Tech Lead Manager; Platform

The Role

We are hiring a Tech Lead Manager (Platform) to lead our platform engineering function that builds shared services, tooling, and foundations that directly shape customer experience. This is a staff-level role that blends deep systems expertise with hands-on technical leadership and people management.

Our product operates where embedded systems, machine learning, and hardware meet the real world. In this environment, decisions about memory usage, networking, system behavior, and offline operation surface directly in the user experience. There is no clean separation between “platform” and “product”; the foundations and services we build directly shape the product experience.

That reality shapes how we think about leadership. We believe the best user experiences are built by leaders who deeply understand the systems behind them.

In this role, you will be a systems-oriented engineer who chooses to lead. You will own the systems, services, and tooling that enable everything downstream of sensor processing while guiding the team responsible for the full-stack experiences our customers interact with across web and Android.

You will be accountable for the systems and services that enable everything downstream of sensor processing, including:

• The architecture and evolution of our platform in constrained, real-world environments

• Systems design that performs reliably without cloud or internet dependencies

• The technical foundations that power customer-facing experiences across web and Android

• Large, ambiguous initiatives tied to annual company goals and outcomes

• Engineering practices that raise the bar for quality, reliability, and execution

This role is about owning the shared foundations that connect system constraints to customer experience.

This is an engineer-first, people leader-second role.

You will:

• Stay deeply involved in system design and technical decision-making

• Lead a small team of engineers building across the stack

• Coach and develop engineers while remaining a strong technical reference point

• Hire and interview engineers as the team grows

• Own company goals and drive execution through ambiguity

Over time, success in this role looks like:

• A platform that enables faster prototyping and clearer customer feedback

• Systems that behave predictably under real-world constraints

• Engineers who are growing in technical judgment and ownership

• Technical decisions that scale across the organization, not just the team

You are someone who:

• Thinks in systems, not just frameworks

• Understands how operating systems, memory, and networks affect real software behavior

• Believes great user experiences start with strong technical foundations

• Is comfortable leading through technical and typical start up ambiguity

• Wants to stay hands-on while growing engineers and influencing the broader org

You’ve worked meaningfully with:

• C++ (or similar systems languages such as Rust)

• Python

• React (exposure helpful, but not required)

• Linux-based systems

• Networking fundamentals (DNS, DHCP, interfaces, data flow, queues)

• Build systems, packaging, deployment, and CI/CD practices

You understand:

• User interface systems that live on top of systems software (frontend architectures, design systems, cloud microservices, etc.)

• How systems fail under memory or networking pressure

• How to design software that cannot assume constant connectivity

• You prefer cloud-native platforms built around distributed microservices

• You want to move fully away from hands-on technical work

• You are a front-end-only leader without interest in systems or platform design

• You prefer narrowly scoped ownership over end-to-end responsibility

• You are uncomfortable leading in environments where the problem is still being defined

• Fast learners over specific backgrounds – We care more about how quickly you can pick up new skills than where you’ve worked before.

• Intellectual honesty – The right answer matters more than being right. You challenge assumptions, test ideas, and pivot when needed.

• Adaptability – We’re organized, but sometimes things change quickly. You find a way to make it work and balance short-term deliverables with long-term goals.

• Ownership of outcomes – You optimize your own time, focus on what matters to deliver quickly, and cut out inefficiencies.

• Not building in a vacuum – You stay connected to the rest of our teams and our customers to make sure all the pieces fit together.

• Above-market salary, equity, and benefits package.

• Early Series A Equity

• Excellent health, dental, and vision coverage

• 401(k) match - up to 4% of your salary

• Flexible PTO

• Daily office lunches in NYC