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Career Path: How to Become a Search Engineering Manager

It is crucial for companies with websites and applications to be able to provide their visitors with search engine results that are relevant to their needs. This is where a Search Engineering Manager thrives. These managers ensure their Search Engineers are implementing the best infrastructure to help users with what they are looking for. Organizations in every sector use websites to connect with their customers, so being able to provide the user with an excellent experience is key.

The work of Search Engineers can make a company more profitable and popular, or less if thei...more

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Career Path: How to Become a Search Engineering Manager

It is crucial for companies with websites and applications to be able to provide their visitors with search engine results that are relevant to their needs. This is where a Search Engineering Manager thrives. These managers ensure their Search Engineers are implementing the best infrastructure to help users with what they are looking for. Organizations in every sector use websites to connect with their customers, so being able to provide the user with an excellent experience is key.

The work of Search Engineers can make a company more profitable and popular, or less if their work is not successful, so the Search Engineering Manager needs to ensure their team is creating and maintaining highly-functional search engine architecture.

Read on to discover what it takes to advance in this in-demand role as Search Engineering Manager.

Getting Through the Door

Gaining an entry-level position as a Search Engineering Manager requires a mix of education and relevant experience. Many have worked as Search Engineers and are working their way up the ranks to a management role. Others have worked in different management positions and have a strong understanding of software engineering. Some of the key traits a hiring manager in need of a Search Engineering Manager may be looking for can include:

  • A proficiency with various programs and software such as React, AWS, Elasticsearch, REST, Docker and SQS/Kafka.
  • Proven leadership skills
  • Experience collecting and analyzing data
  • Strong math skills to help with algorithm development to measure predictability.

These are just a few examples, but it demonstrates that Search Engineering Managers should have both technical and management savvy to better stand out from other job candidates.

Degrees and Experience

Most Search Engineering Managers have a degree in computer science, though some may have earned an MBA to hone their managerial skills. If they started off as a Search Engineer, a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field is typically sufficient to enter this field, as coursework will include software engineering tasks.

It would behoove an aspiring Search Engineering Manager to create a portfolio to show the hiring manager the various projects they have worked on, be it in the tech field or doing managerial work on the business side of the role.

Working as a Junior Level Search Engineering Manager

Junior level Search Engineering Managers have proven themselves capable of leading their search engineer teams to success. Daily, a junior Search Engineering Manager may be concentrated on managerial tasks, such as scheduling, budgeting and training and at other moments they may be assisting their team as they troubleshoot and repair search engine issues as they arise. They must be focused on several different groups at once: their team and their work, other managers and senior staff with whom they regularly liaise, internal and external clients and members of the software engineering, design and marketing teams with whom they collaborate on website and application development.

Moving up the Ranks

Search Engineering Manager involves wearing several hats and excelling with each. They have to make sure their Search Engineers are creating search engine architecture that yields expected results and operate without users experiencing glitches. They also have a hand in mining data, indexing and making recommendations based on their findings. Demonstrating that they are increasing their proficiency with the tech side of their role as well as being adept with their managerial duties is key. Being a consummate leader will also help a Search Engineering Manager move up in their field, as this shows they are not only a team player interested in helping their junior colleagues but are also interested in the success of the organization as a whole.

Advance Your Career: How to Become a Senior Search Engineering Manager

Though it is a competitive role, becoming a senior Search Engineering Manager is possible given the right amount of determination. Not only must the Search Engineering Manager support their team of search engineers, but they must also convey the needs of the organization and the targeted users to the team to ensure success. Many Search Engineering Managers reach a senior level by doing this, as well as taking on more responsibilities. Maybe they are asked to manage more search engineers, or perhaps they even manage other software engineers when a fellow manager is away. Taking the initiative and not backing down to challenges is a sure-fire way for a Search Engineering Manager to prove their worth and reach senior status.

Study the Core Fields

To be a more effective Search Engineering Manager, it is beneficial to study the main elements of the field. Because the role is both technical and administrative, there are different types of fields to consider. Core fields related to search engineering include software engineering, so being able to write code and use the same programs and languages as your team members do is essential. Studying fields related to management is essential too, which can include aspects like budgeting and scheduling, as well as making strides to ensure your leadership skills stay modern and effective.

Invest in Yourself

The key to being great at Search Engineering Management and climbing the corporate ladder is to invest in yourself. Take the time to earn extra certifications through online courses related to both engineering and management. Attend seminars and conferences about the future of fields related to search engineering and management, as you will likely learn new tricks to sharpen the tools in your Search Engineering Manager toolbox. By investigating and engaging in new ways to improve your Search Engineering Manager skills and broadening your experiences, your employers are sure to take notice and see your investment in yourself as a way of investing in your organization as well.

Don’t Stop at Search Engineering Management

Keep your duties and goals in focus by examining the roles of those around you. Along with your Search Engineering team, Search Engineering Managers will regularly work with front and backend developers, graphic designers, product managers and many others who keep websites and applications functional and appealing. By understanding the ins-and-outs of their specific roles and their goals in relation to projects and the greater organization, you as Search Engineering Manager can better understand how you and your team fit into the larger scheme or things while fostering a more collaborative environment. You may also discover new aspects of a different job role that is appealing to you, broadening your outlook in a new and unexpected way.

Search Engineering Manager Job Description

Search Engineering Managers are responsible for overseeing Search Engineers as they build and manage the infrastructure that supports a website or application’s search engine. The goal is to produce search engine results that match the expectations and needs of the website user. While the Search Engineering Manager is involved with the technical aspects of the Search Engineering role, they also must complete common managerial duties and ensure organizational goals are being met.

What We Need Your Help With

  • A manager to lead our team of Search Engineers as they build and maintain search engine structures.
  • Conveying business, stakeholder and client needs to your team.
  • Relating project progress to managers and others as needed.
  • Keep up with data analysis and ensure Search Engineers are tailoring search engines to suit these findings.

We Look For

  • Someone who has excellent leadership skills
  • Having an aptitude for tech as well as business
  • Keeps up with the latest trends in the industry
  • Someone who thrives under pressure
  • Being results driven

These Would Also Be Nice
  • An excellent communicator
  • A natural leader
  • Excellent analytical skills
  • Being both creative and logical

Senior Search Engineering Manager Career Paths: Where to Go from Here

Search Engineering Manager who have reached a senior level of their career have spent years honing their craft and have no doubt produced incredible results with their organization, having a hand in building highly-functional search engines and guiding their teams to one success after another. Some may retain this position until retirement, while others will see it as a chance to try something new.

For those interested in moving on to a new career, there are several career choices that speak to the skills honed while being a Search Engineering Manager. This includes frontend, backend or full-stack development managers, guiding teams of software engineers while they build server-side and/or client-side websites and applications; an especially good fit for those who are interested in design and enjoy being customer-focused. Another natural career move can be towards becoming a data engineer manager, guiding teams of data engineers as they build infrastructures that allow for the collection, management and warehousing of big data. This role is ideal if the Search Engineering Manager was particularly interested in the data retrieval part of their duties.

There are many senior Search Engineering Managers who are happy to stay right where they are. For these Search Engineering Managers, they will enjoy seeing great advancements in the field of Search Engineering and will continue to guide junior colleagues as they become poised to be the future of their segment of the ever-evolving tech industry.

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