Engineering Manager, Backend Platforms

Whatnot

Engineering Manager leading Backend Platforms team at Whatnot. Overseeing strategy, execution, and engineering talent development for scalable backend systems.

Posted 5/21/2026full-timeLos Angeles • California, Washington • 🇺🇸 United StatesSeniorLead💰 $280,000 - $330,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

ElixirGoPython

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead and grow a team of senior software engineers and, over time, other engineering managers. Hire well, develop leaders, and shape the org as it scales.
Own team strategy and execution. Empower senior ICs to define technical direction and architecture, while staying technically engaged enough to challenge decisions, unblock tradeoffs, and step in when course-correction is needed.
Shape the Backend Platforms roadmap, balancing investment across new capabilities, developer productivity, and platform-level tech debt.
Lead the team in evolving Whatnot's Python and Elixir backend cores: the Main Back End, async and messaging infrastructure, and the storage and database layer underneath.
Own the platforms behind Whatnot's realtime product surface, including Live Service and Auction Service, which power the livestream and bidding experience at the heart of the business.
Drive measurable improvements in platform reliability, performance, and developer ergonomics across the systems this team owns.
Partner with Reliability, Infrastructure, and product engineering teams to shape architecture and standards across Whatnot.
Build a culture of engineering and operational excellence: high code quality, clear ownership, disciplined deprecation, and accountability for production behavior.

Requirements

What you’ll need

10+ years of industry experience in platform or infrastructure engineering, with 7+ years managing engineering teams. Experience managing managers or leading multiple teams is strongly preferred.
A high bar for both engineering and operational excellence. You're energized by building backend platforms the rest of engineering depends on, and you take pride in owning how those systems behave in production.
Proven track record building and operating backend platforms or runtime services used by other engineering teams as customers.
Strong technical grounding in backend systems at scale, including high-traffic realtime or event-driven platforms. Whatnot's backend runs on Python and Elixir, with Go used for performance-sensitive components. Direct experience with any of these is a plus; equally strong candidates from other modern backend stacks who are eager to learn are welcome.
Demonstrated ability to steward technical direction across multiple workstreams and guide senior ICs through complex architectural decisions and platform migrations.
Exceptional communication and leadership skills, with the ability to influence technical direction across teams and at the executive level.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Flexible Time off Policy and Company-wide Holidays (including a spring and winter break)
Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision
Work From Home Support
Home office setup allowance
Monthly allowance for cell phone and internet
Care benefits
Monthly allowance for wellness
Annual allowance towards Childcare
Lifetime benefit for family planning, such as adoption or fertility expenses
Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally
Monthly allowance to dogfood the app
Parental Leave
16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

PythonElixirGobackend systemsplatform engineeringinfrastructure engineeringevent-driven platformshigh-traffic systemstechnical directionarchitecture

Soft Skills

leadershipcommunicationinfluenceteam managementoperational excellenceproblem-solvingaccountabilitycollaborationstrategic thinkingmentorship