Growth Engineering Manager

EMPOWER OVERVIEW

Empower is shaking up an outdated financial system by providing real opportunity for our customers: the opportunity to get the cash they need, to access fair credit, and to change their financial story. Today, we’re helping millions of people find financial security through machine learning models that evaluate creditworthiness using a more inclusive lens and mobile-first products: Cash Advance, Thrive line of credit, and Petal credit cards. Tomorrow? Creating even more financial paths for our customers (and their wallets) to succeed.

This year, Empower ranked #65 on Inc. 5000’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies list — our third year in a row cracking the top 100 — and was named by Forbes as one of the 25 Next Billion-Dollar Startups for 2024. Empower was also featured by Forbes on America’s Best Startup Employers list in 2023, and our Thrive line of credit product was named by Fast Company as one of 2022’s Next Big Things in Tech.

Empower is backed by Sequoia Capital, Blisce, and Icon Ventures. Ready to grow your impact and accelerate your career? Take a look at our open roles — we can’t wait to meet you.

THE EMPOWER WAY

Great Expectations: We come up with bold, audacious goals for ourselves and go all out for impact

Owner Mindset: We give every employee latitude to act independently, make smart choices, and move the business forward

Spirited Debate: We love skeptics and seek counter opinions to challenge our personal assumptions and expand our view

Customer Obsession: We listen to understand, empathize, and create a memorable, rewarding experience for our community

Inclusive Collaboration: We believe diverse teams make the best decisions, and we strive to give diverse voices a seat at the table

No Jerks Allowed: We value our relationships and take the time to build trust and connection and communicate respectfully

WHAT EMPOWER OFFERS

Competitive salary

Generous equity package

Full healthcare benefits

Technology expense reimbursement

Virtual first environment

JOB DESCRIPTION

As the Engineering Director for our Growth teams, you'll be responsible for leading a dynamic team of engineers focused on driving product adoption, improving user engagement, and optimizing our growth strategy through data-driven engineering initiatives. You’ll work closely with product management, data science, credit and marketing to develop high-impact features, experiments, and optimizations that directly contribute to our company’s growth goals.

This is a highly impactful leadership role that blends technical expertise with a deep understanding of experimentation and user acquisition in a fast-paced startup environment.  The Growth teams take big swings, solve problems resourcefully, and work methodically across the business to enhance the impact, efficiency, and profitability of our growth programs.

Travel for company offsites is expected at a minimum 2 times a year.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Collaborate with Product, Marketing, and Credit teams to define and execute on growth objectives, ensuring alignment across engineering efforts and overall business goals

• Design and build systems that optimize user acquisition, retention, and activation, while continuously testing and iterating on features that drive measurable growth.

• Systematically deconstruct complex problems, formulate hypotheses, and organize team efforts for rigorous verification.

• Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of engineers focused on growth initiatives. Foster a culture of high performance, accountability, and continuous learning.

• Setting and effectively communicating priorities to align engineering team efforts with business objectives.

• Guide the team in solving complex technical challenges, balancing the technical quality of the team’s output with a rapid pace of learning.  Drive a technical roadmap that helps unlock greater impact.

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

• 7+ years of engineering experience, with at least 3 years in an engineering management role.

• Proven track record of leading growth-focused engineering teams at a scaling startup or high-growth company.

• Strong understanding of data-driven decision-making, A/B testing, and experimentation frameworks.

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical challenges to non-technical stakeholders and drive alignment across teams.

• Ability to balance hands-on engineering work with strategic leadership.

• Strong bias for action with the ability to efficiently and methodically organize and deploy cross-functional resources in pursuit of business goals and changing circumstances.

At Empower, we hire for people that push themselves to understand others and seek out ways to challenge their personal assumptions. Our hope is that by fostering such an environment, we strengthen our business and relationships by putting people first. We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workspace where everyone (regardless of age, education, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or any personal characteristics) feels like they belong. Even if your experience doesn’t exactly match up to our job description, you should feel empowered to apply regardless!