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HandshakeSan Francisco, California, United States
Senior Engineering Manager (Growth)
On-siteFull Time$250k - $280k per yearPosted 19 days ago
About the role
- The Senior Engineering Manager of Growth Engineering at Handshake owns one of the most strategically important growth levers and platforms in the company — the systems that power how we acquire, activate, and retain users across the entire Handshake ecosystem
- This isn’t a single-product role. You’ll lead a platform that cuts across every surface of Handshake, serving as a foundational lever for company growth. You’ll partner closely with Product, Data, and Marketing to define what the growth loop looks like at scale — and then build the infrastructure and product capabilities to make it real. You’ll lead a growing team of engineers and are expected to up level and build leadership capacity as the team scales
- Lead and grow a high-performing Growth Engineering team — hire, develop, and retain strong engineers; build the leadership layer needed to scale
- Own the full growth funnel — acquisition, activation, retention, and notification systems that move the needle on Handshake’s core growth metrics
- Build a scalable, extensible growth platform — modular infrastructure that enables rapid experimentation, personalization, and lifecycle targeting across the product
- Drive architecture and technical strategy — design systems for reliability, performance, and speed-to-ship, balancing platform investments with high-impact product bets
- Partner cross-functionally — work shoulder-to-shoulder with Product, Data Science, and Marketing to align on growth strategy and execution
- Raise the engineering bar — champion strong fundamentals: observability, experimentation rigor, data integrity, and engineering quality at scale
- Operate with ownership and velocity — set the standard for a team culture that moves fast, takes accountability, and delivers in ambiguous, high-stakes environments Benefits
- Health Insurance: Comprehensive medical , dental, and vision coverage
- Fertility and family forming: Through a partnership, Handshake offers comprehensive family benefits, including infertility treatments and a $15K stipend, to its employees.
- LGTBQ+ coverage: All medical plans cover transgender services.
- Mental health: Discounts on a variety of wellness apps and an Employee Assistance Program with access to five free counseling sessions.
- Tax savings: Tax-advantaged benefits to save money on healthcare, dependent care, and other expenses.
- Life & disability insurance: Essential benefits and automatic coverage with basic life insurance, plus short-term and long-term disability coverage.
- 401k match: Dollar-for-dollar match up to 1% of pay, with a max of $1,200 per year.
- Equity: Our equity program includes grants at hire, refresher grants after two years of tenure, and grants alongside promotions.
- Financial management: Handshake partners to provide free professional financial planning services.
- Learning & development: Employees are provided with an annual stipend to use towards professional development, career development workshops, manager trainings, and 1-on-1 coaching through external partnerships
- Community leader support: Employee Resource Group leaders are compensated with a quarterly bonus for the high-impact work the role requires
- Parental leave: Leaves of 16 weeks for birth-giving parents and 10 weeks for non-birth-giving parents; the policy applies to adoptions as well. Handshake also partners to provide one-on-one coaching on preparing for leave and coming back from leave
- Flexible time off: No accrued time off or waiting period to take vacation. Two paid flexible holiday days off to observe holidays that closely align with religious, cultural, and personal needs
- Sabbatical: Paid six-week sabbatical to recharge and reset beginning at six years of continuous, full-time employment, and every four years thereafter
- Volunteer time off: Two days off for social and civil activism, volunteer work, and/or any related activities, including attending and participating in protests
- Strong people leadership: Track record of developing senior engineers; experience managing managers or equivalent scope is a strong plus
- Execution in ambiguity: Able to align cross-functionally, build clarity from ambiguity, and deliver iteratively in fast-moving environments
- Growth or platform background: Experience owning systems that drive user acquisition, activation, or retention — or platform infrastructure that powers growth at scale
- Engineering leader + builder: 4+ years managing engineering teams, 5+ years of hands-on engineering experience
- Balanced product + systems mindset: Can translate business and growth goals into technical roadmaps, ship with urgency, and measure outcomes rigorously
- Background in lifecycle marketing infrastructure (notifications, email, push, in-app messaging)
- Familiarity with growth analytics, funnel instrumentation, or event tracking at scale
- Experience building experimentation platforms, A/B testing infrastructure, or personalization systems
- Experience in two-sided marketpl