About Backbone
At Backbone, we’re on a mission to redefine the way people play games. We create seamless, captivating experiences across mobile devices, tablets, TVs, and more. As we expand our product suite and introduce new hardware, we’re looking for a Senior Engineering Manager who is as passionate about gaming as we are.
Role Overview
As a Senior Engineering Manager, you’ll lead a cross-functional engineering organization spanning iOS, Android, and backend teams. You will play a pivotal role in scaling our engineering culture, guiding technical strategy, and ensuring the delivery of world-class gaming and entertainment experiences.You’ll work closely with Directors and CEO to align engineering priorities with Backbone’s mission to become the #1 destination for gamers. This role requires a roll-up-your-sleeves mentality, high ownership, and a passion for building products that delight millions of players worldwide.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and manage a cross-functional engineering organization across iOS, Android, and backend.
- Own the full people-management lifecycle: recruiting, hiring, onboarding, coaching, developing, retaining, and backfilling engineers.
- Provide technical oversight and thought leadership on architecture and implementation choices across mobile apps, TV, and browser platforms to ensure scalability, performance, and maintainability.
- Establish, refine, and enforce engineering processes (SDLC, agile rituals, code review, testing, CI/CD, release management, incident response) that drive predictable, high-quality delivery.
- Partner closely with the Head of Software and CEO to align engineering strategy, roadmap priorities, and resourcing with business objectives.
- Champion an AI-first mindset, evaluating and integrating emerging AI/ML tools and practices to enhance product experiences and developer productivity.
- Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, inclusion, and continuous improvement through mentorship and professional development.
- Define, monitor, and report on key engineering metrics (velocity, quality, reliability, team health) to enable data-driven decision making.
- Ensure robust security, privacy, and reliability standards across all services and platforms, guiding teams through best practices and compliance.
- Manage engineering budgets, vendor relationships, tooling, and headcount planning — balancing cost efficiency with capability and growth.
- Act as the senior technical representative in cross-functional discussions, clearly communicating trade-offs, risks, and implementation paths to stakeholders.
- Evaluate build-vs-buy decisions and oversee third-party integrations to accelerate time-to-value while maintaining technical integrity.
Qualifications
- 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with at least 3+ years in engineering management across mobile and backend teams.
- Proven success in hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing engineering teams.
- Strong technical background in consumer-facing mobile apps (iOS/Android) and scalable backend systems.
- Deep understanding of modern engineering processes: agile development, code review, automated testing, CI/CD, release management, and incident response.
- Experience with cross-platform development (mobile, TV, browser, and cloud integrations).
- Excellent communicator who can influence cross-functional stakeholders and articulate complex technical decisions clearly.
- High ownership mentality with a proven ability to deliver results in fast-paced, entrepreneurial environments.
- Passion for gaming, streaming, and consumer products — you understand the space and care about building joyful experiences for players.
Bonus Points
- Experience scaling engineering organizations at a startup or high-growth consumer company.
- Prior work with gaming, streaming, or entertainment platforms.
- Knowledge of AI/ML applications in product development or developer productivity.
- Experience managing budgets, vendors, and tooling at scale.
Compensation:USD 198000-218000
