Engineering Manager - Innovation Lab

Zions Bancorporation's Enterprise Technology and Operations (ETO) team is transforming what it means to work for a financial institution. With a commitment to technology and innovation, we have been providing our community, clients and colleagues the best experience possible for over 150 years. Help us transform our workforce of the future, today.

We are seeking an entrepreneurial and experienced Engineering Manager to lead our Innovation Lab engineering team. In this high‑impact role, you will operate as a "player‑coach," balancing hands‑on technical leadership with strategic management to drive the design and development of next‑generation financial products. You will lead the charge in leveraging Cloud and AI technologies‑not only to build customer‑facing solutions but also to revolutionize our internal Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

We are looking for a leader who brings the agility and mindset of a startup while possessing the wisdom to navigate the complexities of a regulated financial industry. You will ensure the safety, soundness, and compliance of developed products while pushing the boundaries of what is possible in banking technology.

• Lead and manage the Innovation Lab engineering team, providing guidance, mentorship, and performance management to foster a culture of experimentation and excellence.
• AI Product Strategy:
  Oversee the end‑to‑end design and delivery of AI‑driven customer products, ensuring they are scalable, secure, and impactful.
• AI‑Enhanced SDLC:
  Champion and implement AI tools (e.g., Copilot, code generation, automated testing) within the development workflow to accelerate velocity and improve code quality.
• Cloud Architecture:
  Direct infrastructure and software development activities, ensuring robust, cloud‑native architectures (Azure/AWS/GCP) that align with enterprise security and scalability standards.
• Act as a player‑coach, contributing technically (code reviews, architectural design, prototyping) while managing team operations and unblocking engineers.
• Serve as the primary technical liaison for innovation projects, collaborating with product managers and stakeholders to translate novel ideas into technical reality.
• Manage department budgets and resources, ensuring adherence to financial processes while optimizing for high‑velocity experimentation.
• Regulated Innovation:
  Ensure all products meet strict safety, soundness, and compliance standards inherent to the financial services industry.
• Evaluate project outcomes, identify technical debts or risks, and recommend corrective actions to maintain organizational effectiveness.
• Other duties as assigned.

• 8+ years of experience within engineering disciplines, with a strong preference for candidates who have transitioned from senior individual contributor roles to management.
• Startup
  
  Experience:
  
  Proven track record of working in high‑growth startup environments, demonstrating the ability to move fast, pivot quickly, and build with limited resources.
• Regulated Industry
  
  Experience:
  
  Experience working within Financial Services, Health Tech, or other highly regulated industries, with a deep understanding of compliance, security, and data privacy requirements.
• Cloud Expertise:
  In‑depth knowledge of modern cloud architectures (GCP preferred, AWS/Azure acceptable) and infrastructure‑as‑code.
• Applied AI
  
  Experience:
  
  Demonstrated experience building and launching customer‑facing products that utilize AI/ML.
• Proven experience integrating AI into the SDLC (e.g., using AI for code generation, refactoring, or testing) to enhance personal and team productivity.
• Professional experience in at least one primary language (Python, Java, etc.) and modern web frameworks.
• Keen understanding of the Dev Ops lifecycle and exposure to automation through CI/CD pipelines.
• Excellent project and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple experimental work streams simultaneously.
• Solid collaboration, interpersonal, and communication skills, capable of bridging the gap between technical engineering and executive stakeholders.
• Requires a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field.