Senior Manager, Software Engineering

Who we are:

We’re a passionate engineering team, developing and supporting a product where the majority of our users open the app more than 20 times per month. We are faced with an interesting set of technical challenges, and we believe in giving our engineers the autonomy to go and solve them. Much of our team comes from non-traditional computing backgrounds; we know that by bringing together a diverse set of voices we’ll be able to build a better product, and a better company. We care less about what languages or frameworks you know, and care more that you are excited to work with highly impactful teams and be constantly learning. Our engineers work in cross-functional teams that are focused on impact, and movement between teams is encouraged. We work very closely with our brilliant product team to deliver a world-class user experience, and ultimately to empower our users to live their fullest, healthiest lives.

Your role:

As a Senior Engineering Manager, you’ll lead a full-stack, mobile-focused team responsible for unlocking new product and growth opportunities. You’ll balance short-term experimentation with long-term technical vision, guide engineers through complex decision-making, and ensure high-quality execution across the stack.

You’ll likely spend time working on:

• Mentoring, leading and growing a team of high-performing software engineers
• Leading the engineering effort for a major greenfield feature while partnering closely with product, design, and cross-functional stakeholders
• Providing ongoing feedback, conducting regular 1:1s, and supporting performance and career development
• Championing strong onboarding practices and setting new hires up for long-term success
• Ensuring engineering best practices across coding standards, testing, documentation, and operational excellence
• Fostering an inclusive team culture grounded in accountability, trust, and shared ownership
• Bringing new ideas, tools, and approaches to continuously improve how the team executes
• Driving effective collaboration across time zones and strengthening our remote-first culture
• Representing your team within Playlist/ClassPass engineering leadership and contributing to org-wide initiatives

About the right team member:

You’re an experienced engineer turned people-first leader who is passionate about building great mobile products and healthy, high-trust teams. You bring strong technical judgment, empathetic communication skills, and a track record of developing engineers to do their best work.

You’re someone who enjoys diving into technical conversations, applying your engineering background to coach your team toward scalable, durable solutions. You value collaboration, iteration, and clear communication, and you’re looking for a team where you can elevate others, drive meaningful outcomes, and continue growing as a leader.

You’ll thrive in this role with experience in:

• 10+ years of professional software development experience and while you may not code day to day, you’re comfortable rolling up your sleeves to do so if/when needed
• 3+ years leading engineering teams with demonstrated success in coaching, mentoring, and career development 
•  Building consumer products and delivering high-quality mobile applications at scale, huge plus if you have experience in taking a product from 0 to 1 
• A proven ability to give clear, actionable feedback and build a culture of continuous improvement 
• Comfort managing performance and driving clarity across remote teams 
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to connect technical and human perspectives seamlessly

Technologies you’ll be working with:

We value adaptability and problem-solving over specific tools, but here’s what you’ll likely work with:

• Kotlin / Java 
• AWS (ECS, SQS, RDS) 
• Modern mobile development (Swift/SwiftUI, Android/Jetpack Compose)

Pay Transparency

It is Playlist’s intent to pay all Team Members competitive wages and salaries that are motivational, fair, and equitable. The goal of Playlist’s compensation program is to be transparent, attract potential employees, meet the needs of all current employees, and encourage Team Members to stay with our organization. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and specific work location.

The base salary range for this position in the United States is $173,925 - $231,000. The total compensation package for this position also includes a bonus target and a full benefits package.