Overview
M&T Bank is seeking a strategic and visionary Senior Engineering Manager to lead our Application Database Administration (App DBA) organization. This leader will be responsible for driving the strategy, performance, and evolution of a critical shared services team supporting approximately 20,000 databases across the enterprise while partnering closely with engineering, architecture, infrastructure, and business leaders.
The ideal candidate is a software engineering leader first, with strong database expertise and a proven ability to lead large-scale technology organizations, influence enterprise strategy, and develop high-performing teams.
This highly visible leadership role will oversee a growing organization responsible for mission-critical database services while helping shape the future direction of the Bank's engineering and data platform capabilities. The successful candidate will bring a combination of technical depth, organizational leadership, business partnership, and operational excellence to drive innovation, modernization, and scalable growth.
Primary Responsibilities
- Provide strategic leadership for the Application Database Administration organization, ensuring the availability, scalability, reliability, and performance of enterprise database platforms.
- Lead and develop a growing organization of engineering professionals supporting mission-critical database services across the enterprise.
- Establish a clear vision, priorities, operating model, and performance expectations that align technology execution with business objectives.
- Partner with Infrastructure Engineering, Architecture, Software Engineering, and Line of Business technology leaders to ensure alignment across platforms, services, and strategic initiatives.
- Direct and participate in consults with client management in the analysis of short and long-range business requirements and recommend innovative solutions that anticipate future business needs.
- Build strong partnerships with stakeholders and business leaders to support successful delivery of technology outcomes.
- Provide leadership across software engineering initiatives, leveraging broad engineering experience beyond database administration.
- Oversee the planning, execution, and delivery of large-scale engineering programs and technology transformation initiatives.
- Drive continuous improvement, automation, modernization, operational excellence, and cloud adoption efforts.
- Monitor industry trends, emerging technologies, and vendor solutions to identify opportunities that enhance business value and operational effectiveness.
- Develop and manage multiple cost center budgets and ensure effective utilization of resources.
- Manage technology department operations, including financial management, compliance, risk management, workforce planning, and talent development.
- Direct systems development activities of assigned teams, including assignment of staff to projects and ensuring timely delivery within scope and budget.
- Manage implementation of technology solutions consistent with Division standards and long-term strategic plans.
- Ensure adherence to technology standards, governance requirements, security controls, policies, and documentation standards.
- Manage and ensure the recommendation of systems designs based on business and technology requirements.
- Monitor project health and organizational priorities, proactively addressing risks and issues that may impact delivery.
- Coach, mentor, and develop engineering leaders and individual contributors while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.
- Exercise usual authority of a manager concerning staffing, performance appraisals, promotions, salary recommendations, performance management, succession planning, and terminations.
- Understand and adhere to the Company's risk and regulatory standards, policies and controls in accordance with the Company's Risk Appetite. Design, implement, maintain and enhance internal controls to mitigate risk on an ongoing basis. Identify risk-related issues needing escalation to management.
- Promote an environment that supports belonging and reflects the M&T Bank brand.
- Maintain M&T internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable.
- Complete other related duties as assigned.
Scope of Responsibilities
- Provides leadership for a large-scale engineering organization supporting enterprise database services and software engineering initiatives.
- Oversees teams comprised primarily of data base engineers, data base administrators and technical managers.
- Supports a complex enterprise environment consisting of approximately 20,000 databases across multiple platforms.
- Influences technology strategy across application, infrastructure, modernization, and cloud initiatives.
- Serves as a key liaison between engineering teams, technology executives, business partners, and enterprise stakeholders.
- Provides leadership to maintain a good data environment with proper controls, data obfuscation methods, DevOps for databases, automation.
Education and Experience Required
- A combined minimum of 13 years' higher education and/or work experience, including a minimum of 4 years' engineering and/or architecture experience and 9 years' technology management / program leadership experience including people management
- Proven leadership experience within Application Database Administration, Database Engineering, Data Platform Engineering, Software Engineering, or related enterprise technology organizations.
- Strong software engineering leadership experience with demonstrated success leading large-scale technology organizations, driving strategic initiatives, and delivering complex enterprise programs.
- Experience leading and developing engineering teams supporting enterprise-scale production environments, mission-critical applications, and large technology platforms.
- Strong knowledge of enterprise database technologies including Oracle and SQL Server, with the ability to lead database engineering and application database administration functions. Experience with PostgreSQL and cloud database technologies preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to establish organizational vision, set expectations, develop talent, and lead through influence across diverse stakeholder groups.
- Experience partnering with senior technology leaders, infrastructure organizations, architecture teams, and business stakeholders to drive enterprise-wide alignment and technology strategy.
- Experience supporting large-scale operational environments with a focus on reliability, scalability, service excellence, modernization, and continuous improvement.
- Ability to balance strategic planning, organizational leadership, financial management, and operational execution in a complex enterprise environment.
- Proficiency with pertinent project management, word processing and spreadsheet applications.
- Capable of working on multiple projects of a complex nature.
- Experience on large system enhancements, conversions, and production problem resolution.
- Complete understanding of the system development life cycle.
- Excellent problem-solving skills to assist in issue resolution.
- Familiar with application development software and hardware platforms.
- Understanding of business(es) supported and its' terminology.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Excellent analytical skills.
- Excellent decision-making skills.
- Excellent organizational and time management skills.
- Prior experience encouraging teamwork and serving as role model when leading and directing others.
- Understanding of technical, business and operational impacts of a project or problem.
- Confidence in leading multiple teams often in different geographic locations and time zones.
- Prior experience presenting to senior management.
Education and Experience Preferred
- Master's degree
- Minimum of 12 years' technology management or large program leadership experience
- Extensive application and product knowledge related to the technology area being led
- Subject Matter Expert understanding of applications supported with advanced knowledge of interfacing and integrated applications
- Understanding of multiple business areas and functions
- Proven mentoring and leadership capabilities from a project management perspective
- Experience with the skills, applications, and functions of the technology area
- Good understanding of the Bank's application framework
- Awareness of the Bank's business plan and strategic objectives with demonstrated ability to shape direction
- Advanced understanding of enterprise systems and support of strategic initiatives outside of business-as-usual operations
- Self-motivated and able to motivate others
