Director of Software Engineering, Scribd
Full Stack, Growth
$196.5-306.5k
Salary applicable for candidates based in California, for US candidates based outside of California: $162,000 - $291,000 USD. For candidates based in Canada: $205,500 - $272,500 CAD + Equity ownership
More information about location
E-book and audiobook subscription service
Be an early applicant
E-book and audiobook subscription service
201-500 employees
Be an early applicant
$196.5-306.5k
Salary applicable for candidates based in California, for US candidates based outside of California: $162,000 - $291,000 USD. For candidates based in Canada: $205,500 - $272,500 CAD + Equity ownership
More information about location
201-500 employees
Company mission
To revolutionize the way the world reads and learns.
Role
Who you are
- We’re looking for someone who showcases the ability to set and achieve Goals, achieve Results within their job responsibilities, contribute Innovative ideas and solutions, and positively influence the broader Team through collaboration and attitude
- This role is ideal for a visionary engineering leader with deep experience in growth engineering, subscription optimization, and team leadership who can balance technical excellence with business outcomes
- 12+ years of software engineering experience, with 5+ years in engineering leadership roles, including direct management of engineering managers
- Proven track record of leading and evolving established high-performing engineering organizations, preferably in subscription-based or consumer-facing digital products
- Experience successfully transitioning into leadership of existing teams and driving their continued growth and successHands-on experience with backend engineering technologies and architectures
- High level of interest in AI-enabled development tools and how to incorporate them into modern development and testing processes
- Strong belief in and experience implementing modern software delivery practices including continuous integration/deployment, automated testing, and rapid experimentation
- Experience leading technical transformations that improve deployment frequency, reduce lead time, and increase stability
- Deep experience with growth engineering practices, including experimentation frameworks, funnel optimization, and data-driven decision making
- Strong technical background with expertise in modern web/mobile technologies and architecture patternsExperience leading multiple engineering teams across different domains simultaneously
- Exceptional leadership skills with demonstrated ability to inspire, develop, and retain top engineering talent
- Strategic thinking with the ability to translate business objectives into technical strategies and execution plans
- Outstanding communication and stakeholder management skills, with experience partnering with executive leadership
- Experience in subscription business models, including acquisition, conversion, pricing strategies, and retention optimizationTrack record of driving measurable business impact through technical innovation
What the job involves
- Millions of active users engage with our products—Scribd, Everand, and Slideshare—to learn, grow, and enjoy premium books, audiobooks, podcasts, and more
- Our mission is to empower readers to explore their curiosities and expand their knowledge through exceptional products and user experiences
- The Growth Team plays a pivotal role in driving user engagement and delivering business impact across the customer journey
- We focus on technical excellence and innovation in key areas like SEO, MarTech, Signup Optimization, Subscription, and Retention
- Collaboration, continuous improvement, and technical excellence are at the heart of our team’s culture
- As a cross-functional squad, we work closely with other engineering teams, designers, and product managers
- Ownership, accountability, and strong communication skills are essential to success in this role
- While your primary focus will be on the frontend, you’ll also have opportunities to influence the overall architecture and direction of our systems
- We are seeking a Director of Engineering to lead our established Growth Engineering organization
- This strategic leadership position will oversee our existing multiple teams including Subscription & Retention, Signup Optimization, SEO, and Growth Platforms, driving technical innovation and business impact throughout the customer acquisition and retention journey
- As Director, you will take the helm of our current high-performing engineering organization of approximately 30 team members, including direct management of experienced engineering managers
- You will inherit an effective team structure while bringing your vision to evolve and optimize the organization for our next phase of growth
- You will partner with executive leadership to refine and execute the technical vision and strategy that powers Scribd's growth initiatives across our product portfolio
- Strategic Leadership: Refine and execute the technical vision and roadmap for the established Growth organization, aligning engineering efforts with company objectives and growth targets while building upon existing momentum
- Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and develop our existing diverse team of ~30 engineers and managers, continuing to foster our culture of innovation, accountability, and engineering excellence across multiple teams
- Organizational Optimization: Evolve our established Growth engineering organization structure to maximize impact, ensuring effective collaboration between the existing Subscription & Retention, Signup Optimization, SEO, and Growth Platforms teams
- Cross-Functional Partnership: Collaborate closely with Product, Design, Marketing, and Data Science leadership to define priorities, align strategies, and execute high-impact initiatives that drive sustainable growth
- Technical Excellence & Delivery Optimization: Drive the evolution of our engineering practices toward high-performance delivery, including continuous deployment, automated testing, and trunk-based development to reduce lead times and increase deployment frequency while maintaining quality and stability
- Technical Innovation: Guide the adoption and implementation of AI-enabled development tools to enhance engineering productivity, code quality, and testing processes across the Growth organization
- Data-Driven Culture: Champion a culture of experimentation, measurement, and continuous optimization, using data to inform decisions and drive improvements in key metrics while reducing time-to-market for new features
- Resource Management: Effectively allocate engineering resources across teams and initiatives to maximize impact and efficiency while managing headcount and budget
- Executive Communication: Represent the Growth organization to executive leadership, communicating strategies, progress, and outcomes with clarity and impact
Our take
The world's biggest site for social reading and publishing, Scribd's website has over 250 million unique visitors each month and a vast content library, consisting of over 200 million audiobooks, magazines, ebooks and newspapers as well as media created by the Scribd community.
While Scribd is the largest social reading site, it is not alone in offering this kind of media. It competes against some major players, the largest of which are Amazon's Kindle and Audible offerings, but also includes the likes of BookMate and the non-profit Internet Archive. Where it stands aside is in its feature-rich reader and the sheer diversity of its library, which, thanks to partnerships with several major publishers, features numerous popular titles as well as a range of independent creators.
Further differentiating it from competitors, the company taken a firm stand on social issues, in particular the recent wave of book bannings taking place across the United States. By making the banned titles freely available it hopes to do its part in preserving literary freedom. With this tendency showing no signs of slowing down, Scribd's intervention in this area could prove to be important.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
0% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Nov 2019
$58m
LATE VC
Jan 2015
$22m
LATE VC
Total funding: $105.8m
Company benefits
- Healthcare Insurance Coverage (Medical/Dental/Vision): 100% paid for employees
- 12 weeks paid parental leave
- Short-term/long-term disability plans
- 401k/RSP matching
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Learning & Development programs
- Quarterly stipend for Wellness, Connectivity & Comfort
- Mental Health support & resources
- Free subscription to Scribd + gift memberships for friends & family
- Referral Bonuses
- Book Benefit
- Sabbaticals
- Company wide events
- Team engagement budgets
- Vacation & Personal Days
- Paid Holidays (+ winter break)
- Flexible Sick Time
- Volunteer Day
- Company-wide Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion programs
Company HQ
China Basin, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Trip Adler
(CEO)Having studied at Harvard until 2006, they co-founded Scribd in March 2017. They have worked as CEO ever since then.
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