Engineering Manager (Builder Platform) (San Francisco)

About Engineering at Headway

Building a new mental healthcare system at Headway is only possible because of the scale and leverage that software can provide. The engineering team at Headway is a small (~120) but mighty team using technology to build that future (and have a fun time while doing it!).

Principles that guide us:

• Focus on the mission : We view software as a means of effecting change in the world, not as an end unto itself. We write software to empower our patients and therapist to better solve the problems theyre facing.
• Ship small, learn fast : We are building new and novel products and believe that we learn what our users need by quickly shipping and iteration
• Everything is a product : Whether it's our patient search experience or a developer productivity improvement, we treat everything we build at Headway as a product with end-users in mind.
• Optimize for trust : We believe that engineers should be continually learning. To learn effectively and to be productive, engineers must feel safe asking questions and discussing mistakes.

Tools we use:

• Languages : Python 3, TypeScript
• Libraries & Frameworks : FastAPI, SQLAlchemy, React, Remix, Next.js
• Datastores : Postgres, Redis
• Infrastructure : AWS (Fargate, ECS, S3, and more), Spark and Kafka
• Monitoring : Datadog, PagerDuty, Sentry
• Version Control : Github, PagerDuty
• Vulnerability Management : Snyk, Semgrep
• Cloud Security : Lacework

About this role

At Headway, the Builder Platform team is responsible for the foundational infrastructure and developer experience that powers our ability to scale mental healthcare access. This includes the core compute and data platforms, CI/CD pipelines, internal tooling, and AI-driven productivity enhancements that enable every engineering team to build, test, deploy, and operate software with speed and confidence.

As the Engineering Manager for the Builder Platform pod, youll lead a team of engineers focused on delivering developer-friendly infrastructure, establishing platform standards, and driving measurable improvements in engineering velocity and reliability. Youll partner closely with other engineering leaders, TPMs, and product pods to ensure that our systems are scalable, maintainable, and optimized for growth. Your teams work will be a force multiplier helping engineers across Headway spend less time on low-leverage toil and more time delivering value to patients and providers.

Who you are

Were looking for experienced engineering team leaders and people managers who are relationship-obsessed, drive results and enable their teams to build for technical excellence. As an Engineering Manager at Headway, you will work closely with Engineering Leadership, Product, Design and Business teams to help shape the future of the engineering organization. This is an exciting opportunity for a passionate, mission-aligned engineering leader to make an immediate impact on our rapidly scaling engineering team.

• Lead and manage an engineering team of 8+ engineers
• Ensure there is process and product alignment across your team
• Develop and grow your team through weekly 1-1s, mentorship, and feedback
• Work with and help develop aspiring engineering leaders within the engineering team
• Contribute to the broader company strategy and product roadmap
• Help build out our engineering team as the headcount grows from 120 to 175+ through the remainder of the year

Below are additional experiences we think help engineering managers succeed at Headway:

• You have 3+ years of experience as an experienced Engineering Manager
• You have 3-5+ years of experience as a Software Engineer
• You have a strong product mindset and have built strong cross-functional relationships that drive optimal user experiences and build trust with users
• You have a strong technical foundation that allows you to ensure your team is making appropriate technical decisions
• You have a track record of building and leading high performing teams that have effectively delivered business outcomes through technical investments
• You have a track record of working well across teams and functions
• It's a nice to have if you've had prior experience with Python and React and working with AWS infrastructure
• It's a nice to have if you've had experience in health tech, building user-facing products
• BS, MS in Computer Science or related field

Our interview process

After you apply to Headway, here are some details of what to expect during the interview process.

• Initial screen : Youll connect with someone in recruiting so you can learn more about the team, Headways mission and exciting growth, and we can get a better idea of your background.
• First rounds: You'll meet with an engineering leader on the team to go deeper into your team and people leadership experiences and complete one technical (systems design) interview.
• Final rounds : Youll meet team members across product and engineering leadership for multiple behavioral interviews, leaving you with a fuller picture of what its like to work at Headway.
• References and the Offer : Our favorite part of the process! We'll send over all of the details, including specifics on employee equity, and congratulatory messages from excited future team members!

Compensation and Benefits:

The expected base pay range for this position is $198,050 - $233,000, based on a variety of factors including qualifications, experience, and geographic location.In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for performance-based variable compensation and an equity grant, depending on the position and level.

We are committed to offering a comprehensive and competitive total rewards package, including robust health and wellness benefits, retirement savings, and meaningful ownership opportunities through equity. Compensation decisions are made holistically, ensuring fairness and alignment with market benchmarks while recognizing individual contributions and potential.

Benefits offered include:

Equity Compensation

• Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage
• HSA / FSA
• 401K
• Work-from-Home Stipend
• Therapy Reimbursement
• 16-week parental leave for eligible employees
• Carrot Fertility annual reimbursement and membership
• 13 paid holidays each year as well as a Holiday Break during the week between December 25th and December 31st
• Flexible PTO
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Training and professional development

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