Sr. Engineering Manager

Please Note: This is a Utah-based hybrid position which will require some regular in-office days each week. Additionally, employment with BambooHR is contingent on passing both a background and credit check. 

AI at BambooHR
At BambooHR, we’re all about setting people free to do great work, and we believe AI is a powerful partner in that mission. We’re leaning into intelligent tools to streamline our workflows, giving us more time for high-impact innovation. We look for curious, forward-thinking people who are ready to explore how AI can elevate their work and help us reimagine the future of HR.

Essential Job Duties

The Senior Engineering Manager will lead a software engineering team responsible for core employee lifecycle services that power BambooHR’s Employee Journey. This includes domain-level backend services, lifecycle orchestration, employee data extensions, and foundational capabilities that support hiring, onboarding, growth, and engagement experiences.

This role sits at the intersection of product domains and platform capabilities. The team acts as a domain-layer service provider, building capabilities specific to the employee lifecycle while leveraging shared platform primitives such as the Unified Data Model, workflows, and AI agent infrastructure.

A typical day includes partnering with Product, Design, and Architecture to define domain boundaries and capabilities; coaching engineers and tech leads; reviewing architecture and integration decisions; unblocking cross-team dependencies; and ensuring high-quality delivery across evolving priorities.

This leader will play a key role in BambooHR’s transition to an AI-native, outcome-driven platform, ensuring that employee lifecycle services are consistent, extensible, and ready to support agent-driven workflows and automation.

You will:

• Recruits, interviews, hires, and develops engineers, senior engineers, and staff-level engineers.
• Oversees the daily workflow, delivery cadence, and execution practices of the team.
• Provides structured, actionable feedback; performs timely and growth-oriented evaluations.
• Handles coaching, performance concerns, and disciplinary processes in partnership with HR.
• Manages up to two scrum teams or 12–18 engineers across backend and frontend disciplines.
• Lead the Employee Services team responsible for lifecycle-specific backend capabilities, including employee lifecycle orchestration, job object, and domain-level services
• Define and enforce domain ownership boundaries, ensuring the team owns outcomes without duplicating platform capabilities
• Drive alignment between Employee Services and adjacent domains (Hiring, Growth, Engagement) to ensure consistent data and experience across the lifecycle
• Partner with Product, Design, and Architecture to shape domain strategy, especially as the org moves toward AI-native experiences and agent-driven workflows
• Ensure the team leverages shared platform capabilities (UDM, workflows, AI agent infrastructure) rather than building redundant systems
• Manage delivery of multi-team initiatives with predictable execution, clear prioritization, and proactive risk management
• Coach engineers and technical leaders to think in terms of outcomes over features and domain ownership over application ownership
• Establish strong engineering practices around service design, data modeling, API quality, observability, and system reliability
• Build a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement within the team

What You Need to Get the Job Done

• 7+ years in software engineering with 5+ years managing engineering teams
• Experience managing backend or service-oriented teams in a SaaS environment
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, APIs, data modeling, and service architecture
• Experience working across domain boundaries and integrating with shared platform systems
• Proven ability to operate in environments with evolving ownership, ambiguity, and cross-team dependencies
• Strong partnership skills with Product and Design, especially in shaping unclear or emerging domains
• Ability to translate high-level strategy into clear execution plans for teams
• Experience leading teams through organizational or architectural transitions
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to align stakeholders across multiple functions
• Proven track record of developing engineers and technical leaders
• Ability to balance long-term architectural direction with short-term delivery needs
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.

What Will Make Us REALLY Love You 

• Familiarity with HRIS, employee data systems, or lifecycle-based product domains
• Exposure to AI-agent architectures or building systems that support automation and agent-driven workflows
• Experience building domain-level services in a platform-enabled architecture
• Experience helping organizations transition from feature-based to outcome-based delivery

What You'll Love About Us

• A Great Company Culture that has been recognized by multiple organizations like Inc, and Salt Lake Tribune
• Comprehensive health, life, and disability insurance 
• Generous leave policies that include 4 weeks of vacation, 12 company holidays, parental leave, and volunteer time off so you can enjoy quality of life
• 401k plans with up to 6% company match
• $2000 Paid-Paid Vacation bonus
• EAP through Headspace
• Check out all our benefits that benefit you 

About Us

At BambooHR, we're building something different: we're building a people intelligence platform that transforms HR and sets people free to do great work! We're a proven market leader driving innovation while building lasting success through thoughtful, sustainable growth. Here, you'll find a place that champions growth: both professional and personal, both individual and collective. 

We invest in potential, giving you the space to stretch your capabilities and turn good ideas into reality while providing the safety net of a supportive, values-driven culture. Our approach combines meaningful work with meaningful lives, offering competitive benefits, professional development, and the flexibility to thrive both in and outside the office. 

What sets us apart isn't just what we do, but how we do it: with openness, integrity, and a shared commitment to doing the right thing. Join us in creating HR software that makes work better for everyone, while we make work better for you.

BambooHR is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations throughout the hiring process.  If you would like to request accommodations, please let your recruiter know.

BambooHR is An Equal Opportunity Employer--M/F/D/V
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