Head of Platform Engineering, Descript
$224-296k
AI video & podcast editor
Open for applications
AI video & podcast editor
101-200 employees
Open for applications
$224-296k
101-200 employees
Company mission
To make it easy for anyone o record, edit, and share any video.
Role
Who you are
- Leadership Experience: Has 5+ years of engineering management experience, including leading multiple teams or an engineering organization, preferably in platform or developer experience domain
- Technical Expertise: Demonstrates a strong technical background with experience in cloud platforms (GCP preferably), scalable infrastructure, and AI/ML technologies
- Strategic Thinker: Can develop and communicate a clear vision, aligning teams and resources to achieve strategic objectives
- Team Builder: Excels at creating collaborative, empowering, and high-performing team environments
- Effective Communicator: Communicates clearly and effectively, both in writing and verbally, across technical and non-technical audiences
- 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
- Nice to Haves
- Startup Experience: Experience managing engineering teams at a startup or high-growth company where the rate of change is extremely high
- AI/ML Background: Familiarity with AI/ML platforms, tools, and practices
- Developer Tools Expertise: Background in building developer tools and enhancing developer experience
What the job involves
- We are seeking a Head of Platform Engineering to lead and scale our Platform organization
- This organization at Descript is central to empowering our engineering teams to build and deliver products efficiently and effectively
- Operating as an internal product team, the Platform group focuses on providing tools, infrastructure, and services that enable our engineers to deliver exceptional products to our users
- You will be leading five teams across Platform, with expectations for continued growth in the next 6-12 months
- This position reports directly to the VP of Engineering
- Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a strategic vision and roadmap for the Platform organization, aligning with company goals and ensuring cross-team collaboration
- Team Development: Recruit, mentor, and grow engineering managers and engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and development
- Operational Excellence: Ensure execution across the Platform teams is predictable, reliable, and sustainable, implementing best practices in project management and engineering processes
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Product, Design, and other Engineering teams to ensure platform initiatives meet the needs of internal stakeholders
- Innovation and Improvement: Drive innovation within the Platform organization, continually seeking ways to improve our infrastructure, tools, and processes
- Culture Building: Help scale and evolve our company culture as we grow, promoting values of collaboration, inclusivity, and excellence
Our take
The rise of digital content has made video and audio creation more important than ever, but producing polished media can still be quite complex. Descript makes editing accessible to anyone, simplifying recording, editing, and publishing. And its platform empowers over 7M users to bring ideas to life without needing advanced technical skills.
Descript's standout feature is its AI co-editor, Underlord, which lets users create and edit videos just by describing what they want,. It can generate rough cuts, add visuals and B-roll, apply AI effects, and format content for social media. While many creators are still wary of AI in content creation, Descript has built its tools to augment human creativity, giving users control while handling the heavy lifting.
Serving millions of creators and businesses worldwide, Descript keeps innovating with AI features that learn from user input. By combining intuitive tools with responsible AI, the platform is helping content creators work faster and smarter, reshaping video and audio production while keeping the creative vision firmly in human hands.
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
- Health: We’ve got you covered with medical, dental, and vision benefits for all employees and their dependents. These include HMO and PPO healthcare plans
- Time off: Paid holidays are a given, but you can also expect flexible time off. Feel comfortable to take the time you need, when you need it.
- Parental leave: New parents receive paid parental leave to spend quality time with their expanding families.
- Home-office stipend: Get your work-from-home setup ready with our home-office stipend.
- Retirement: We offer a variety of retirement plans, including employer matching.
- Free food & refreshments: Come say hey! Visit our office for free lunch, snacks, and drinks.
- Destination off-sites: No matter where you work, you’ll get to know your team. We host two annual gatherings: a company-wide off-site and a team-specific off-site.
Company HQ
Civic Center, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Laura Burkhauser
(CEO)Laura joined Descript in 2023 as a VP of Product and became CEO in 2025. Prior to this, she was a Director of Product Management at Twitter and Rent The Runway.
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