# Senior Engineering Manager, Backend
**Company:** [Poshmark](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/poshmark)
Senior Engineering Manager role at Poshmark, a leading social commerce platform with 165 million members. You'll lead multiple engineering teams, shape technical strategy for a major product area, and drive execution across large cross-functional initiatives while maintaining deep technical judgment. This role combines organizational leadership with hands-on technical contributions, requiring 10+ years of software engineering experience and 5+ years of engineering management, particularly in leading multiple teams and building distributed systems.
**Role:** Engineering Manager
**Seniority:** Manager
**Locations:** IN Tamil Nadu (Chennai) - Office
**Salary:** 210000–280000 USD
[Apply](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/poshmark/13bd6375-d373-476a-b1f1-399558775040)
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/jobs/poshmark/senior-engineering-manager-backend-13bd6375
---
## Responsibilities

- Multi-team Engineering Leadership: Lead and manage multiple engineering teams across a major product area, providing strategic direction and tactical guidance while fostering a collaborative environment that encourages innovation and technical excellence.
- Technical Strategy & Architecture: Define and shape engineering strategy aligned with company objectives, participate actively in architecture reviews, challenge technical decisions with deep domain expertise, and drive architectural consistency across all teams under your leadership.
- Cross-Functional Program Execution: Drive execution of large-scale, cross-functional initiatives by partnering closely with Product, Design, Data Science, and executive leadership to align technical delivery with business outcomes and customer impact.
- Engineering Leadership Development: Develop and mentor Engineering Managers and technical leaders, creating pathways for career growth, improving organizational capabilities, and building a strong succession pipeline within your organization.
- Organizational Planning & Talent Management: Own organizational planning, staffing decisions, hiring strategy, and succession planning to ensure the team has the right talent and structure to execute long-term platform strategy and scale effectively.
- Process Optimization & Culture Building: Improve engineering processes and systems to remove friction and unnecessary bureaucracy while creating an environment where engineers can perform their best work and feel empowered to contribute strategically.
- Platform Alignment & Investment Planning: Ensure engineering investments align with long-term platform strategy and business priorities, making data-driven decisions about resource allocation and technical debt management across your domain.

## Requirements

### education

- {"name":"Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or Related Field","description":"Academic foundation in computer science, software engineering, mathematics, or equivalent discipline, providing foundational knowledge for advanced technical leadership roles."}

### technical

- {"name":"Distributed Systems Architecture","description":"Deep understanding of distributed systems principles, including consistency models, fault tolerance, scalability patterns, and trade-offs in designing systems for reliability and performance."}
- {"name":"System Design & Technical Decision-Making","description":"Ability to evaluate complex technical decisions, conduct architecture reviews, assess technical approaches for long-term viability, and guide teams toward optimal solutions."}
- {"name":"Software Development Fundamentals","description":"Strong foundation in software development practices, design patterns, code quality standards, and engineering discipline necessary to mentor teams and make informed technical judgments."}
- {"name":"Scalable Backend Systems","description":"Hands-on experience building backend systems capable of serving massive scale, understanding performance optimization, data persistence, API design, and operational excellence."}

### experience

- {"name":"10+ Years Software Engineering","description":"Comprehensive background spanning multiple software engineering roles with deep expertise in designing, building, and scaling systems at scale across diverse technology domains and company stages."}
- {"name":"5+ Years Engineering Management","description":"Proven track record of successful engineering management with progressive responsibility, including direct experience leading and developing other managers and overseeing multiple engineering teams simultaneously."}
- {"name":"Large-Scale Distributed Systems","description":"Hands-on experience architecting and building large distributed systems, understanding tradeoffs between performance, reliability, and scalability in production environments serving millions of users."}
- {"name":"Technical Leadership in Complex Organizations","description":"Demonstrated ability to provide technical vision and leadership while navigating complex organizational structures, multiple stakeholders, and competing priorities in scaled engineering environments."}
- {"name":"Cross-Functional Program Delivery","description":"Proven ability to execute large, complex programs involving multiple engineering teams, product, design, and other functions with accountability for outcomes and timelines."}

## Skills

### required

- {"name":"Engineering Team Leadership","description":"Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop high-performing engineering teams across multiple areas, fostering psychological safety, ownership, and excellence."}
- {"name":"Technical Strategy & Vision","description":"Capability to develop coherent technical strategies that align with business goals, articulate clear technical vision, and guide teams toward long-term architectural excellence."}
- {"name":"Organizational Leadership","description":"Strong organizational and people leadership skills including hiring, performance management, career development, and creating organizational structures that scale."}
- {"name":"Cross-Functional Collaboration","description":"Ability to work effectively with product, design, data science, and executive stakeholders, translating between technical and business contexts to drive aligned outcomes."}
- {"name":"Executive Communication","description":"Excellent communication skills with ability to articulate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences, present to leadership, and influence without authority."}
- {"name":"Architectural Judgment","description":"Ability to evaluate technical approaches, understand system tradeoffs, and make sound architectural decisions that balance performance, maintainability, and business constraints."}
- {"name":"Program Execution","description":"Track record of successfully driving large, complex initiatives to completion with multiple dependencies, unclear requirements, and cross-functional coordination challenges."}

### preferred

- {"name":"Marketplace Platform Experience","description":"Background building or leading engineering efforts in marketplace platforms, understanding the unique challenges of connecting buyers and sellers with scale and reliability."}
- {"name":"Search & Discovery Systems","description":"Experience with search infrastructure, ranking algorithms, discovery systems, or information retrieval at scale, relevant to e-commerce and marketplace environments."}
- {"name":"Machine Learning & Recommendations","description":"Familiarity with machine learning systems, recommendation engines, and data science collaboration in driving personalization and user engagement."}
- {"name":"Advertising & Monetization Platforms","description":"Experience with advertising systems, monetization infrastructure, or commerce platforms that balance user experience with revenue generation."}
- {"name":"Engineering Organization Scaling","description":"Demonstrated experience scaling engineering organizations from smaller teams to larger organizations, including process improvements and cultural development."}
- {"name":"Organizational Change Leadership","description":"Track record of leading organizational change initiatives, restructurings, or transformations while maintaining team morale and delivering results."}
- {"name":"High-Performance Engineering Culture","description":"Experience building and sustaining high-performing engineering cultures focused on ownership, quality, innovation, and continuous improvement."}

## Tech stack

### tools

- {"name":"Kubernetes","description":"Container orchestration platform for managing distributed systems; expertise reflects modern infrastructure practices and ability to operate systems at scale."}
- {"name":"Docker","description":"Containerization technology for consistent deployment and scaling; proficiency indicates understanding of modern DevOps practices and infrastructure as code."}
- {"name":"CI/CD Pipelines","description":"Continuous integration and deployment infrastructure; experience demonstrates commitment to rapid iteration, quality automation, and operational excellence."}
- {"name":"Datadog or New Relic","description":"Application performance monitoring and observability tools critical for managing large distributed systems; familiarity indicates experience operating systems in production."}
- {"name":"Terraform","description":"Infrastructure as code tool for managing cloud infrastructure; experience reflects modern cloud-native development and reproducible infrastructure practices."}

### others

- {"name":"Cloud Platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure)","description":"Experience deploying and scaling systems on major cloud providers reflects modern backend infrastructure knowledge and ability to manage cloud-native architectures."}
- {"name":"Message Queues (Kafka, RabbitMQ)","description":"Event streaming and message queuing systems critical for asynchronous processing in distributed systems; expertise indicates understanding of event-driven architectures."}
- {"name":"Data Pipeline & Analytics","description":"Experience with data processing frameworks and analytics pipelines reflects ability to drive data-informed decision making in large organizations."}
- {"name":"Agile & Scrum Methodologies","description":"Familiar with agile development practices, sprint planning, and team coordination methodologies essential for managing modern engineering teams."}

### databases

- {"name":"PostgreSQL","description":"Reliable relational database commonly used in production systems; proficiency indicates solid understanding of data modeling, query optimization, and relational database management."}
- {"name":"Redis","description":"In-memory data store critical for caching, sessions, and real-time features; experience reflects understanding of performance optimization and distributed caching strategies."}
- {"name":"Apache Cassandra","description":"Distributed NoSQL database for high-throughput, high-availability systems; experience indicates expertise with handling massive scale and eventual consistency models."}
- {"name":"Elasticsearch","description":"Search and analytics engine essential for marketplace search functionality; familiarity demonstrates understanding of search infrastructure and full-text indexing at scale."}

### languages

- {"name":"Java","description":"Commonly used at scale for backend systems; experience with Java ecosystem valuable for understanding enterprise-grade distributed systems and microservices architectures."}
- {"name":"Python","description":"Widely adopted for backend services, data processing, and machine learning integration; familiarity demonstrates adaptability to modern backend development practices."}
- {"name":"Go","description":"Increasingly popular for building scalable, concurrent backend services and infrastructure tools; experience reflects modern systems programming practices."}

### frameworks

- {"name":"Spring Boot","description":"Prevalent framework for building scalable Java microservices; understanding spring ecosystem reflects experience with production-grade enterprise backends."}
- {"name":"microservices Architecture","description":"Architectural approach for building distributed systems using independent, loosely coupled services; critical for modern scalable platforms like marketplaces."}
- {"name":"API Design & RESTful Services","description":"Expertise in designing scalable APIs and RESTful web services that serve multiple clients and maintain backward compatibility at scale."}

## Benefits

### benefits

- {"name":"Equity & Stock Options","description":"Participate in company growth through equity grants as a key leadership member, aligning your success with Poshmark's long-term performance and mission."}
- {"name":"Comprehensive Health Insurance","description":"Full health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your family, with company contributions to ensure access to quality healthcare."}
- {"name":"401(k) Retirement Plan","description":"Employer-matched 401(k) retirement savings program to support your long-term financial security and retirement planning."}
- {"name":"Flexible Time Off","description":"Generous paid time off policy that recognizes the importance of work-life balance, rest, and personal well-being for sustained performance."}
- {"name":"Professional Development","description":"Investment in your continued growth through conference attendance, training programs, and educational opportunities to advance your leadership capabilities."}
- {"name":"Remote Work Flexibility","description":"Hybrid or remote work arrangements depending on team needs, enabling flexibility to work in the environment where you're most productive."}
- {"name":"Employee Wellness Programs","description":"Mental health support, wellness stipends, and fitness benefits to support holistic employee well-being and work-life integration."}
- {"name":"Parental Leave","description":"Comprehensive parental leave benefits supporting both primary and secondary caregivers during life-changing family events."}
- {"name":"Company Events & Culture","description":"Regular team events, all-hands meetings, and cultural initiatives that foster connection and community within the engineering organization."}

## Compensation

- **max:** 280000
- **min:** 210000
- **currency:** USD
- **stockOptions:** true

## Interview process

### steps

- {"name":"Initial Screening Call","description":"Preliminary conversation with recruiting or hiring manager to discuss your background, experience, and alignment with the role's leadership philosophy and technical requirements."}
- {"name":"Technical Assessment Discussion","description":"Deep dive conversation with engineering leadership exploring your approach to system design, technical architecture decisions, and how you evaluate complex technical tradeoffs."}
- {"name":"Leadership & Strategy Interview","description":"Discussion with senior leadership focused on organizational leadership philosophy, how you develop engineering leaders, approach to building high-performing teams, and strategic thinking."}
- {"name":"Cross-Functional Stakeholder Conversations","description":"Meetings with Product, Design, or Data Science leaders to assess collaboration style, communication effectiveness, and ability to partner across disciplines."}
- {"name":"Executive Leadership Interview","description":"Conversation with executive stakeholders (VP Engineering or CTO) to discuss long-term vision, strategic alignment, and how you approach major organizational challenges."}
- {"name":"Offer & Culture Fit Discussion","description":"Final conversation addressing compensation, logistics, team dynamics, and ensuring mutual fit before extending an offer."}

## Full description
## About Poshmark

  
**Poshmark is the leading fashion marketplace where style comes alive through discovery, self-expression, and human connection.** Powered by a vibrant community of 165 million members, Poshmark brings real people and taste to shopping through a social experience shaped by shared discovery. Buying and selling fashion feels simple, joyful, and personal, while every item tells its own story. Poshmark empowers sellers to grow meaningful businesses, keeps fashion in circulation longer, and gives shoppers access to unique and trusted finds, from everyday pieces to one-of-a-kind vintage and luxury.

# **Senior Engineering Manager**

**Role Summary**

We're looking for a Senior Engineering Manager to lead multiple engineering teams while shaping the technical direction of a major product area.

This role combines organizational leadership with deep technical judgment. You'll influence architecture, grow future engineering leaders, and drive execution across several teams.

This is not a pure management role. We expect Senior Engineering Managers to understand systems deeply enough to participate in architecture reviews, challenge technical decisions, and help teams navigate ambiguity.

**Responsibilities**

* Lead multiple engineering teams across a product area.
* Develop Engineering Managers and technical leaders.
* Drive execution across large cross-functional initiatives.
* Define engineering strategy aligned with company goals.
* Partner closely with Product, Design, Data Science, and executive leadership.
* Improve engineering processes without adding unnecessary bureaucracy.
* Ensure engineering investments align with long-term platform strategy.
* Drive architectural consistency across teams.
* Own organizational planning, staffing, hiring, and succession planning.
* Create an environment where engineers can do their best work.

## **Qualifications**

**Required**

* 10+ years software engineering experience.
* 5+ years engineering management experience.
* Experience managing managers or multiple engineering teams.
* Strong background building large distributed systems.
* Demonstrated technical leadership across complex organizations.
* Proven ability to execute large, cross-functional programs.
* Excellent communication and organizational leadership.

**Preferred**

* Experience in marketplaces, search, advertising, or machine learning.
* Experience scaling engineering organizations.
* Experience leading organizational change.
* Experience building high-performing engineering cultures.