[Hiring] Director of Software Engineering @Spark Advisors

Role Description

Spark is looking for a Director of Software Engineering to lead engineering across our broker productivity product and core platform. You'll make sure our platform keeps up with a fast-growing customer base, and you'll keep our web-based broker platform sustainable as it scales.

In this role, you'll own engineering delivery for multiple squads, along with the practices that span all of software engineering. You'll partner with product leaders on roadmaps, own our infrastructure roadmap, and be the point person for the security of our software platform. Today you'll manage engineers directly through strong tech leads. As the organization grows, you'll build and manage a layer of engineering managers. Reporting to our SVP of Engineering, you'll be the default owner for software engineering problems that don't have a clear home, so teams can stay focused on what they do best.

Our stack is Python, Django, Celery, Vue, Redis, and Postgres, deployed on AWS with modern tooling for version control, continuous deployment, testing, and observability.

• Manage around six engineers across three squads at full headcount.
• Own the hiring plan as we grow.
• Operate in a HIPAA-regulated environment; security and compliance are part of how we build.
• Stay hands-on in design reviews, specs, code reviews, and spikes, while staying on the critical path for no more than one project at a time.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software engineering, including meaningful time in a startup environment.
• 3+ years managing engineers, including leading multiple teams or managing through tech leads. Experience managing managers is a strong plus.
• Strong technical foundation in web applications (Python/Django or similar, and JavaScript frameworks like Vue or React).
• Experience owning a platform or infrastructure roadmap and explaining it to non-technical leadership.
• Experience delivering large migrations or third-party integrations.
• Working knowledge of application security and compliance in a regulated environment (HIPAA, SOC 2, or similar).
• Proven track record hiring and developing senior engineers and tech leads.
• Comfort working across many kinds of problems at once, with good judgment about where to spend your time.
• Strong written and verbal communication, especially with leadership and cross-functional partners.

Requirements

• Drive engineering delivery for our broker productivity squads, partnering with product on sequencing, scoping, and delivery commitments.
• Own and communicate our infrastructure roadmap, including platform migrations, vendor integrations, sustainability work, and AI enablement.
• Lead security for our software platform, including pen test and audit remediation, in partnership with our IT, DevOps, and data teams.
• Own engineering-wide practices across all squads: cross-squad coordination, onboarding, QA and testing, and bugs and support processes.
• Hire senior and staff engineers, develop tech leads, and design a team structure that scales.
• Take ambiguous problems from definition to resolution, deciding what to own, what to delegate, and what to decline.
• Represent software engineering in company-wide planning and cross-functional work.

Benefits

• Equity compensation.
• Health care, including dental and vision.
• Flexible work location; co-working available.
• 401k.
• Paid Time Off.
• Monthly Remote Work Stipend (help cover costs of home-office needs).
• Paid Parental Leave: Up to 14 weeks for birthing parents; Up to 8 weeks for non-birth parents.
• 11 paid holidays.
• 2 week sabbatical at 5 years of employment.
• Wellbeing Perks through SpringHealth, Calm, and more!