Engineering Manager, Buffer
$173-202.3k
+ Offers Equity
Senior and Expert level
Remote from US
Social media management platform
Be an early applicant
Social media management platform
21-100 employees
B2CB2BSocial Media
Be an early applicant
$173-202.3k
+ Offers Equity
Senior and Expert level
Remote from US
21-100 employees
B2CB2BSocial Media
Company mission
To provide essential tools to help small businesses get off the ground and grow. Through exceptional customer service and uplifting content, helping businesses believe they can succeed and do good along the way.
Role
Who you are
- We're looking for an engineering manager who is in the details
- Someone who maintains deep context on technical challenges, asks informed questions, and can guide strategic tradeoffs
- We are a dynamic, lean, and fast-moving engineering team focused on the consistent delivery of value to delight our customers
- You have 5+ years of experience managing software engineers with demonstrated ability to build high-performing teams that deliver high-quality software in small iterations and reduce cycle time
- You have a strong technical background with the ability to engage in architectural discussions, code reviews, and technical strategy. You maintain an up-to-date understanding of the architectural challenges your teams face
- You think in systems. You have the ability to see patterns across teams and make architectural decisions that create leverage
- You know how to lead remote teams, balancing synchronous collaboration with written communication across time zones (your teams will span the US and Europe)
- You focus on people development. You have a track record of coaching engineers, providing regular feedback, holding team members accountable, and creating fulfilling work experiences
- You partner well with Product and Design. You have experience working closely with Product and Design partners, bringing forward feasibility considerations and collaborating on lean ways to deliver outcomes
- You know how to hire and onboard engineers and have experience building strong engineering teams and retaining talent
- You have project management strength. You can lead teams to ship MVPs, get early data and feedback, and make customer-centric decisions
- You have a creator mindset. You have a personal connection to content creation, social media, or creator tools. It's a big plus if you used Buffer before and care about the experience
- You communicate exceptionally well in writing. You have strong written communication skills for distributed collaboration
- You have a growth mindset. You are humble, comfortable with ambiguity, and commitment to continuous learning
What the job involves
- We're looking for an engineering manager for both our Content Creation and Content Engagement teams, covering the full content lifecycle at Buffer
- You'll guide 7 engineers working on content creation (composer, AI features, planning tools) and engagement (comments, audience growth)
- This isn't a pure people management role
- We expect our EMs to stay close to the code and architecture even if they're not writing production code daily
- We care about the quality of our product and by working small with a continuous improvement mindset, we aim to leave our code well-tested and better than when we started
- You'll partner closely with Product and Design to shape technical direction, create space for engineers to do their best work, and build a culture of ownership and continuous improvement
- Lead 2 engineering teams - Content Creation and Content Engagement, creating an environment where engineers can do deep, focused work while staying connected
- Partner with Product and Design partners to shape technical direction, balance speed with quality, and guide architectural decisions that support long-term scalability
- Model Buffer values in your decision-making and communication, setting the cultural tone for both teams
- Develop your engineers through regular 1:1s, coaching, actionable feedback, and career development conversations that help them grow their skills and advance
- Build a strong feedback culture within the teams where growth is continuous, expectations are clear, and engineers feel supported to take risks and learn
- Lead with technical depth by maintaining strong context on architectural challenges, participating in technical discussions, and making informed tradeoffs
- Manage team operations, including capacity planning, hiring, on-call practices, and removing blockers
- Track and communicate team health metrics to ensure sustainable performance and make data-informed decisions about team structure and processes
- Coordinate within Engineering Leadership group (other Engineering Managers and Staff Engineers) on shared initiatives, represent team needs across the organization, and build trust and alignment
- Take shared ownership of product quality and system health by ensuring sustainable practices, and balancing technical debt with feature delivery
- Frontend:
- React and TypeScript
- Internal design system (Popcorn) built on top of Radix UI with CSS modules and Storybook,
- Vite for build tooling
- Jest and React Testing Library for testing
- Playwright for E2E tests
- Backend:
- Node.js and TypeScript
- GraphQL with Apollo (migrating away from REST)
- MongoDB as our main database
- Microservices architecture (consolidating into monorepo)
- We also have a legacy PHP backend that we are slowly migrating over to the monorepo
- Infrastructure:
- AWS with Kubernetes
- Feature flags for gradual rollouts
- Datadog for monitoring and observability
- AI/ML:
- Integration with various LLM providers
- Building internal abstractions for AI features
- As an EM, you don't need to be actively coding, but you should be comfortable engaging in technical discussions, understanding architectural decisions, and occasionally diving into code to unblock or guide the team
Application process
- Application. When submitting your application and resume, tell us why you want to join Buffer and take your time. This is your chance to make a strong first impression
- Please note: While we have several engineering roles open, we recommend applying to only one role - just choose one that resonates with you the most. If during our review or interviews we think you'd be great for a different position, we'll re-route your application internally
- Hiring manager interview (starting week of November 17th). Chat with Mike, Director of Engineering at Buffer, to understand what it takes to work at Buffer. This is an opportunity for both sides to get to know each other and determine whether our expectations align
- Asynchronous assignment. We'll send you 60-minute asynchronous assignment to help us understand how you think about technical details, feedback, and communication
- Management interview. Interview with engineering managers from Buffer focused on your management approach, performance management, people growth, team processes, and cross-team collaboration
- Team interview. Meet Product partner and engineers from the team to talk about your approach to leadership, team's work process and technical challenges
- Meet the CEO. At the very end, you will have the opportunity to meet with Joel Gascoigne, our CEO. This is a great chance for you to gain a deeper understanding of Buffer's strategy, values, and work processes
- Collaboration period. This is experimental stage for us where you would work with us over a few days (fully paid). The goal is to see how it feels to work in the team, both for us and for you. You'll meet a few bufferoos, and invite you to a Slack where you'll collaborate with the team
- Offer. We wrap it up with an offer and discuss the final details. We would align on the last bits before we make you part of the Buffer team 💛
Our take
Buffer is a social media management platform helping businesses and individuals drive meaningful engagement on their social media accounts. With a suite of products designed for publishing, engagement, analytics, and team collaboration, Buffer is integrated with some of the biggest social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
It acts as an all-in-one stop for social media planning, scheduling and managing, and when comparing the platform to its competitors, Buffer claims to offer the most value for money, making it the perfect platform for creators of all sizes looking to manage their social media and grow their audience without draining their time.
Buffer is a private and independent company that's now been operating for over 14 years. True to their philosophy of doing things a little differently, Buffer has been remote since its early years, it also intentionally maintains a small team of around 75 employees, publishes all employee salaries publicly, and operates on a four-day work week.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
15% employee growth in 12 months
Glassdoor (4.2)
Trustpilot (2)
Company
Funding (2 rounds)
Oct 2014
$3.5m
SERIES A
Dec 2011
$0.4m
ANGEL
Total funding: $3.9m
Company benefits
- Work remotely: Live and work wherever you like!
- 4-Day workweeks: Our schedule is four workdays, with a flexible, meeting-free fifth day for overflow tasks or personal time as you see fit
- Health insurance: We offer health insurance for all of our team members, international or US
- Home office setup: Get a laptop + $500 to set up your home office!
- 'Growth mindset' fund: Extra money for learning and development
- Minimum vacation: At least 3 weeks/year!
- Profit sharing: When the company does well, all team members share the profits!
- Family leave: 16 weeks of family leave for all parents, fully paid
- Retreats: When we can, we meet in person for company get-togethers
- Working smarter stipend: Get some extra cash for a co-working space or a coffee shop work
- Free books and Kindle: Get a free Kindle and all the free books - digital, physical, and audio - you like, anytime
- Sabbaticals: Take a 6-week break, fully paid, after every 5 years with Buffer
- 401(k): With 3% company match
Company values
- Default to transparency
- Improve consistently
- Be a no-ego doer
- Show gratitude
- Choose optimism
- Reflect to unblock
Company HQ
Pacific Heights, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Joel Gascoigne
(CEO)Graduated from the University of Warwick with a Masters of Engineering and Computing Science.
Share this job
View 2 more jobs at Buffer