Senior Manager, Software Engineering (Platform Systems)

NerdWallet, Inc.

Job Overview

Location

Remote

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• As the Senior Engineering Manager for Platform Systems at NerdWallet, you will be instrumental in shaping the future of our core infrastructure, directly impacting how millions of users access and understand their financial decisions. You will lead, mentor, and grow a talented team of engineers responsible for the foundational systems that power NerdWallet's consumer experience. This includes critical components like our centralized product data platform, partner ingestion pipelines, publishing and click-tracking infrastructure, GraphQL gateway operations, and our high-traffic, headless WordPress CMS. Your leadership will be pivotal in driving the modernization of legacy services into robust, scalable, and reliable systems, advancing our vision of a decoupled, flexible platform that enables faster content publishing, enhanced observability, and sustained future growth.
• You will be the primary advocate for your team, fostering an environment where innovation thrives, technical excellence is paramount, and continuous learning is a daily practice. This involves not only guiding the technical direction but also nurturing the professional development of each engineer, helping them achieve their career aspirations while contributing to NerdWallet's overarching mission. You'll be responsible for ensuring the team consistently delivers high-quality, scalable, and secure software that aligns with and advances NerdWallet’s product and business objectives.
• A key aspect of your role will be close collaboration with Product Managers and a diverse range of cross-functional stakeholders. You will actively participate in shaping the product roadmap, meticulously prioritizing work, and proactively identifying and removing obstacles that impede progress. This collaborative approach ensures that the platform evolves in lockstep with business needs and user expectations.
• You will champion and enforce strong software development best practices across your team. This includes rigorous code quality standards, comprehensive testing strategies, meticulous documentation, and a commitment to operational excellence. Your oversight will ensure that the systems developed are not only functional but also maintainable, resilient, and secure.
• You will play a crucial role in guiding technical and architectural decisions. This involves balancing the strategic evolution of our platform—such as migrating to a headless CMS, enhancing our API capabilities, and refining content workflows—with the imperative of maintaining stability for our high-traffic, mission-critical systems. Your decisions will ensure that our solutions are scalable, reliable, secure, and compliant with all relevant regulatory requirements, particularly important in the FinTech space.
• Effective project management will be a cornerstone of your responsibilities. You will manage sprint planning, define and track project timelines, and ensure predictable and high-quality delivery against commitments. This requires a keen eye for detail, proactive risk identification, and the ability to escalate and address delivery challenges before they impact timelines or quality.
• Cultivating a positive and productive team culture is paramount. You will foster an environment of collaboration, accountability, continuous improvement, and psychological safety, where every team member feels empowered to contribute their best work. This includes actively supporting hiring, onboarding, performance management, and the career development of engineers at all levels.
• You will be accountable for ensuring that all systems owned by your team consistently meet stringent availability, performance, and security standards. This requires a deep understanding of our operational landscape and a proactive approach to monitoring and incident management.
• This role reports directly to the Director of Engineering, providing a clear line of communication and strategic alignment within the engineering organization.
• You will be a key contributor to the technical vision for platform systems, ensuring they are robust, scalable, and future-proof, enabling NerdWallet to continue its rapid growth and innovation in the financial technology space.
• Your leadership will directly influence the efficiency and effectiveness of content creation and delivery across NerdWallet, impacting the user experience for millions seeking financial clarity.
• You will be responsible for the overall health and performance of critical backend systems, ensuring they can handle peak loads and evolving demands.
• You will actively participate in architectural reviews and contribute to the long-term technical strategy of the platform.
• You will mentor and guide engineers in adopting new technologies and best practices, fostering a culture of continuous learning and skill development.
• You will collaborate with security and compliance teams to ensure all platform systems adhere to industry regulations and data privacy standards.
• You will manage the team's backlog, ensuring alignment with product priorities and business objectives.
• You will be a champion for observability and monitoring, ensuring the team builds systems that are easy to understand, debug, and maintain.
• You will contribute to the strategic planning for platform infrastructure, anticipating future needs and scaling requirements.
• You will ensure a high level of technical debt management, balancing new feature development with the need for system maintainability and stability.
• You will lead by example, demonstrating strong technical leadership, effective communication, and a commitment to team success.
• You will be responsible for the operational readiness of new features and system enhancements, ensuring smooth deployments and post-launch support.
• You will foster strong relationships with other engineering teams, product management, and design to ensure seamless integration and collaboration.
• You will drive initiatives to improve developer productivity and streamline development workflows.
• You will ensure the team's work aligns with NerdWallet's overall engineering principles and architectural guidelines.
• You will be a key player in defining and refining the processes that govern how the platform team operates, from ideation to deployment and maintenance.
• You will empower your team to take ownership of their work, fostering a sense of pride and accountability in the systems they build and maintain.
• You will be a critical voice in technical discussions, offering insights and solutions that drive innovation and efficiency.
• You will ensure that the platform systems are not only functional but also provide an exceptional developer experience for internal teams leveraging them.
• You will be responsible for managing the team's budget and resource allocation effectively.
• You will actively seek opportunities to improve system performance, reduce costs, and enhance reliability.
• You will ensure that the team's work contributes to NerdWallet's mission of bringing clarity to financial decisions for all users.

🎯 Requirements

• 8+ years of relevant software engineering experience, with at least 5 years in a people management role leading engineering teams.
• Proven experience delivering production software in a complex, fast-paced environment, ideally within FinTech or regulated industries.
• Demonstrated success owning and leading large-scale content management systems and headless architectures (experience with WordPress is a plus).
• Strong technical foundation with experience designing and building scalable, reliable, and secure backend systems.
• Proficiency in at least one of the following: PHP or Python, along with experience in GraphQL, SQL, and TypeScript.

🏖️ Benefits

• Industry-leading medical, dental, and vision health care plans for employees and their dependents.
• Flexible Vacation Time Off (Rejuvenation Policy) plus 11 holidays and a company shutdown period.
• Comprehensive New Parent Leave for employees welcoming a new child through birth, adoption, or foster care.
• Paid sabbatical after 5 years of service for employees to recharge and pursue personal interests.
• 401K with a 4% company match to support long-term financial planning.
• Monthly Wellness Stipend, Cell Phone Stipend, and Wifi Stipend (for remote employees).

Skills & Technologies

Python

TypeScript

PHP

GraphQL

Senior

Remote

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NerdWallet, Inc.

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About NerdWallet, Inc.

NerdWallet, Inc. is a San Francisco–based personal finance company that operates an online platform offering comparison tools, editorial reviews, and educational content for credit cards, mortgages, loans, insurance, banking, and investing products. Founded in 2009, it generates revenue through lead generation and referral fees when users select financial products from partner institutions. The company serves U.S. consumers seeking independent guidance to optimize financial decisions and is publicly traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker NRDS.

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