Software Engineering Manager

Compensation Range: $,000 + Equity

Our client is a fast‑growing, consumer‑focused technology company dedicated to strengthening real‑world human connection. Their platform empowers people to create, grow, and participate in interest‑based communities and experiences. Over the past five years, the company has scaled rapidly, serving millions of users, building a strong team, and driving significant transaction volume through its platform. They are well‑funded, mission‑driven, and building tools that help people connect more meaningfully offline.

We’re searching for a highly technical Engineering Manager to lead a team of 5–8 talented engineers responsible for one of the company’s core product areas. You’ll sit at the intersection of product, engineering, and design, owning delivery, technical quality, and execution for either the organizer‑facing platform or the consumer‑facing social experience.

This role is ideal for someone who spent years as a Senior/Staff/Principal Engineer and has transitioned into management while remaining deeply technical. If you love setting a high technical bar, coaching engineers, reviewing architecture, and shaping systems that scale, this opportunity offers significant ownership and impact.

This is an in‑person role based in New York City
. The company values real‑world collaboration and believes that building products centered around live, authentic experiences is best done together.

• Lead, mentor, and develop a pod of 5–8 engineers through effective coaching, technical direction, and performance management.
• Hire and cultivate high‑impact talent; make thoughtful decisions around leveling and team structure.
• Drive toward building an exceptional, highly polished product—scrutinizing processes, system design, and technical decisions across the pod.
• Balance long‑term system health with short‑term product delivery, ensuring infrastructure and platform investments receive appropriate visibility and prioritization.
• Participate actively in architectural reviews, RFCs, and technical design discussions.
• Confidently challenge assumptions or proposed solutions when tradeoffs and risks require deeper examination.
• Maintain a high bar for code quality, platform reliability, performance, and engineering excellence.
• Translate product strategy into clear technical roadmaps, execution plans, milestones, and delivery timelines.
• Introduce and evaluate new technologies and workflows—including modern AI tooling—where they meaningfully improve developer experience and product velocity.
• Model technical rigor, ownership, and urgency as a key leader within the engineering organization.

• 3+ years of engineering management experience.
• 7+ years of hands‑on software engineering experience, ideally reaching Staff/Principal level before moving into leadership.
• Experience working or managing teams:
  React, Next.js, React Native, Type Script, Tailwind CSS, Node.js, Type Script, Java, Spring Boot, AWS, GCP
• You still enjoy programming outside of work and bring a strong curiosity around modern tools, frameworks, and best practices.
• Experience leading technically complex, large‑scale consumer or marketplace products with significant user traffic.
• Deep understanding of system design, distributed systems, and operating complex production environments.
• A track record of raising the technical bar and developing engineers through hands‑on mentorship, design reviews, and architectural guidance.
• Strong product intuition with the ability to navigate ambiguity, weigh tradeoffs, and align engineering investment with business and user value.
• Exceptional communication skills - you can lead a discussion, influence cross‑functional partners, and create space for collaborative problem‑solving.
• Comfortable operating in a fast‑paced, high‑expectation environment with close interaction with founders and senior leadership.

As Software Engineering Manager, you’ll be rewarded a highly competitive salary of $250-280k base, equity, health/dental/vision insurance, Unlimited PTO, Equinox Membership, New Mac Book, Relocation Bonus if required.