Software Engineering Manager (Data)

About Sift

Sift is building the observability layer for hardware—turning high-frequency telemetry into real-time, AI-ready insights for mission-critical systems.

Sift is the data platform for hardware teams. Engineers building rockets, satellites, robots, defense systems, and autonomous vehicles use Sift to review sensor data, catch problems in real time, and ship hardware faster. Founded by engineers from SpaceX. Used across aerospace, defense, energy, robotics, and manufacturing.

The AI era for physical systems starts with the data layer underneath. That’s what we’re building.

The Role

We are looking for a hands-on Software Engineering Manager to lead our Data Platform. You will lead the engineering teams that develop and maintain our core data pipelines, including ingestion, storage, processing, querying, APIs and documentation for interacting with our data systems. Our data infrastructure must work flawlessly in the cloud, on-prem and in air-gapped deployments. Data forms the backbone of Sift and this role is incredibly important to our mission. We serve customers across a wide-spectrum of industries building next-generation machines that demand high-performance for mission critical operations.

This role will report directly to the VP of Engineering and is ideal for someone with a background in aerospace, AI or robotics and loves working on the cutting edge of science and technology.

Core Responsibilities

• Leadership: Manage and build a team of high-performing engineers, provide mentorship and guidance to accelerate their growth.

• Strategy: Collaborate with our Product and our Go-To-Market teams to define technical roadmaps.

• Execution: Ensure the team delivers best-in-class results at high velocity while continuously raising the bar for quality and performance.

• Process Excellence: Establish and refine engineering processes, agile rituals and use of AI to accelerate development and expand our core capabilities.

• Hands-on Contribution: Actively engage the architecture and codebase, contribute to high-impact features and help resolve critical technical challenges.

Candidate Profile

• Experience: 7+ years in software engineering with 2+ years in a people management role.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, STEM, or a related field.

• Software Development: Strong experience with distributed systems and web applications using Go, Rust, or Python.

• Data Expertise: Experience with in-stream processing (Apache Kafka, Flink, Beam). Familiarity with specialized databases like PostgreSQL, Druid, Pinot, or Timescale. Expertise in data exploration tools such as Grafana or Jupyter Notebooks.

• Leadership: Proven ability to guide teams through ambiguity and a track record of being a "force multiplier" for engineering talent.

Bonus Points

• Experience in Aerospace, Autonomous Vehicles, Robotics, Defense or Energy.

• Experience in leading AI-first teams and AI initiatives.

• Background in Data Science, Statistics or other academic fields that work with data.

• Experience in building UI and customer-facing dashboards for interacting with data.

Engineering At Sift:

You'll have the opportunity to help evolve and scale our platform because we're still in the early stages of building the product. Relevant technologies include:

• Web frontend & backend: React, TypeScript, Redux, Tailwind, WebAssembly, D3.js, WebGL, and Go

• Data: Parquet, Flink, Kafka, Redpanda, Beam, DuckDB, Timescale, QuestDB, InfluxDB, and Druid

• Infrastructure: GitHub Actions, AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform

Why Join Sift?

• Real Impact: Build the infrastructure that enables the next generation of aerospace and robotic breakthroughs.

• Amazing Talent: Work alongside veterans from NASA JPL, SpaceX, and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

• Vibrant Culture: Develop great things with people who all love what they are doing.

• In-Person Collaboration: Join us in our Marina Del Rey office (2x per week) to stay close to the hardware companies we serve.

• Comprehensive Benefits: Unlimited PTO, equity ownership, 401(k), and full medical/dental/vision coverage.

Location:

Sift’s headquarters is in Marina Del Rey, CA (Next to LAX). We collaborate in person twice a week—on Mondays and Thursdays—and come together for a full week every two months. We are open to relocating candidates to LA or working from our San Francisco office for the right candidate.

Salary range: $170,000 - $250,000 per year. Plus equity and benefits.

Eligibility:

U.S. Person Required: Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual such as an asylee or refugee in compliance with ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) / EAR (Export Administration Regulations) regulations.