Manager of Engineering, Strategic Initiatives & Operational Excellence

Want to help pets live their best lives?

We're proud to be where the pets go and where the pet people go. If you want to make a real difference, create an exciting career path, feel welcome to be your whole self and nurture your wellbeing, Petco is the place for you.

Our core values capture that spirit as we work to improve lives by doing what's right for pets and people.

• Pet First - Protect & Empower. All pets should Live their Best Life. We put the needs of pets and pet parents at the center of everything we do.
• Foster the Fun - Connect & Bond. Our Passion for pets brings us together! We celebrate the journey of pet parenthood through district experiences, products, and services.
• Let's Go! Own & Commit. We are stronger as One Petco team. We bring our unique superpowers and champion authenticity in everyone to drive success.

We're proud to be "where the pets go" to find everything they need to live their best lives for more than 60 years - from their favorite meals and toys, to trusted supplies and expert support from people who get it, because we live it. We believe in the universal truths of pet parenthood - the boundless boops, missing slippers, late night zoomies and everything in between. And we're here for it. Every tail wag, every vet visit, every step of the way. We are 29,000+ strong and together we nurture the pet-human bond in more than 1,500 Petco stores across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, 250+ Vetco Total Care hospitals, hundreds of preventive care clinics and eight distribution centers. In 1999, we founded Petco Love. Together, we support thousands of local animal welfare groups nationwide and have helped find homes for approximately 7 million animals through in-store adoption events.

Manager of Engineering, Strategic Initiatives & Operational Excellence

Position Overview:

This is a senior strategic leadership role for a Manager of Engineering, Strategic Initiatives & Operational Excellence that operates with the CTO-driving execution of the company's highest-priority technology initiatives across a $6B retail enterprise. You won't manage a single vertical; instead, you'll operate horizontally across engineering, product, data, and business teams to make sure the things that matter most actually get done. Think of this role as equal parts strategist, operator, and change agent. This is a high-visibility, influence-driven role for someone who thrives on making complex organizations run better.

Key Responsibilities:

Process Re-engineering and Automation:

• Responsible for developing and executing the company's automation strategy, creating a roadmap that aligns with business goals.

• Establishes governance and best practices, managing relationships with business leaders to identify automation opportunities, and leading a team of RPA professionals.

• Oversees the entire lifecycle of automation projects, from design to deployment and performance tracking, while also staying current with new technologies to drive continuous improvement.

Strategic Program Leadership:

• Lead enterprise technology programs supporting ecommerce growth, omnichannel retail experiences, veterinary hospital operations, and pet services platforms.

• Develop and manage multi-year program roadmaps aligned to business strategy and technology priorities.

• Drive execution across large-scale transformational initiatives including platform modernization, systems integration, cloud migration, customer experience enhancements, and operational scalability.

• Establish governance frameworks, delivery standards, and operating rhythms for technical program management across the organization.

• Partner with executive leadership to prioritize initiatives, manage dependencies, and communicate portfolio health, risks, and outcomes.

Cross-Functional Delivery Management:

• Coordinate delivery across engineering, product management, architecture, cybersecurity, infrastructure, data, retail operations, digital marketing, veterinary services, and third-party vendors.

• Lead complex cross-functional planning efforts involving ecommerce systems, POS, CRM, ERP, OMS, scheduling, loyalty, payment systems, and mobile applications.

• Manage interdependencies between retail stores, ecommerce fulfillment, veterinary clinics, and pet services operations.

• Drive program execution using Agile, hybrid Agile, and scaled delivery methodologies appropriate for enterprise environments.

• Ensure alignment between technology investments and measurable business value.

Risk, Governance & Operational Excellence:

• Identify delivery risks, resource constraints, and organizational blockers early and drive mitigation plans.

• Implement portfolio-level reporting, dependency management, and escalation frameworks.

• Ensure programs meet security, compliance, reliability, and operational readiness requirements.

• Track KPIs, business outcomes, financial impacts, and operational metrics tied to strategic initiatives.

Change Leadership & Communications:

• Act as a change leader across the technology portfolio, identifying gaps in process, capability, or leadership-and actively closing them.

• Support enterprise transformations by aligning people, process, and technology to new operating models.

• Lead key communication forums-including all-hands meetings, leadership updates, and executive presentations-translating complex technical topics into clear narratives for non-technical audiences.

Organizational Continuity:

• Step into leadership roles during transitions to maintain delivery momentum, team morale, and stakeholder confidence.

• Provide stability and continuity so that teams stay productive and strategic priorities don't stall during leadership changes.

Qualifications:

• 7+ years of experience in software engineering, technology leadership, or platform delivery, with at least 5 years in senior leadership roles (Director or equivalent).

• Track record of leading enterprise-scale initiatives in complex, matrixed organizations-preferably in retail, consumer, or omnichannel environments.

• Hands-on experience driving AI adoption, enablement platforms, or data/ML initiatives at organizational scale.

• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence without direct authority-comfortable operating in ambiguity and driving alignment across competing priorities.

• Exceptional communication skills with experience presenting to C-suite and board-level audiences.

• Experience in a strategic operations or transformation office role within a technology organization (Preferred).

• Background in technology financial management (TBM/FinOps) (Preferred).

• Familiarity with retail technology stacks: POS, e-commerce, supply chain, or loyalty platforms (Preferred).

• Experience standing up Centers of Excellence or shared-services functions from scratch (Preferred).

What Success Looks Like in Year One:

• Enterprise delivery model is documented, adopted, and producing measurable improvements in predictability and throughput.

• You're recognized across the organization as the go-to person who makes cross-cutting initiatives actually land.

Why This Role:

This isn't a role where you manage a team and optimize a backlog. It's a role where you shape how an entire technology organization operates, adopts AI, and delivers on its most important commitments. You'll have direct access to the CTO, high visibility with the executive team, and the mandate to drive meaningful change across a large, complex enterprise. If you're the kind of leader who gets energy from making things work-not just making things-this is your role.

For a more detailed overview of Petco Total Rewards, including health and financial benefits, 401K, incentives, and PTO - see https://careers.petco.com/us/en/key-benefits

Petco Animal Supplies, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or any other protected classification.

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