About The Role

In this role, you will lead the engineering team responsible for the foundational engine of The RealReal’s marketplace: our automated item identification, intake, and authentication systems. Your squad sits at the critical interface of physical floor logistics and high-scale digital architectures, building tools that ingest millions of luxury items into our universal Item Master with impeccable quality and accuracy. You will partner deeply with Product and AI/ML teams to integrate state-of-the-art computer vision, automated tagging, and robotics conveyance systems directly into our warehouse execution workflows. This position is ideal for an engineering leader who thrives on scaling distributed systems and loves seeing their code drive real-world, physical operational excellence.

What You Get To Do Every Day

• Lead and mentor a high-performing team of software engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, and clear accountability.

• Partner cross-functionally with Product Management, Data Science, and AI/ML teams to build, deploy, and iterate on internal computer vision and automated item classification systems.

• Own the architectural scalability and performance of backend services (Ruby on Rails, Elixir, cloud-native apps) powering our intake flow and global Item Master database.

• Drive operational excellence by collaborating with hardware and vendor integration partners to orchestrate robotics and conveyance automation inside our execution facilities.

• Manage agile delivery cycles using structured ceremonies, keeping the engineering backlog prioritized and closely aligned with quarterly operational OKRs.

• Translate complex physical workflows into clean, reliable, and highly observable distributed software capabilities that reduce operational friction for our luxury experts.

What You Bring To The Role

Minimum Requirements:

• 3+ years of direct engineering management experience leading distributed software development teams in fast-paced environments.

• Proven track record architecting, scaling, and operating distributed, public cloud-native systems and APIs.

• Hands-on experience collaborating with Data Science or Machine Learning teams, explicitly deploying software that interacts with AI models (e.g., automated tagging, classification, or image processing).

• Strong expertise in relational database systems (MySQL or PostgreSQL) optimized for complex data structures like product catalogs or item masters.

• Excellent communication skills with a demonstrated ability to translate highly technical concepts to non-technical operational stakeholders and floor leaders.

Preferred Requirements:

• Experience in supply chain tech, logistics software, Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), or building high-throughput item ingestion platforms.

• Familiarity with hardware/IoT integrations, vendor conveyance APIs, or robotics workflows.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.

Compensation, Benefits, + Perks

• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

• 401K with Company Match

• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance

• Paid Parental Leave

• 9 Paid Company Holidays

• Flexible Time Off (With Manager Approval)

• Find out more about our Benefits here.

The expected salary range for this role is $194,499.00-$216,109.00. To determine starting pay we carefully consider a variety of factors, including primary work location and an evaluation of a candidate’s skills, experience, market demands, and internal parity. Additionally, salary is just one component of TRR’s total rewards package. Depending on role, employees may also be eligible for a bonus program, incentive pay and benefits.

The RealReal is the world’s largest online marketplace for authenticated, resale luxury goods, with 37 million members. With a rigorous authentication process overseen by experts, The RealReal provides a safe and reliable platform for consumers to buy and sell their luxury items. We have hundreds of in-house gemologists, horologists, and brand authenticators who inspect thousands of items each day. As a sustainable company, we give new life to pieces by thousands of brands across numerous categories—including women's and men's fashion, fine jewelry and watches, art, and home—in support of the circular economy. We make selling effortless with free virtual appointments, in-home pickup, drop-off, and direct shipping. We handle all of the work for consignors, including authenticating, using AI and machine learning to determine optimal pricing, photographing and listing their items, as well as shipping and customer service.