Sr. Manager, Software Engineer - Web
About the role
Sr. Manager, Software Engineer - Web
Job Summary
As a Senior Manager, Web Developer at Panera you have the opportunity of joining a company with several digital ecommerce channels, a large brick and mortar infrastructure, endless problems to solve and optimize, but organized in such a way that every person can feel their impact to both their immediate team and the company. You will be building new and exciting features, working with 3rd party vendors, both large and small, and working with a first-class team of developers, product managers, and designers.
Additionally, the senior manager position can make an impact on the web development team by representing them in highly technical meetings, translating requirements into technical documents, and leading the team.
Location: St. Louis, MO (hybrid)
Roles and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of this job include, but are not limited to:
Role Scope & Accountability
Accountable for the performance, delivery, and technical health of the web engineering team
Operates with broad autonomy within defined product and platform strategy
Translates organizational goals into team-level execution plans and measurable outcomes
Acts as a people leader first, while remaining deeply fluent in modern web engineering practices
Core Responsibilities
People Leadership & Team Development
Owns the overall effectiveness, engagement, and growth of a web engineering team of 5+ developers
Leads and develops engineers across varying experience levels, including senior ICs
Sets clear expectations for performance, behaviors, and engineering standards
Owns hiring outcomes, including pipeline strategy, interview design, and final talent recommendations
Accountable for onboarding, coaching, performance feedback, and career progression
Technical Ownership & Direction
Provides technical direction and architectural guidance for Panera's customer-facing web applications
Facilitates and guides technical design discussions, trade-off analyses, and solution decisions
Ensures consistent adoption of web engineering best practices, architecture patterns, and coding standards
Partners with enterprise and platform architects to ensure web solutions align with broader system strategy
Evaluates new tools, frameworks, and technologies and determines practical adoption paths for the team
Champions responsible adoption of AI-assisted development tools and LLM/AI API integration across the team
Hands-on experience using AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot) to improve engineering productivity
Experience integrating LLMs or AI APIs (e.g., Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT) into application features or workflows
Delivery & Execution Management
Accountable for predictable, high-quality delivery of web initiatives
Partners with Product and Design leaders to translate business objectives into executable feature plans
Manages scope, sequencing, and dependencies; proposes MVP or phased approaches to maximize value delivery
Balances feature development with technical investment and platform stability
Escalates delivery risks, trade-offs, and timeline impacts with clarity and data
Job Requirements
Required Qualifications
10+ years of professional Web development experience with increasing leadership responsibility
Proven experience leading engineering teams of 5+ developers and owning delivery outcomes
Strong foundation in scalable, maintainable software design and architecture
Deep proficiency in HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and TypeScript
Deep proficiency in at least one modern JavaScript SPA framework (React, Vue, or Angular), with hands-on experience leading framework migrations (e.g., Vue to React)
Experience with server-side CSS preprocessors (e.g., LESS, SASS) and modern build tooling (e.g., webpack)
Proficiency with package managers (e.g., npm, yarn) and code versioning tools (e.g., Git)
Hands-on experience with modern web architecture patterns, component-based design, and state management
Hands-on experience using AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot) to improve engineering productivity
Experience integrating LLMs or AI APIs (e.g., Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT) into application features or workflows
Experience working within Agile/Scrum delivery models and tooling (e.g., Jira)
Demonstrated ability to collaborate across product, design, and platform teams
Experience building or maintaining ADA-compliant, accessible web applications
Familiarity with SEO principles and cross-browser compatibility
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with automated testing strategies and frameworks (e.g., Mocha, Jest)
Experience with server-side JavaScript (e.g., Node.js, Express) and microservice integration
Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions)
Experience with web performance monitoring and error/crash reporting tools (e.g., Quantum Metric, Dynatrace)
Ability to triage production issues effectively using platform monitoring tools.
Experience integrating with REST web services, middleware applications, and data models
Leadership Characteristics
Demonstrates a strong sense of ownership and accountability
Balances technical judgment with people leadership
Proactively identifies opportunities for continuous improvement
Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-visibility environment
Trusted partner to Product and Business stakeholder
Equal Opportunity Employer: Disabled/Veterans
Competitive Pay $127,461 - $152,953 annually
The actual pay offered will be determined by multiple factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s relevant experience, job-related knowledge, skills, and geographical location. Individual compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.
Saint Louis Support Center
Responsibilities
- Accountable for the performance, delivery, and technical health of the web engineering team
- Translates organizational goals into team-level execution plans and measurable outcomes
- Owns the overall effectiveness, engagement, and growth of a web engineering team of 5+ developers
- Provides technical direction and architectural guidance for Panera's customer-facing web applications
- Partners with Product and Design leaders to translate business objectives into executable feature plans
Qualifications
- 10+ years of professional Web development experience with increasing leadership responsibility
- Proven experience leading engineering teams of 5+ developers and owning delivery outcomes
- Strong foundation in scalable, maintainable software design and architecture
- Deep proficiency in HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and TypeScript
- Experience working within Agile/Scrum delivery models and tooling
Skills mentioned
About Panera Bread
Our first bakery-cafe opened in 1987, founded with a secret sourdough starter and the belief that the best part of bread is sharing it. That vision led to the invention of the Fast Casual category with Panera at the forefront, centered around our delicious menu of chef-curated recipes that are crafted with care by our team members. We make food that we are proud to serve our own families, from crave-worthy soups, salads and sandwiches to mac & cheese and sweets. Each recipe is filled with ingredients we feel good about and none of those we don't because we are committed to serving our guests food that feels good in the moment and long after. While our company is now more than 2,200 bakery-cafes strong, our values and belief in the lasting power of a great meal remain as strong as ever. Nothing beats breaking bread together. We believe in serving delicious, freshly prepared food made with carefully selected ingredients that we are proud to serve our own families. Our menu, crafted by chefs and bakers, features classic, comforting dishes, each with an intriguing twist. We’re also focused on improving quality and convenience. With investments in technology and operations, we offer omni-channel access to your Panera favorites – like mobile ordering, catering, and Rapid Pick-Up® for to-go orders, Curbside pick-up and delivery – all designed to make things easier for our guests. Today, Panera operates as both Panera Bread® or Saint Louis Bread Co St. Louis Bread Company in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. To find a location in your area, click here. Panera Bread is privately held by JAB Holding Company. Panera Bread is part of Panera Brands, one of the largest fast casual restaurant platforms in the U.S., comprised of Panera Bread®, Caribou Coffee® and Einstein Bros.® Bagels.
H-1B sponsorship history
Historical employer filing data was found for Panera Bread. The employer record includes 25 historical certified applications. This is employer-level history, not a guarantee that this role currently offers sponsorship.