Engineering Manager, Platform - Developer Infrastructure

Engineering at Valon

Our engineering team powers a modern software ecosystem designed to disrupt one of the most outdated and heavily regulated industries in finance: mortgage servicing. We’ve built the foundation of a scalable platform capable of managing billions in assets with precision and reliability. Now we’re focused on scaling infrastructure, improving developer experience, and building high-leverage systems that support rapid product iteration and long-term business growth. We’re a tight-knit, high-agency group of engineers from Stripe, Jane Street, Meta, and Google, and we aim to do the best work of our lives—together.

Our headquarters are in New York City, with a new San Francisco office opening this year. We also fully support remote work.

About the Role

We’re looking for an Engineering Manager to lead our Developer Infrastructure efforts on the Platform team. In this role, you’ll manage and grow a high-impact team responsible for the foundational systems powering how all of Valon engineering works day-to-day. You’ll work across our internal developer tooling including frontend, local development, CI/CD, and monitoring and observability—ensuring our platform is easy to use and productive for engineers. We’re also adopting and integrating AI tooling to make engineering even more productive. Some example projects on the roadmap:

• Easy-to-create integration tests in code that run in CI.
• Online database schema migrations via Vitess.
• Ensure web is compatible with our GraphQL schema before deployment, and vice versa.

You’ll operate with a product management mindset, balancing near-term priorities with long-term platform vision. You’ll partner closely with engineering, product, and operations to define and deliver cross-cutting infrastructure initiatives. This is a hands-on leadership role—you’ll guide architecture decisions, write code when needed, and deeply understand how our systems work. You'll also be a people-first leader, focused on recruiting, coaching, giving feedback, and helping engineers thrive through 360° feedback and continuous development.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of 4+ engineers focused on infrastructure, platform tooling, and internal developer experience.
• Own technical strategy, planning, and execution for core platform initiatives, with an emphasis on scalability, reliability, and security.
• Act as a strong technical mentor and hands-on contributor when needed—guiding architecture, writing code, and debugging systems.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across engineering, product, and operations to build infrastructure that unlocks product innovation and operational excellence.
• Establish and evolve engineering processes for continuous improvement, velocity, and quality.
• Invest in recruiting and developing engineering talent through coaching, mentorship, and ongoing feedback (including 360 feedback).
• Promote a high-agency, high-accountability team culture with a bias for action and clear communication.
• Advocate for technical excellence and pragmatic decision-making, grounded in deep system knowledge.

Ideal Background

• 4+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 1+ years in a tech lead or engineering management role.
• Experience working on infrastructure, platform engineering, DevOps, or cloud systems.
• Strong systems thinking and understanding of how backend and infrastructure layers interact.
• Track record of leading teams in fast-paced, high-growth environments.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and grow engineers while fostering a high-performance, feedback-driven team culture.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to align cross-functional partners around platform strategy.
• Hands-on experience with cloud providers (e.g., AWS, GCP), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), CI/CD pipelines, and observability stacks.
• A strong product mindset and the ability to translate business problems into scalable technical solutions.

Benefits

• Base Salary Range: $190,000 - $290,000. Base salary is determined by experience, qualifications, and skills.
• Equity & Compensation: Competitive salary with meaningful equity and a 401(k) plan.
• Health & Well-being: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Commuter Benefits: Pre-tax deductions for transportation, rideshare, and parking.
• Growth & Development: Onboarding, career development, and 360° feedback cycles.
• Team Culture: Quarterly budgets for team activities, swag, dinners, and more.
• Time Off: Flexible PTO, sick days, and 11 company holidays.
• Parental Leave: 12 weeks fully paid leave for all new parents.