Software Operations Manager in Post Falls, Idaho at Wildfire Defense Systems, Inc.

About Wildfire Defense Systems, Inc.

Wildfire Defense Systems (WDS) is the North American leader in insurer wildfire services, combining professional wildfire consulting and loss intervention services with Qualified Insurance Resources (QIR). Founded in 2001 to fulfill initial-attack assignments for the US Forest Service, the company added professional services support in 2005 and launched wildfire loss-intervention programs for insurers in 2008.

WDS Wildfire Loss Intervention Service (WDS Service) applies a comprehensive approach to reducing risk in catastrophic exposure on an industry scale, decreasing the average annual loss (AAL) for our insurer clients, and providing peace of mind to their policy holders during wildfire events. WDS provides these industry-leading services to insurer clients and their policy holders across a 22-state service area.

The Software Operations Manager will lead the Software Operations team and focus on the strategic execution of software projects to deliver high value features that support WD Companies, customer, security, and technical needs. They will coach and guide junior team members to ensure the quality of requirements and designs.

This position reports directly to the Director of Information Technology with a dotted‑line reporting relationship to the Chief Information Officer (CIO). The role collaborates closely with the Security, Risk & Compliance Team and Technology Operations. This is a supervisory position with responsibility for leading the Discovery Team.

• Define organizational software product strategy and roadmap in alignment with WD Company goals and the Information Technology Charter.
• Lead the planning, execution, and delivery of software initiatives to ensure alignment with organizational goals, technical strategy, and customer needs.
• Own operational execution across the full software lifecycle, from discovery and design through deployment, support, and retirement.
• Define and maintain product roadmaps, backlogs, and delivery plans in alignment with business priorities.
• Facilitate Agile ceremonies and ensure consistent application of Agile/Scrum or Kanban practices.
• Monitor delivery metrics (velocity, throughput, lead time, cycle time) and use data to drive continuous improvement.
• Ensure stakeholder visibility through clear communication of progress, risks, and tradeoffs.
• Automate repetitive tasks in the software development lifecycle to promote DevOps maturity and increase resource efficiency.
• Drive DevOps maturity by promoting CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), automated testing, and deployment best practices.
• Lead, mentor, and coach software operations and discovery team members, fostering professional growth and accountability.
• Conduct regular performance feedback, goal setting, and career development conversations.
• Foster collaboration across the software team, the technology division, and WD Companies, partnering closely with the Software Development Manager to support product delivery and cloud-based resources.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, Security, and Infrastructure teams to ensure reliable, scalable, and secure software operations.
• Participate in or oversee level 2 on-call support rotations as needed to ensure system reliability.
• Support after-hours work when required for releases, incident response, or critical operational needs.

Educational Qualifications

• Completion of an undergraduate program or equivalent experience.
• History of continuing education throughout career

Experience

• Proven experience in product management methodology.
• Strong record of leading product initiatives and conducting thorough market research identifying gaps and opportunities.
• Experience in full product lifecycle including initiation and retirement.
• Experience in Agile and Scrum project management frameworks.
• Demonstrated leadership capabilities with experience collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure successful launch.
• Experience with Software as a Service (SaaS) products, from concept to delivery.
• Experience with Development Operations (DevOps) in a cloud environment.
• Reducing technical debt through proactive planning and intentional design.
• Experience as a liaison between technical teams and non-technical stakeholders, translating complex concepts into clear outcomes.

• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Agile Project Management or PMI-ACP, or Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) are desired.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, & Experience

• Relevant technical knowledge.
• • Experience with SQL, C#, CSS, DAX, React, Terraform, Swift UI, or YML.
  • Strong record implementing CI/CD practices with Azure DevOps and/or GitHub.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to translate complex concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated drive to mentor junior team members and improve organizational product strategy.
• Ability to take initiative while working independently.
• Support incident management, root cause analysis, and post-incident improvements.
• Knowledge of Cloud Infrastructure, Information Security and the interaction with a SaaS.
• Proven ability to lead teams through organizational, process, or technology changes with clarity, empathy, and strong communication.
• Experience implementing metrics and feedback loops to monitor performance and drive continuous improvement.
• Adept at resolving conflicts and navigating competing priorities across departments.
• Track record of building psychological safety and encouraging team members to take ownership of their work.
• Skilled in balancing speed, quality, and risk when making decisions in ambiguous or high‑pressure environments.

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to lift 15-lbs.

This job description should not be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements, but a general description of the job. Nothing contained herein restricts WDS rights to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Wildfire Defense Systems, Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.