Backend Team Engineering Manager

Samsung Food is a Food Platform that helps millions of users worldwide find and save recipes, connect with like-minded foodie communities, and save time and money on planning, cooking, and shopping. You’ll find Samsung Food across various devices including mobile apps, web, voice, Samsung Family-Hub fridges, and more.

We’re a remote-first, globally distributed team of 100+ people based in the US, UK, Europe, Africa, Korea, Georgia, and everywhere in between. We’ve been fully distributed since 2016 and pioneered plenty of the practices that are commonplace in remote workplaces today. Do you want to know more about how we build a team that works together, and apart? Visit Samsung Food to find out.

We’re seeking an Engineering Manager to lead our Backend Development Team across key domains like health, food ontology, meal planning, and shopping. In this role, you’ll drive team efficiency, align with our product roadmap, and collaborate with stakeholders to deliver impactful, scalable solutions that support our company’s growth.

This is a great opportunity to join a skilled team working on an impactful product where your ideas will truly count. You’ll take on a career-defining role that will have a significant impact on our company’s growth and pursuit of excellence, in an environment that values thoughtful innovation and collaboration.. If you're motivated to drive both technical and team success, we’d love to hear from you!

Your responsibilities include: 

Team Management

Directly managing a team of 3 Backend Scala Developers and 1 Manual QA Engineer. You will report to the Sr. Engineering Manager, Platform.

Driving Team Roadmap & Feature Delivery

Collaborating closely with product and engineering leads to setting a dynamic team roadmap, prioritize impactful features, and deliver solutions that meet both business objectives and user needs.

Engaging with Key Stakeholders

Working directly with various external and internal partners to integrate valuable feedback and align on strategic initiatives. Partner with Customer Success to ensure client satisfaction, meeting the unique needs of our B2B clients.

Leading with Technical Excellence

In partnership with the Sr.Engineering Manager, define backend best practices, tackle technical debt, and drive platform performance enhancements that set new benchmarks.

Mentoring & Developing the Team

Championing a growth-focused environment with coaching, continuous feedback, and mentorship, empowering team members to reach new heights.

Managing Technical Priorities

Working alongside Domain Architects to maintain a clear, prioritized technical backlog, ensuring critical issues are addressed and the team remains agile and focused.

Shaping Platform Strategy & Performance

Spearheading initiatives to boost backend performance, scalability, and stability, aligning the technical roadmap with the company's ambitious goals.

Required Qualifications:

Technical Requirements:

• Proven experience (5+ years) in backend software development, with a strong technical background in backend engineering.
• At least 2-3 years of experience in a leadership or managerial role, overseeing teams of developers and QA engineers.
• Demonstrated professional experience in building and delivering a software product
• Expertise in backend technologies, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, gRPC, Thrift, Google Pub/Sub, and Kafka. Relevant experience with similar or related technologies is also valued. 
• Experience with Domain-Driven Design (DDD) principles and applying them in large-scale systems
• Ability to make informed decisions on system design involving databases, messaging systems, and data streaming platforms.
• Proven track record of managing technical debt and improving platform performance through strategic technical decisions.

Soft Skills and Leadership skills required:

• Proven team leadership with a focus on mentorship and fostering growth.
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration with product, design, and external stakeholders.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to simplify complex technical concepts.
• Adaptability to shifting priorities, with a proactive approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement.

Location:

Fully Remote: We are flexible where you physically sit, but are looking for someone who can overlap between GMT time zones.

What we offer:

• Contract-based, full-time (40 hours/week depending on the workload), long-term project.
• 100% remote work.
• Great team to work with (In 2024, Samsung Food was certified as a Most Loved Workplace® after rigorous research and analysis conducted by the Best Practice Institute (BPI)