Manager - Applications Development

ECHO Incorporated is an industry leader in developing and manufacturing high-performance, professional-grade, handheld outdoor power equipment. With distributors and thousands of dealers across North and South America, ECHO is constantly expecting the future of the outdoor power equipment industry and the need for environmental sustainability. Working for ECHO means joining a team of people who are committed to collaboration, innovation, creativity, and high-quality products that make us a globally competitive brand.

This is a hybrid position that will offer the flexibility of working from home and on-site at our Lake Zurich facility.

ECHO’s benefits include:

• 11 paid holidays
• Extremely affordable medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid PTO
• 5% 401K match
• Tuition Reimbursement

ECHO is seeking an experienced Manager - Application Development for our Lake Zurich, IL location.

The  Manager will handle managing, facilitating, and developing Enterprise applications while overseeing 5 direct reports. The Manager will be instrumental in supplying continuous training and development to enhance and challenge the team. 

Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Manage Enterprise applications including development, integrations, strategy and support of ERP, WMS, Shop Floor and Financials on various platforms including MS Windows, IBM iSeries, on premises and cloud.
• Leads meetings with internal and external clients to understand requirements. Works with the team to design solutions to complex and data intensive business problems.
• Ensures application performance and reliability with thorough testing and monitoring.
• Supports existing application portfolio, including managing technical debt, driving standardization and reuse, and retiring obsolete applications.
• Drives innovation with the implementation of new and existing technologies, services, and platforms to improve productivity and reliability.
• Contributes to overall IT strategy.
• Continually improves operational efficiencies and quality by implementing and refining agile methods.
• Mentors associates, implements training and development plans to enhance and challenge the team.
• Prioritizes development and maintenance work for the team. Validates project plans and budget estimates for new projects.
• Provides technical leadership and input on the overall design and scalability of solutions. Leverages strong technical and data skills, with strong knowledge of database and data management concepts and tools.
• Ensures that all code meets security best practices and follows cybersecurity policies.

Job Experience/Skills: 

• 5 years of demonstrated managerial and leadership experience in an information technology role.
• 5 years supporting manufacturing environments with IT solutions.
• ERP implementation experience.
• Experience in IBM iSeries/RPG development with DB2 databases required.
• Infor XA experience highly desired.
• Experience with Agile development methodologies.
• Strong data and analytical skills, ability to understand complex data relationships and solve complex business problems.
• Experience meeting with internal and external clients to understand needs and design solutions, building and executing project plans leading to on-time, on-budget implementations.
• Experience designing and developing applications, including user interface design, database interactions, and customized reporting.
• Familiar with middleware and integration concepts including SOAP/REST APIs, JSON, and messaging.
• Understanding of and practical use of application and security concepts, including identity and authentication using SAML and MFA.

Organizational Relationships:

• Reports to the Director, Enterprise Systems and Architecture.
• Interacts with company leadership and internal resources in Manufacturing, Distribution, Finance/Accounting, and Product Development, Sales and Marketing.
• Represents Echo with external customers when designing, prototyping, and delivering custom applications.
• Supervises 5 developers and outside resources when needed.

Personal Attributes:

• Demonstrated efficient and effective use of problem-solving and task prioritization to solve complex challenges and deal with high-pressure situations.
• Proven project management skills.
• Excellent communication skills and experience effectively communicating with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Highly self-motivated and directed.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Able to work in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.

Education: Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or technology-related degree, or equivalent experience.

Equal Opportunity Employment:

We're proud to be an equal opportunity employer and celebrate our employees' differences, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or Veteran status.