coding techniques to develop application programs in COBOL on UNIX and MicroFocus COBOL environment.
- Create new XML message interfaces to legacy systems for both real time validations and no-touch system automation.
Senior development manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Senior Development Managers are proficient in Java, Software Development, and Cloud. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Organizational skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Senior Development Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Java, 7%
Managed several financial (portfolio management, decision engine, credit simulation) application software development using JAVA EE technologies.
- Software Development, 7%
Serve as key liaison with customers, analyze requirements and lead planning/review/architectural discussions for custom software development, and address escalations.
- Cloud, 6%
Closed transactions in cloud and application modernization.
- Architecture, 6%
Facilitated and managed all software design activities with Architecture, Engineering and QA resulting in managed and controlled software design documentation.
- Project Management, 6%
Developed innovative project management tool to enhance project development status updates; supported layout design and data calculations.
- SR, 5%
Selected by and reported to the Sr. Engineering VP, with weekly status reporting to the CEO of the parent company.
Common skills that a senior development manager uses to do their job include "java," "software development," and "cloud." You can find details on the most important senior development manager responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a senior development manager to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "it managers must analyze problems and consider and select the best ways to solve them." Additionally, a senior development manager resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "created data handling classes for use with xml, xslt, sax, jdom, jni, and jaxp. "
Organizational skills. Another essential skill to perform senior development manager duties is organizational skills. Senior development managers responsibilities require that "some it managers must coordinate the work of several different it departments to make the organization run efficiently." Senior development managers also use organizational skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "conducted organizational needs assessments, recommended appropriate learning interventions, and designed new training programs. "
Communication skills. Another crucial skill for a senior development manager to carry out their responsibilities is "communication skills." A big part of what senior development managers relies on this skill, since "it managers must explain their work to top executives and give clear instructions to their subordinates." How this skill relates to senior development manager duties can be seen in an example from a senior development manager resume snippet: "provide assistance as needed to real estate sub units including retail, parking, pipe and wire, advertising and telecommunications. "
Business skills. While "business skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to senior development manager responsibilities. Much of what a senior development manager does relies on this skill, seeing as "it managers must develop and implement strategic plans to reach the goals of their organizations." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of senior development managers: "collaborate with hr leadership and operations executives to achieve strategic business goals. "
The three companies that hire the most senior development managers are:
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Compare different senior development managers
Senior development manager vs. Manager, program management
A program management manager is an individual who guides project managers and oversees and coordinates an organization's projects, products, and other strategic initiatives. The day-to-day responsibilities of a program manager include planning the overall program, managing the program's budget and the main program documents, and defining the program governance. The requirements to qualify for the program manager position including possessing a good managerial, business, and problem-solving skills and possessing a bachelor's or master's degree in business, management, or a related field.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior development managers and manager, program management. For instance, senior development manager responsibilities require skills such as "software development," "architecture," "sr," and "javascript." Whereas a manager, program management is skilled in "risk management," "oversight," "infrastructure," and "continuous improvement." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Managers, program management tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $126,000. In contrast, senior development managers make the biggest average salary, $165,136, in the hospitality industry.managers, program management tend to reach similar levels of education than senior development managers. In fact, managers, program management are 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior development manager vs. Development vice president
A development vice president is in charge of overseeing the operations in a company, ensuring a smooth workflow and efficient workforce. Their responsibilities revolve around creating strategies to develop optimal procedures and services, setting goals and sales targets, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of operations to spearhead improvements, coordinating with analysts and marketing experts to assess the market and consumer needs, and monitoring the progress of different projects. Furthermore, as a development vice president, it is essential to implement the policies and regulations, creating new ones as needed.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior development manager resumes. While senior development manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "software development," "cloud," "architecture," and "sr," development vice presidents use skills like "development finance," "oversight," "excellent interpersonal," and "manage change."
Development vice presidents earn a higher average salary than senior development managers. But development vice presidents earn the highest pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $151,199. Additionally, senior development managers earn the highest salaries in the hospitality with average pay of $165,136 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Development vice presidents tend to reach similar levels of education than senior development managers. In fact, they're 3.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior development manager vs. Manager applications development
An applications development manager is responsible for keeping businesses running smoothly and effectively through planning, coordinating, and overseeing all activities related to software applications. You will oversee the maintenance, upgrade, and support of existing applications and systems required for the smooth day-to-day operations of the business. Other tasks that you will likely perform include providing estimates for project timeline and cost, overseeing feasibility research on software applications, and diagnosing and troubleshooting program errors. As an applications development manager, you are also responsible for recommending software products and services that will benefit the company.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior development managers are more likely to have skills like "cloud," "sr," "customer service," and "development process." But a manager applications development is more likely to have skills like "ongoing maintenance," "infrastructure," "digital transformation," and "team work."
Managers applications development earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $130,492. Comparatively, senior development managers have the highest earning potential in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $165,136.When it comes to education, managers applications development tend to earn lower degree levels compared to senior development managers. In fact, they're 5.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior development manager vs. Director of software development
A director of software development is primarily in charge of overseeing the workflow and the workforce involved in the entire software development process. Their responsibilities also include creating strategies for optimal performance, coordinating with different teams and departments to identify strengths and weaknesses, implementing training and workshop programs, and liaising with external agencies, including key clients. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the team to reach new heights.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between senior development managers and directors of software development, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a senior development manager might have more use for skills like "architecture," "sr," "customer service," and "strong project management." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of directors of software development require skills like "software engineering," "python," "infrastructure," and "aws. "
In general, directors of software development earn the most working in the technology industry, with an average salary of $163,503. The highest-paying industry for a senior development manager is the hospitality industry.directors of software development reach similar levels of education compared to senior development managers, in general. The difference is that they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of senior development manager
Updated January 8, 2025
