Director of Engineering, Descript
Product
$260-330k
Collaborative audio and video editor
Open for applications
Collaborative audio and video editor
101-200 employees
Open for applications
$260-330k
101-200 employees
Company mission
To make video a staple of every communicator's toolkit, alongside docs and slides.
Role
Who you are
- Leadership Experience: Has 6+ years of engineering management experience, leading teams of Software Engineers, including managing managers, and track record of shipping high quality products
- Technical Expertise: Experience building web applications (ideally with React/Typescript) and/or native desktop apps, showcasing a strong understanding of modern development practices and frameworks
- Effective Communicator: Communicates clearly and effectively, both in writing and verbally, while collaborating seamlessly with both technical and non-technical audiences
- Team Builder: Excels at creating collaborative, supportive, empowering, and high-performing team environments — ones where engineers do their best work
- Empathetic Feedback: Provides and receives direct, empathetic feedback to drive continuous improvement
- Adaptable and Resilient: Thrives in fast-paced, rapidly changing environments, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and drive results
- Educational Background: Holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or related field, or has equivalent professional experience
Desirable
- Startup Experience: Managed engineering teams at a startup before where the rate of change is high
- Creative Tools Expertise: Experience with building or contributing to creative tools
What the job involves
- We’re seeking a Senior Engineering Manager to lead, inspire, and grow with our expanding company
- You will oversee a team of 8-10 engineers, with opportunities to scale and develop the team as the company grows
- This role reports directly to the VP of Engineering
- Roadmap Development: Collaborate with the team’s technical lead and product manager to develop a comprehensive roadmap, ensuring predictable, reliable, and sustainable execution of projects
- Strategic thinking: Aligns technical and product strategies with long-term business objectives while proactively anticipating challenges and devising effective solutions
- Team Development: Recruit, grow, and coach engineers, providing regular feedback and creating opportunities for professional and personal development
- Organizational Scaling: Shape the broader engineering organization’s operating model by driving best practices in technical execution, recruiting, onboarding, planning, and prioritization processes
- Cultural Development: Help scale and strengthen the company culture as we grow, promoting collaboration, inclusivity, and excellence
Our take
Descript offers podcasters, YouTubers and other content creators a series of modern tools for editing and transcribing audio and video files. It stands out from more traditional editing platforms by using modern tools like natural language processing and AI generated transcriptions.
One of its most newsworthy features is its transcription to audio editing software. Users can edit the AI generated transcription in text format, which is then reflected in the audio itself, and in the speaker's “natural" voice. Founded by Groupon founder and former CEO Andrew Mason in 2017, the company has experienced fast growth, and has already been used across the industry by outlets like the BBC, NPR, VICE, The Washington Post and The New York Times.
The company’s early success and future potential have been underlined in the form of substantial funding. The podcasting industry alone (which encompasses both video and audio) accounted for $22 billion. Descript, which continues to add intelligent and quality-shifting features, is well-positioned to capture this lucrative and growing market.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
30% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 4 rounds)
Oct 2022
$50m
SERIES C
Jan 2021
$30m
SERIES B
Total funding: $100m
Company benefits
- Generous healthcare package
- Unlimited vacation time
- Catered lunches
- Whether you love WFH or can’t wait to get back to being in person, we're interested in offering an environment that works for you
Company HQ
Civic Center, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Andrew Mason
(CEO)Studied at Northwestern University before founding Groupon in 2008. Was a Part-time Partner at Y Combinator and co-founder of Detour.com.
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