Software Engineering Manager

About the role

You will own the technical leadership and people management for your squad, guiding the end to end delivery of critical physiology services. You will partner with product management, design, and quality assurance to translate business goals into robust technical solutions. You will define the architecture and operational excellence needed for your team to ship reliable features at scale. You will ensure all engineering work adheres to our stringent standards for software development, testing, and deployment. You will mentor engineers, drive innovation, and maintain the high level of performance expected from our platform. You will foster psychological safety and continuous learning while navigating ambiguity in a fast paced startup environment. This role is for a leader who wants to move from hands on coding to enabling teams through strategy, mentorship, and execution.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Guide and manage a team of engineers responsible for developing features that power our core physiology insights.
• Collaborate with cross functional teams including product management, design, and quality assurance to ensure successful feature delivery.
• Define technical strategy, architecture, and design for product features while balancing tradeoffs and operational concerns.
• Ensure the engineering team adheres to best practices, standards, and processes for software development, testing, and deployment.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to optimize the engineering team's productivity, quality, and efficiency.
• Provide mentorship, guidance, and coaching to team members to support professional development and career growth.
• Foster a culture of innovation, teamwork, psychological safety, and continuous learning across the squad.
• Partner with stakeholders to align scope, priorities, and measurable outcomes across functions.
• Take ownership of production systems, including service ownership, monitoring, and incident response for backend services.
• Work with distributed systems and cloud infrastructure, such as Amazon Web Services, to maintain reliability and scalability.
• Communicate technical concepts clearly to both technical and non technical audiences.
• Lead iterative delivery in ambiguous environments while maintaining quality, reliability, and performance.
• Support the development of wearable technology features that enhance fitness, health, and recovery for our members.
• Contribute to building a diverse and inclusive environment where all team members feel valued and empowered.

Requirements

• Experience as a software developer with prior experience operating in a management or team lead role.
• Experience managing and growing software engineering teams, including hiring, mentorship, and performance management.
• Strong technical background building and operating backend systems in production.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams through technical planning and execution in ambiguous environments.
• Experience working effectively across functions and with external partners to align stakeholders on scope and outcomes.
• Familiarity with distributed systems and cloud infrastructure, including service ownership and production monitoring, for example Amazon Web Services.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills to convey technical concepts to technical and non technical audiences.
• Passion for wearable technology and a desire to work in a fast paced startup environment.
• Willingness to relocate to Boston, MA to work out of the WHOOP office as required for this role.
• Commitment to maintaining the high standards that define our platform and member experience.
• Ability to balance technical excellence with delivery speed in a dynamic startup setting.
• Readiness to participate in on call responsibilities and support production systems as needed.
• Alignment with WHOOP values of ownership, curiosity, and relentless improvement.

Nice to have

• Previous experience in a wearable technology company or health focused software product.
• Background implementing observability and monitoring practices for backend services.
• Familiarity with coaching and career development frameworks for engineering organizations.
• Experience with test automation and quality assurance processes.
• Knowledge of compliance and data privacy considerations related to health information.

Practical notes

This role is based in the WHOOP office located in Boston, MA. The successful candidate must be prepared to relocate if necessary to work out of the Boston, MA office.