Director of Engineering, Core Platforms

For millions of teams working in dozens of industries, day-to-day business gets done on the phone. So why — despite the huge leaps we've taken in design and usability — does most business phone software still look, feel, and act like it was born in the 90s? OpenPhone is changing that.

We’re a new type of business phone with a mission to help people communicate better and be more productive.

We’re backed by Y Combinator and some of the best venture firms around including Tiger Global, Craft Ventures, Slow Ventures, and others. We take pride in providing an exceptional customer experience and a product people love, which is why we’re excited that our customers have rated us the #1 VoIP Provider on G2.

OpenPhone is the modern, sophisticated answer to the clunky, outdated phone systems that have been slowing down businesses for years. With thousands of happy customers and several rounds of funding in just five years, it's safe to say we're onto something big.

About the Role

As the Director of Engineering leading our Core Engineering Pillar, you’ll be in charge of enhancing developer experience, fortifying software security, infrastructure/operations, and quality engineering. Your remit will oversee Platform, Security, QA, and IT teams, all of which play a critical role in contributing to OpenPhone’s success. Some of your core responsibilities will include:

• Strategic Leadership: You will develop and execute the technical vision for our infrastructure, security, and quality practices, ensuring alignment with OpenPhone's broader business objectives. This includes making key architectural decisions, setting technical standards, and driving engineering excellence across teams.
• Ownership: You will be in charge of our Core Engineering pillar, helping to define its mandate, direction, and philosophy. This encompasses establishing best practices, implementing efficient processes, and fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
• Operational Excellence: You will establish and maintain key performance indicators for platform reliability, security posture, and engineering productivity, driving improvement in these areas.

Technical stack and tools

These are some of the tools and technologies we currently use. You don't need to have used them all to qualify for this role, but we thought you might like to know what our current setup includes.

• Cloud Technologies: AWS, PostgreSQL RDS, Kubernetes
• Observability: Datadog, OTEL
• AI: OpenAI, AWS Anthropic
• Orchestration: Terraform
• IT: Okta, Vanta
• Quality: Playwright, JEST
• Programming Language: TypeScript

About you

• Experience leading managers across orgs with multiple teams, demonstrating successful team growth and organisational development
• Strong hands-on background in software engineering, with deep understanding of software development principles, architectural patterns, and engineering best practices
• Proven experience building and operating cloud-based distributed systems at scale (AWS, GCP, Azure, or others)
• Experience working with modern cloud-native architectures and technologies (e.g., k8s, microservices, etc.)
• Track record of leading and scaling platform engineering, DevOps, or SRE teams
• Strong communication and leadership skills, with ability to influence cross-functionally
• Experience working in high-growth startup environments
• Experience managing distributed/remote engineering teams
• Proactive mindset with strong initiative

Compensation

The annual base salary range for this position is as follow, plus equity and benefits:

SF Bay, Seattle, NYC, and LA: $232,000 - $257,000 USD 
All other US Locations: $207,000 - $229,000 USD
Canada: $236,000 - $261,000 CAD

The ranges displayed reflect the target for new hire salaries, and within each range, individual pay is determined by your skills and experience, as well as relevant education. Your recruiter can share more and answer questions about the specific salary range during the hiring process.

Salary is just one component of OpenPhone’s total compensation package. Your total rewards package will include equity, extensive medical coverage, a monthly lifestyle stipend, and a flexible PTO policy.

Who we are

As a fully remote company, we thrive asynchronously as a team. We are curious, ambitious, and dedicated to our work. We value trust above all else, and have a strong bias for action. If you're looking for a place to do your life's work, please get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.

And remember, there's no such thing as a 'perfect' candidate. We're looking for optimists with grit and determination, who are excited to face the challenges of a growing startup. OpenPhone is the type of company where you can grow, and we encourage you to apply for this role even if you don't think you meet all the requirements.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse work environment. It is important that you are able to bring your authentic self to work every day. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. #LI-Remote