Engineering Manager, Backend

Our vision is to build the next-generation platform for fast and easy creation of audio and video content. In October 2020, we took a huge leap forward by launching a cloud based collaborative video editor and a screen recorder. We're used by some of the world's top podcasters and influencers as well as businesses such as BBC, ESPN, Hubspot, Shopify and Washington Post for communicating via video. We've raised $50M from some of the world's best investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint Ventures and Spark Capital.

To justify our ambitious vision and serve our rapidly growing customer base, we’re planning to double the engineering team and are looking for an engineering leader who can lead our Backend team and scale with the rapid growth of the company.

The Role:

The Backend Team is a small, fast-moving group of engineers focused on building and operating backend services for a revolutionary product for users and providing a best-in-class developer experience. We want code to be high quality, architecture to be simple, and on-call is routine and easy. Engineers on the Backend Team own the entire lifecycle of the systems they build, from design to coding and testing to operations.

Backend is a small team tasked with supporting a fast-growing engineering org and product. The biggest challenges in the next 1-2 years are:

• Delivering fast, reliable real-time collaboration infrastructure

• Transitioning our features and infrastructure from a desktop app-heavy product to a web-first and cloud-based UX

• and finally, building the foundations for a world-class developer experience for a fast growing, full-stack engineering org

In this role, you’ll collaborate with product and design to shape the vision of this area and build a diverse, inclusive and high performing team to shape the future of business communication. You’ll be leading a team of 6-8 engineers which we expect to rapidly grow into multiple teams in the next 6-12 months. This role reports directly into the VP of Engineering. 

Your Responsibilities

• Develop a roadmap in partnership with product and design and ensure execution is predictable, reliable and sustainable

• Recruit, grow and coach engineers ensuring they receive regular feedback and opportunities to make rapid progress on their personal and professional goals

• Shape the broader engineering organization’s operating model by spearheading technical practices, recruiting, onboarding strategy, planning and prioritization process and more. 

• Help scale our culture as we grow 

You’re someone who:

• 3+ years of management experience

• Creates team environments that are collaborative, creative, empowering, supportive, and challenging —ones where engineers do their best work.

• Experience with GCP and/or other cloud providers is a plus.

• Effectively collaborates with a diverse set of functions technical and non-technical

• Clear and succinct communicator (written and verbal)

• Direct and emphatic while giving and receiving feedback

• Has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or related field, or equivalent training, fellowship, or work experience. 

Nice to haves:

• Managed engineering teams at a startup before where the rate of change is extremely high

About Descript

Descript is building the next generation of tools for communicating with video and audio. We are a team of 85 (planning to double in 2022) — with a proven CEO and the backing of some of the world's greatest investors (Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint Ventures, Spark Capital). Descript HQ is in San Francisco, and our AI research team, Lyrebird, is based in Montreal.

Descript is the special company that's in possession of both product market fit and the raw materials (passionate user community, great product, large market) for growth, but is still early enough that each new employee has a measurable influence on the direction of the company.

As a small startup, Descript relies on employees who thrive in an environment where they are regularly called upon to translate high level goals into day-to-day priorities, and are regularly presented with technical and business challenges that extend beyond their comfort zone.

Benefits include a generous healthcare package, catered lunches, and unlimited vacation time. We currently have offices in San Francisco and Montreal, and are open to folks working remotely between PST and EST time zones. Whether you love WFH or can’t wait to get back to being in person, we're interested in offering an environment that works for you.

Descript is an equal opportunity workplace—we are dedicated to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status. We believe in actively building a team rich in diverse backgrounds, experiences, and opinions to better allow our employees, products, and community to thrive.