Software Engineering Manager
ABOUT US
At RADAR, we're transforming the way the world thinks about physical retail. RADAR has raised over $104M from top investors, retailers, and strategics and works with some of the world's retail brands including American Eagle and Gap. We’re building the future of in-store experience where every product and every person can be precisely located in real time.
Our platform combines RFID and AI to unlock hyper-accurate product visibility and automation at scale. From real-time inventory tracking to seamless checkout experiences, our technology empowers some of the world’s largest retailers to streamline operations, reduce loss, and elevate both employee and customer experiences.
We’re a fast-growing, mission-driven startup where bold ideas, collaboration, and impact are at the core of everything we do. Join us as we reshape the physical world with digital precision, starting with retail and expanding far beyond!
OUR VALUES
Mission-Driven: We're transforming retail with cutting-edge technology and building something that truly matters.
Collaborative Team: We thrive on curiosity, shared goals, and solving complex problems together.
High Impact: You’ll make meaningful contributions from day one and help shape the future of our product and company.
Clear Communication: We value honesty, humility, and respectful dialogue—everyone’s voice matters.
Balanced Lives: We work hard, but not at the expense of well-being. We respect time, boundaries, and life outside of work.
Diverse Perspectives: We believe better ideas come from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints.
Empathy-Driven Design: We build with deep respect for our end users, listening closely to their feedback and needs.
ABOUT THE JOB
As a Software Engineering Manager, you will be a player-coach leading a high-caliber engineering team building advanced platforms. Depending on your area of ownership, you may lead one or more teams across domains including Control Plane (edge/cloud compute), Dev/Sec Ops, Data Platform & Governance, High Scale Event Processing (hundreds of billions of events per day), Mobile Platforms, SRE & Operations, or Radar Platform (our core web/cloud customer experience). You will be technically hands-on in delivery while setting strategic direction, growing engineers, and collaborating cross-functionally with stakeholders and partner teams.
The best engineering managers here are strong engineers first. You'll be expected to contribute meaningfully to design, review code, and engage deeply with technical problems, not just manage the process around them. We move fast, and you've done it before. You know how to maintain a high quality bar without sacrificing velocity, and you bring the judgment to know when to push and when to slow down just enough to get it right.
Responsibilities:
- Lead, mentor, and grow a team of talented engineers; own performance management, career development, and a strong team culture.
- Set technical direction, support architecture decisions, and champion engineering best practices across your team and peers.
- Contribute directly to solution design and technical reviews; maintain a strong, credible technical presence.
- Manage agile processes, execution priorities, and on-time delivery of high-quality solutions.
- Collaborate with Engineering, Product, and UX stakeholders to define project plans and ensure requirements are understood, met, and well-documented.
- Identify, communicate, and drive resolution for technical and organizational risks.
- Foster a culture of security, quality, operational accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Support hiring and help grow the broader engineering organization.
ABOUT YOU
Required:
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
- 7+ years of software engineering experience, including at least 2 years managing engineering teams of 5 or more direct reports.
- Proven ability to remain technically hands-on: contributing to design, architecture, and code review as a practicing engineer, not just an overseer.
- Demonstrated experience building, deploying, and operating complex distributed systems.
- Proficiency in at least one core language: Java, Python, C++, or Go.
- Solid foundation in systems or cloud architecture, DevOps/SecOps practices, automation, and CI/CD pipelines.
- Excellent communication, organizational, and people leadership skills.
- Commitment to engineering best practices: code quality, testing, and operational stability.
- Demonstrated ability to move fast and deliver in a startup or high-growth environment without compromising quality.
Preferred:
- Prior experience leading teams in one or more domains: Control Plane, Dev/Sec Ops, Data Platform, High Scale Event Processing, Mobile Platforms, SRE, or Radar Platform.
- Experience guiding teams through growth, change, and cross-functional collaboration.
- Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), container orchestration, or real-time data processing.
- Passion for mentoring, technical empowerment, and building inclusive engineering culture.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
In your first 30 days, you will:
- Meet every direct report 1:1 and begin building trust and rapport.
- Shadow team rituals: standups, planning, retros, design reviews.
- Map the systems your team owns: architecture, dependencies, operational health.
- Meet key cross-functional partners: product, design, peer engineering teams.
- Identify any immediate fires or risks that need attention before deeper learning is complete.
In your first 60 days, you will:
- Establish a consistent 1:1 cadence and begin individual development conversations.
- Actively participate in design and architecture discussions; contribute to code and technical reviews.
- Clarify team goals, priorities, and near-term delivery commitments.
- Identify process or quality gaps and begin forming a point of view on how to address them.
- Deliver or unblock at least one meaningful piece of work alongside your team.
In your first 90 days, you will:
- Present an initial team roadmap or priority framework to your manager and stakeholders.
- Have a clear development plan in place for each direct report.
- Be actively driving execution: unblocking the team, removing friction, and holding a high bar.
- Own at least one cross-functional initiative or decision end-to-end.
- Have a concrete plan to improve one dimension of team health: quality, velocity, culture, or process.
At RADAR, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. The expected base salary range for this position is $200,000 - $250,000. Individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience and relevant education or training.You will also be eligible to receive other benefits including: equity, comprehensive medical and dental coverage, life and disability benefits, 401k plan, flexible time off, and paid parental leave. The pay range listed for this position is a good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible base compensation at the time of posting.
Research has shown that women & underrepresented minorities are more likely to read lists of requirements and consider themselves unqualified if they don't meet every single one. This list represents what we're ideally looking for, but everyone has unique strengths & weaknesses, and we hire for strength & potential, not lack of weakness.
Use of artificial intelligence or a LLM such as ChatGPT during the interview process will be grounds for rejection of your application process.
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