Innovate in KirklandThis position is based at our Innovation Labs headquarters in Kirkland, Washington. Our facility features cutting-edge technology, private research and development spaces housing groundbreaking products, and open floor plans designed to foster collaboration and creativity-all to enhance your work experience.
Your ImpactLowe's Innovation Labs is a specialized innovation unit that keeps Lowe's ahead of what's next. We explore disruptive technologies, conduct hands-on applied R&D, and help the enterprise adopt promising new capabilities with less uncertainty and friction.
The Sr Manager, Software Engineering - Innovation leads R&D engineering teams that focus on exploring and incubating promising experiences and capabilities for spatial computing platforms, next-gen wearables, and more, all with the goal of creating meaningful capabilities for Lowe's customers, associates, and enterprise.
This leader serves as a player/coach, combining hands-on experience with frontier technologies with deep engineering management discipline. Deep experience with emerging platforms and AI-augmented workflows-and the ability to guide multi-disciplinary engineers with diverse backgrounds-is a must. This role balances the speed and flexibility required for innovation with experience in navigating large enterprises and forging deep, cross-functional partnerships that lead to successful product/platform transitions.
Where You'll BeAssociates are required to relocate to the Lowe's Kirkland WA to foster collaboration and support. The ideal candidate must be willing to work in the office at our Lowe's Innovation Labs Kirkland, office location, 5 days per week. Most business meetings are planned around the Pacific Time Zone.
What You Will Do1. Frontier Technology & Applied AI- Bring hands-on expertise in frontier technologies including AI, generative AI, agentic systems, robotics, computer vision, spatial computing, digital twins, simulation, interactive 3D, IoT, intelligent hardware, world models, video diffusion, neural rendering, Gaussian splatting/NeRFs, neural reconstruction, and neural shading.
- Evaluate emerging technologies, platforms, and architectures for opportunities, limitations, risks, maturity, and applicability to Lowe's.
2. Agentic AI & Engineering Innovation- Design and deploy autonomous AI agents for complex enterprise workflows, cross-system data reconciliation, and exception handling with human-in-the-loop controls.
- Establish AI-augmented engineering, research, experimentation, testing, and communication practices to improve availability, cycle time, cost, compliance, throughput, and quality.
3. Applied R&D & Portfolio Strategy- Lead initiatives from exploration and prototype through proof of concept, pilot, and candidate for scale, with clear hypotheses, success metrics, learning objectives, and decision points.
- Balance speculative exploration, focused incubation, and near-scale initiatives based on technical, customer, and business signals.
4. Engineering & Team Leadership- Lead high-performing engineering teams through clear expectations, coaching, feedback, performance management, and an inclusive culture of experimentation and learning.
- Establish engineering standards, OKRs, and practices balancing speed with quality, security, reliability, architecture, and operational readiness.
- Identify reusable capabilities, architectural patterns, tooling, and platforms while addressing systemic engineering and organizational barriers.
5. Customer & Business Strategy- Apply deep understanding of Lowe's customers, Pros, associates, operations, and partners to technology strategies and roadmaps.
- Use field observations, research, experimentation, data, and engineering judgment to influence technical and business decisions.
6. Executive Influence & Communication- Inspire emerging technology exploration grounded in customer needs, learning objectives, and business value.
- Communicate Innovation Labs' vision, recommendations, learnings, value, roadmaps, and risks through executive presentations, demonstrations, and technical artifacts.
- Coach engineers to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical audiences.
Minimum Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer information systems (CIS), or related field or equivalent years of experience in lieu of education requirement, if applicable
- 8 years of IT experience
- 8 years of experience in software engineering or related field
- 8 years of experience working on project(s) involving the implementation of software development life cycles (SDLC)
- 3 years of experience leading project or technical teams with or without formal direct report responsibility; this includes experience providing technical direction, thought leadership, and coaching and mentoring team members
Preferred Skills/EducationMaster's degree in computer science, CIS, or related field
1. Emerging Technology & AI- Experience scaling emerging technologies from exploration and prototypes to pilots and production.
- Experience with AI-assisted development and managing initiatives across varying technical maturity and risk.
2. Enterprise Technology & Partnerships- Experience partnering across architecture, infrastructure, cybersecurity, AI/data platforms, startups, vendors, research institutions, and strategic partners to scale solutions.
3. Technology Leadership- Technology leadership experience in retail, home improvement, supply chain, or large-scale customer-facing industries.
- Experience engaging with senior and executive leadership.
Benefits401k with up to 4.25% match
Discounted Employee Stock Purchase Plan (15% discount of strike price)
Tuition-Free Education
10-week Maternity/Parental Leave
10% Associate Discount
For information about our benefit programs and eligibility, please visit https://talent.lowes.com/us/en/benefits
Pay Range: $147,400.00 - $280,100.00 annually
Starting rate of pay may vary based on factors including, but not limited to, position offered, location, education, training, and/or experience. For information regarding our benefit programs and eligibility, please visit https://talent.lowes.com/us/en/benefits.
Associate Benefits (https://talent.lowes.com/us/en/joining-our-team)
- Working at one of the largest retail companies has its perks. We offer exceptional benefits and wellness programs for eligible full-time and part-time associates, tailored for many different lifestyles. Our benefits range from health, vision and dental insurance to paid vacation, tuition assistance and parental and family-building benefits. Plus, we offer learning and development opportunities to help our associates grow their skills and achieve their goals.
- Health, Dental and Vision insurance
- Life and Disability insurance
- Paid time off based on role, tenure, and locality, including vacation, holidays, sick and volunteer time
- Flexible spending and health savings accounts
- 401(k) Retirement account with company match
- Employee Assistance Program with concierge, work/life services and no-cost counseling for all kinds of needs
- Education support programs, including tuition assistance and trade skills scholarships
- Business Travel Accident insurance
- Maternity and Parental leave
- Adoption assistance
- Lowe's Associate Discount and broad discount platform
- Other discretionary benefits (based on eligibility) include annual bonuses, enrollment in Lowe's Employee Stock Purchase Plan and/or deferred compensation plan, and grant awards
