Engineering Manager, Backend Platforms

Whatnot, Inc.

Job Overview

Location

Los Angeles, CA

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• Lead and grow a team of senior software engineers and future engineering managers, shaping org structure as the Backend Platforms team scales.
• Own the strategy and execution of Whatnot’s Backend Platforms, including Python and Elixir core services, realtime infrastructure, and the underlying storage and database layer.
• Drive technical direction for platforms that power live commerce at scale, including Live Service and Auction Service, which enable livestream shopping and bidding experiences for millions of users.
• Empower senior individual contributors to define architecture and technical direction while remaining technically engaged—reviewing designs, pressure-testing decisions, debugging production issues, and writing code when necessary.
• Balance platform investment across new capabilities, developer productivity, and technical debt reduction across multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Partner with Reliability, Infrastructure, and product engineering teams to establish cross-company architecture standards and ensure platform scalability.
• Build and sustain a culture of engineering and operational excellence focused on high code quality, clear ownership, disciplined deprecation, and accountability for production behavior.
• Shape the roadmap for backend systems that serve as foundational infrastructure for hundreds of engineers and millions of buyers and sellers across North America and Europe.
• Ensure measurable improvements in platform reliability, performance, and developer ergonomics for core backend systems.
• Hire top-tier engineering talent and develop leaders within the team, fostering growth and succession planning.
• Maintain deep technical credibility with senior engineers by staying hands-on with system design, performance optimization, and incident response.
• Collaborate with executive leadership to align platform strategy with business goals and growth objectives.
• Support in-person collaboration by working from one of Whatnot’s US hubs (San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Seattle) as team members must live within commuting distance of these locations.
• Promote dogfooding of the Whatnot platform: all team members are expected to actively use Whatnot as both buyers and sellers to inform product and engineering decisions.
• Contribute to a remote-co-located team model that values both asynchronous work and intentional in-person time for planning, problem-solving, and team connection.

🎯 Requirements

• 10+ years of industry experience in platform or infrastructure engineering, with 7+ years managing engineering teams
• Proven experience managing engineering managers or leading multiple engineering teams
• Strong technical grounding in backend systems at scale, particularly high-traffic realtime or event-driven platforms
• Demonstrated ability to steward technical direction across multiple workstreams and guide senior ICs through complex architectural decisions
• Experience building and operating backend platforms used by other engineering teams as customers
• Exceptional communication and leadership skills with ability to influence technical direction at the executive level

🏖️ Benefits

• Flexible Time off Policy and Company-wide Holidays (including spring and winter breaks)
• Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, and Vision
• Home office setup allowance and monthly allowances for cell phone and internet
• Monthly wellness allowance and annual childcare allowance
• Retirement: 401k with employer match up to 4% in the US; Pension plans internationally
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work
• Monthly allowance to dogfood the Whatnot app as a buyer and seller
• Lifetime benefit for family planning (adoption, fertility expenses)

Skills & Technologies

Python

Spring

REST

Backend

Remote

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Whatnot, Inc.

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About Whatnot, Inc.

Whatnot operates a live-stream marketplace for collectibles, sneakers, trading cards, apparel, and other hobby items. Sellers host real-time auctions and fixed-price shows while buyers bid or purchase through the mobile app. The platform combines live video, integrated payments, and authenticated shipping to reduce fraud. Founded in 2019, the company is headquartered in Los Angeles and has raised multiple venture rounds to expand categories and international markets.

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