Engineering Manager - Arc Cloud Platform Frameworks

Job Description

Arc XP (http://www.arcxp.com ) is a cloud-based digital experience platform that helps enterprise companies, retail brands, and media and entertainment organizations create and distribute content, drive digital commerce, and deliver powerful multichannel experiences. A division of The Washington Post, Arc XP has powered the digital transformation of customers across the globe, currently serving more than 1,500 sites in 25 countries that reach more than 1.5 billion unique visitors monthly.

Built 100% on AWS, the Arc platform employs a microservice architecture. All of our software teams use DevOps to deliver and maintain products. Our processes are lightweight, which allows our teams to innovate quickly to bring new ideas to market. New features and products are deployed to our customer base every day.

We are looking for an Engineering Manager to lead development on Arc's core rendering stack including PageBuilder Engine which powers more than 1,500 sites. Leveraging a serverless architecture, PageBuilder provides a platform for client developers to build engaging and performant experiences for a variety of news, radio, and broadcast companies worldwide. As our Arc Cloud Platform - Frameworks team's Engineering Manager, you will work closely with our Content API, Editor, and other Arc product teams to enable innovative experiences and ensure a cutting-edge experience for Arc customers.

Motivational Fit

• Desire to be a technical leader and individual contributor.
• Enjoy sharing technical experiences during code reviews and design discussions.
• Deliver high-quality, incremental improvements regularly.
• Comfortable collaborating with product owners and remote team members.

Required Skills and QualificationsExperience:

• 6+ years as a software engineer and 2+ years as a people leader in engineering.

Minimum Qualifications

• BA/BS in Computer Science or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 5+ years building scalable cloud-based applications.
• Experience with Node.js, HTML, CSS, JavaScript (React), WebPack, Docker, CI tools (GitHub, Jenkins, AWS CodePipeline), TypeScript, and JavaScript.

Preferred QualificationsTechnical Expertise:

• AWS Lambda and Optimization: Proficiency in designing, deploying, and optimizing AWS Lambda functions for performance and cost efficiency. Experience with monitoring and debugging Lambda functions in production environments.
• AWS API Gateway: Expertise in setting up and managing AWS API Gateway for creating, deploying, and securing APIs. Knowledge of API lifecycle management and best practices for API versioning and throttling.
• Serverless Frameworks (AWS SAM): Hands-on experience with serverless frameworks like AWS SAM for building and deploying serverless applications. Ability to define and manage infrastructure as code.
• Redis / Memcache: In-depth knowledge of using caching platforms like Redis and Memcache for improving application performance. Experience with configuring and managing these caching solutions in a cloud environment.
• React: Advanced skills in developing dynamic and responsive web applications using React. Proficiency in using hooks, context API, and state management libraries like Redux.
• Webpack, esbuild: Expertise in configuring and optimizing build tools like Webpack and esbuild for efficient bundling and code splitting. Experience with custom configurations and plugin development.
• CDN and Content Caching Strategies: Strong understanding of CDN technologies and strategies for content caching to improve web application performance and scalability. Experience with providers like CloudFront, Akamai, or similar.
• RESTful API Design: Proficiency in designing and implementing RESTful APIs with a focus on scalability, maintainability, and security. Knowledge of best practices for API versioning, documentation, and testing.
• TDD, BDD: Extensive experience with Test-Driven Development (TDD) and Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) methodologies. Ability to write and maintain comprehensive test suites using frameworks like Jest, Mocha, or similar.
• Lean Software Development: Deep understanding of lean software development principles and practices. Ability to implement continuous improvement processes and eliminate waste in the development lifecycle.
• Functional and Object-Oriented Patterns: Expertise in applying functional and object-oriented design patterns to build robust and maintainable software. Experience with refactoring legacy codebases to improve design and performance.
• Trunk-Based Development: Proficiency in trunk-based development practices to enable continuous integration and delivery. Experience with feature toggles, branch management, and automated testing.
• Full CI/CD: Hands-on experience with setting up and managing continuous integration and continuous deployment pipelines. Ability to safely release multiple times per day using tools like GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or AWS CodePipeline.
• High-Traffic Web Delivery: Proven experience in building and maintaining web applications that handle high traffic and deliver digital experiences at scale. Knowledge of performance optimization techniques and monitoring tools.
• Cloud Cost Optimization: Expertise in optimizing cloud infrastructure for cost efficiency. Ability to analyze and reduce operational costs through effective resource management and scaling strategies.
• DevOps and Cloud Architectures: Strong background in DevOps practices and cloud architecture design. Experience with infrastructure as code, automated deployments, and cloud-native application development.
• Web Security Expertise: Demonstrated experience in identifying, mitigating, and preventing web security vulnerabilities, including but not limited to XSS, CSRF, SQL injection, and other OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities. Proficiency in implementing security best practices in web applications, such as secure coding standards, authentication and authorization mechanisms, and data encryption. Experience with security tools and frameworks for vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and security monitoring.

Leadership Skills:

• Team Management: Proven ability to manage and lead a team of up to 10 direct reports, fostering a collaborative and productive work environment.
• Communication: Strong communication skills to articulate team goals, products, and projects effectively in client and departmental discussions.
• Mentorship: Demonstrated ability to mentor and coach team members, helping them achieve their career goals and grow as technical experts.
• Conflict Resolution: Skilled in resolving conflicts within the team and promoting a positive team culture.
• Decision-Making: Ability to make informed decisions that impact team projects, keeping reliability and performance in mind.

Project Management:

• Sprint Management: Experience in managing sprints, rallying the team around deliverables, and ensuring timely completion of tasks.
• Team Charters: Ability to create team charters that focus and motivate the team towards achieving business goals.
• Process Improvement: Expertise in shaping team norms and processes to support business goals and company values, continuously seeking ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• Resource Allocation: Proficiency in allocating resources effectively to meet project requirements and deadlines.
• Operational Management:
• Production Support: Knowledge of production support processes, including incident management and root cause analysis (RCA).
• Cost Management: Experience in managing operational costs and driving cost-saving initiatives.
• Operational Improvements: Ability to identify and implement operational improvements to enhance system stability and performance.
• Incident Management: Skilled in leading incident calls and RCAs, ensuring timely resolution of issues and prevention of future occurrences.

Strategic Thinking:

• Advocacy: Advocate for the team’s work and its business impact, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
• Sustainable Development: Drive sustainable development practices and stability improvements, promoting long-term success.
• Risk Management: Understand key security risks and work to improve the overall risk profile, implementing best practices for security and reliability.
• Innovation: Encourage innovative thinking and new ideas to drive continuous improvement and stay ahead of industry trends.
• Customer Value Focus:
• Customer-Centric Approach: Focus on delivering customer value rather than vanity metrics, ensuring that the team’s work aligns with customer needs and business objectives.
• Feedback Integration: Ability to integrate customer feedback into the development process, continuously improving the product based on user insights.
• Value-Driven Metrics: Use value-driven metrics to measure success and guide decision-making, prioritizing features and improvements that provide the most benefit to customers.

Compensation and Benefits

Wherever you are in your life or career, The Washington Post offers comprehensive and inclusive benefits for every step of your journey:

• Competitive medical, dental and vision coverage

• Company-paid pension and 401(k) match

• Three weeks of vacation and up to three weeks of paid sick leave

• Nine paid holidays and two personal days

• 20 weeks paid parental leave for any new parent

• Robust mental health resources

• Backup care and caregiver concierge services

• Gender affirming services

• Pet insurance

• Free Post digital subscription

• Leadership and career development programs

Benefits may vary based on the job, full-time or part-time schedule, location, and collectively bargained status.

The salary range for this position is:

144,600.00 - 241,100.00 USD Annual

The actual salary within this range will depend on individual skills, experience, and qualifications as they relate to specific job requirements. This position may be eligible for a bonus or incentive program, and a member of the Talent Acquisition team will discuss bonus payment terms and conditions during the interview process.

The Post strives to provide its readers with high-quality, trustworthy news and information while constantly innovating. That mission is best served by a diverse, multi-generational workforce with varied life experiences and perspectives. All cultures and backgrounds are welcomed. 

The innovation doesn’t end in the Newsroom – dozens of teams power The Washington Post. We are now hiring the next innovator – how will you Impact Tomorrow?

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