Engineering Manager

Remote: yes Posted: 2026-09-25

QUICK SUMMARY

Lead a full-stack team building distributed, API-first systems on AWS. Player-coach role driving scalable architecture, reliable delivery, and high-performing engineers.

At this time, we are unable to sponsor employment visas for this role.

- Lead and develop a high-performing full-stack engineering team, fostering ownership, accountability, and continuous growth

- Serve as a hands-on player-coach, contributing meaningful production code while setting technical direction

- Drive delivery of roadmap initiatives from concept through production with predictable, high-quality execution

- Champion API-first design and schema-first development practices (OpenAPI/Swagger, contract testing, interface-driven development)

- Guide the decomposition of monolithic systems into modular, distributed services with clear ownership boundaries

- Establish best practices for observability, resilience, and distributed communication (tracing, retries, idempotency, error handling)

- Lead architectural discussions to ensure long-term maintainability, reliability, and performance

- Partner cross-functionally with Product, PMO, and other engineering teams to align technical strategy with business priorities

- Participate in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring to strengthen the engineering organization

SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE

In your first 6–12 months at Kin, success is less about checking boxes and more about the impact you create. You’ll use your skills and judgment to take ownership of meaningful work, improve how we operate, and help move Kin’s mission forward. Along the way, you’ll deliver outcomes that make a real difference for both Kinfolk and the homeowners we serve.

By the end of your first year, you should feel confident in your role, trusted as an owner, and proud of the progress you’ve helped make.

- Your team consistently delivers roadmap initiatives with improved predictability, quality, and reduced production incidents

- Core services have been redesigned or evolved toward modular, API-first architectures with clear service ownership and scalability

- Engineering best practices for observability, distributed communication, and reliability are consistently adopted across your team

- Engineers on your team demonstrate measurable growth in technical capability, ownership, and cross-functional collaboration

- Minimum 8 years of hands-on software development experience with strong computer science fundamentals

- Proven experience managing or leading a team of engineers in a fast-paced environment

- Demonstrated success acting as a player-coach who contributes meaningfully to the codebase

- Experience building distributed systems and decomposing monoliths into modular services

- Hands-on experience with API-first and schema-first workflows (OpenAPI/Swagger, contract testing, interface-driven development)

- Experience with relational and NoSQL databases, message queues/brokers, and distributed system design patterns

- Ability to design systems with clear service ownership, reliability, and modularity

- Excellent command of the full SDLC: analysis, design, development, testing, deployment, and support

- Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to convey complex technical concepts clearly

- Experience with modern JavaScript frameworks (React, Angular, or Vue)

- Familiarity with BI or big-data technologies such as Looker or BigTable

- Experience with Ruby on Rails or similar backend frameworks

- Exposure to regulated industries such as insurance or financial services

- Competitive salary and company equity through Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), granted as part of our standard compensation package and based on role and level

- 401(k) with company match up to 4% of eligible earnings

- Multiple medical plan options, plus dental and vision coverage

- Company-funded HSA contributions (based on medical plan selection)

- Company-paid life insurance and short-term disability

Health & Wellbeing

- A variety of supplemental benefit options, including long-term disability, critical illness, accident, legal, and pet insurance

- Access to mental health support and confidential counseling resources

- Flexible PTO for exempt employees (most employees take 15–20 days per year), plus 8 company-observed holidays

- Paid parental leave, including up to 14 weeks at 100% pay for birthing parents and 8 weeks at 100% pay for non-birthing parents

Growth & Development

- Career mobility and internal growth opportunities across the organization

- Professional development budgets for certifications, conferences, and learning available, subject to management approval

HOW WE WORK

We don’t just hire for skills. We hire for alignment. Kinfolk bring diverse perspectives, but we’re united by a shared set of values that shape how we work and how we show up for each other and our customers.

Run through walls, together - Every one of us is responsible for creating the culture we want to work in. High performance. Low drama. Always respectful. We assume the best in each other and challenge ideas, not intentions. We show up, work hard, and play to each other's strengths — because that’s how great teams win.

Raise the bar. Drop the ego - Attitudes are contagious. Every one of us is responsible for creating the culture we want to work in. High performance. Low drama. Always respectful. Like professional sports teams, we win by working in sync. We show up, work hard, and play to each other’s strengths.

Act like an owner - We are owners, fully accountable for achieving Kin’s mission. That requires positive, proactive, big-picture thinking well beyond our job descriptions. Ask questions, Take ownership. Do the right thing, even when it‘s hard. Because when Kin thrives, so do you. And so do our customers.