Engineering Manager, Foundation

About Kustomer

Kustomer is the industry leading conversational CRM platform perfecting every customer experience. Built with intelligent tools such as AI and Automation, no code-configuration and a connected data platform that unifies data from multiple sources through a single timeline, Kustomer empowers businesses to operate with greater efficiency and deliver more personalized service to customers across any channel, making every interaction more meaningful and memorable. Today, Kustomer is the core platform for some of the leading customer service brands like Ring, Glovo, Away Travel, Priceline and Sweetgreen.

Kustomer was founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneurs Brad Birnbaum and Jeremy Suriel and has raised over $200M in funding backed by leading VCs. Meta announced its intention to acquire Kustomer in 2020 and completed the transaction in 2022. Kustomer joined Meta’s Business Messaging Group to transform the way people and businesses communicate through modern messaging channels. In 2023, Kustomer spun out from Meta as a standalone company backed by original partners, Battery, Redpoint and Boldstart Ventures, who have invested $60M in capital, ensuring Kustomer’s growth and success for many years to come. 

Our Krew is made up of passionate and collaborative people who really care about what they do and the people they help. We look for people who are dedicated to enhancing the customer service experience for everyone involved, as it's the core of what we do. We're growing our business with no plans of slowing down. We actively seek individuals who want to learn and be challenged every day. We have also transitioned to a remote friendly company, with Krew members located throughout the U.S. coming together for Kamp Kustomer each year.

About the Role

We are looking for an Engineering Manager to lead the Foundation team. This team oversees the development of critical cloud backend systems and enables us to support sustainable growth at scale. In this role, you’ll manage a team of software engineers with skills in cloud infrastructure, backend services, and CI/CD systems. Amongst many others, you’ll collaborate with our Finance team and bridge the gap with engineering to make well-informed decisions about infrastructure using detailed insights. You’ll also collaborate with our Security team to manage security/compliance risks. As an important leader in the broader engineering community, you’ll deliver cultural change across Kustomer. If you’re passionate about leading a team to drive progress in efficiency, scalability and security, we want to hear from you.

What You’ll Do

• Manage a team of software engineers with diverse experience (30%)

  • Manage employees’ performance by holding regular 1-1’s, conducting performance reviews, setting objectives for each team member, and overseeing team’s work

  • Provide leadership and coaching to develop your team members

  • Provide technical mentorship and guidance to the team and top management, as well as provide input into cross-team projects and initiatives

  • Support established organizational objectives by developing goals and strategies

  • Report on goals and represent the teams to senior leadership

  • Participate in hiring and recruiting initiatives

• Analyze, design, and develop solutions to address system vulnerabilities and reduce infrastructure spend. (30%)

  • Lead and realize the long-term strategy for cost engineering

  • Drive accountability in the organization with a balanced cost allocation strategy

  • Accurately forecast and report cloud costs to various XFN partners

  • Manage security vulnerabilities and upgrade schedules for EOL (End of Life) software

• Participate in sprint planning and design discussions to ensure the team is delivering quality technical output. (20%)

  • Lead the team in translating business requirements and R&D initiatives into technical requirements, including selection of appropriate technologies.

• Participate in cross-team initiatives to drive engineering best-practices (20%)

  • Collaborate with XFN partners like the Data Solution team and the Finance team to educate and inform the organization with insights and recommendations

  • Hold engineering teams accountable for their applications and services ensuring they are aligned with the long-term strategy.

Your Qualifications

• You have a bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

• You have 7+ years of experience in Engineering

• You have at least 2+ years of experience managing a team of engineers

• You have been a leader of a cost engineering effort and/or drove significant impact for cloud cost optimizations

• You have experience with achieving compliance certifications and maintaining security & compliance posture

• You have partnered with vendors and managed the relationship to extract value

• You’re familiar with Node.js, Golang, and/or Python, 

• You’ve worked with NoSQL/SQL databases and Elasticsearch

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Docker, Terraform, and AWS

• Experience with observability tools (ELK/Prometheus/Coralogix/distributed tracing)

• You have experience creating SLAs, SLOs, SLIs

HIPAA Compliance

All roles at Kustomer may involve handling sensitive personal data.

Benefits

Kustomer offers an array of benefits including competitive salaries, stock options, 100% healthcare coverage, 401K, WiFi and Mobile reimbursement, and a generous vacation policy.

Diversity & Inclusion at Kustomer

Kustomer is committed to bringing together individuals from different backgrounds and perspectives.

We strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, feel a sense of belonging, and do great work together.We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer open to all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or expression, Veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

Disclaimer: Kustomer only contacts candidates from company email addresses ending in kustomer.com and does not seek funds from candidates in any circumstances.

Compensation Range: $180K - $205K