Basecamp is hiring an Engineering Manager for our Security, Infrastructure and Performance (SIP) development team. We’ll be accepting applications for the next two weeks. Our target start date for a new hire is in June.
About the job
The Engineering Manager role at Basecamp involves a mix of team leadership, people management, project coordination, as well as technical contributions off the critical path as time allows. You will have experience managing a team of high-performing programmers, you'll have spent time in the trenches as a senior-level Rails programmer, and you’ll have an interest in Rails application architecture, performance optimization, and security. The SIP team deliver projects, but the nature of our work means we have to be prepared to expect the unexpected!
About the job
The Engineering Manager role at Basecamp involves a mix of team leadership, people management, project coordination, as well as technical contributions off the critical path as time allows. You will have experience managing a team of high-performing programmers, you'll have spent time in the trenches as a senior-level Rails programmer, and you’ll have an interest in Rails application architecture, performance optimization, and security. The SIP team deliver projects, but the nature of our work means we have to be prepared to expect the unexpected!
At Basecamp we build new product features using our Shape Up methodology, and keep our apps fast, secure, and reliable. Right now, we're further developing our new email service HEY, and the next version of our namesake product with Basecamp 4. But we also maintain a cherished set of legacy products that we're operating until the end of the internet. Everything is built as a majestic monolith using Ruby on Rails, and going forward, we're all-in on Hotwire for the front-end.
Here are real examples of the work you’ll be doing on the management side:
- Managing a team of high-performing programmers, supporting them through 1:1s and continuous feedback, managing career advancement as well as performance issues.
- Developing the team so it works as a unit and not a collection of individuals. Solving any conflicts that might arise and iron out issues that can compromise the social cohesion of the team.
- Owning the Shape Up process for the SIP team. Working with programmers and Ops staff, coordinating with other teams and management to prioritize work, scope hammering, writing Heartbeats, Kickoffs, and arranging on-call schedules.
- Assisting our Director of Engineering as we hire at least 10 programmers in 2022, helping refine the structure of our engineering organization as it grows bigger than ever.
- Participating in our CODE RED incident escalation process, helping us bring incidents to a conclusion, calmly, and without blame.
And on the technical side:
- Participating in the weekly rotation to assess security reports from our bug bounty program and corresponding with submitters.
- Coordinating with third party security firms for security audits, pen-testing, and other measures, assess their findings and answering their questions.
- Helping the team when we encounter new types of spam in any of our apps.
- Contributing to our internal tooling.
- Helping the team investigate performance regressions and ship performance-related improvements.
About you
We’re looking for candidates who have an empathetic leadership style, who can build strong relationships and gets energy from helping programmers thrive in their roles. You will come with experience of Ruby on Rails and with the staples of full-stack web development as a former individual contributor.
We won’t expect you to hit the ground running. You’ll have a gentle, intentional on-boarding experience, and time to learn and grow comfortable with our systems, processes, and people.
Since the bulk of our work is written – from the long-form proposals we make, the code and interfaces we design, to the pull request discussions we have – being a good writer is important.
You’ll be a line manager, but Basecamp is a company where Managers of One thrive. We have high trust in our programmers, we don’t micromanage and we expect you to help us support this culture. You can expect to be counted on. You can expect to do your best work and build a career here.
This is a remote job. You’re free to work where you work best: home office, co-working space, coffee shops. We are primarily hiring from the Americas, Africa, or Europe. Our SIP team is currently spread across the US and western Europe, so your working hours should overlap with theirs.
We respect everyone's right to participate in political expression and activism, but avoid having political debates on our internal communication systems. Basecamp as a company also does not weigh in on politics publicly, outside of topics directly related to our business. You should be at peace with both of these stances.
Pay and benefits
Basecamp pays in the top 10% of the industry based on San Francisco rates. For this role, that's an annual salary of $207,978.
Basecamp pays in the top 10% of the industry based on San Francisco rates. For this role, that's an annual salary of $207,978.
Our benefits support a life well-lived away from work. Ample time off and all the resources you need to support you in doing the best work of your career. Here's more on the benefits we offer.
Applicants from outside the US will be offered a contractor role with comparable terms and at the same rate of pay as our US-based employees.
How to apply
Please send an application tailored to this position that speaks to us. Forget that generic resume – introduce yourself to us as a colleague. Give us some examples of how you’ve been successful in leading engineering teams in your previous roles. As we said, we value great writers, so please do take your time with the application – there’s no prize for being the first to submit. We know you can write volumes, but here you can keep it to fewer than 800 words.
Please send an application tailored to this position that speaks to us. Forget that generic resume – introduce yourself to us as a colleague. Give us some examples of how you’ve been successful in leading engineering teams in your previous roles. As we said, we value great writers, so please do take your time with the application – there’s no prize for being the first to submit. We know you can write volumes, but here you can keep it to fewer than 800 words.
Go for it!
We are accepting applications for this position until 22 April 2022, at 5:00PM US-Central time.
You should not expect to hear for a few weeks, while we review all applications. Please note that we’re unable to offer individual feedback during the screening process. We usually see hundreds of applications for roles, and our small hiring team doesn’t have the bandwidth to offer personalized feedback before the interview stage.
Interviews and a take-home exercise will take place in May. Our take-home technical exercise is representative of the kind of day-to-day work we do. We invite fewer than 20 candidates to this stage, and those candidates should expect to spend around 6 hours completing this test. Our interviews are conversations held over video with future colleagues – no tests, no surprises!
We hope to extend offers by the end of May.
We strongly encourage candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. This is an opportunity for us to bring in your perspective and we're eager to further diversify our company on all fronts. Basecamp is committed to building an inclusive, supportive place for you to do the best work of your career.
We look forward to hearing from you!