Job description
Engineering Manager (f/m/d)
Company Overview
Building the backbone of European trades together – with AI-first software. We’re not just building software – we’re on a mission to create space for contractors & tradespeople by equipping them with AI solutions that work the way they do: fast, practical, and AI-first. With Tier 1 Investors from Europe and the US, like Headline and Creandum as well as 30,000+ tradespeople as customer base, we’re scaling across Europe to turn scattered tradespeople into thriving communities.
Job Summary
As an Engineering Manager (f/m/d), you play a defining role in how plancraft builds software — by developing our engineers, raising the bar for technical excellence, and shaping an engineering organisation that scales with ambition. You’ll collaborate closely with our VP Engineering, Staff Engineers, and cross-functional partners to strengthen our technical foundation, evolve our ways of working, and create an environment where great engineers can do the best work of their careers.
Key Responsibilities
- Contribute hands-on at a Senior/Staff technical level, staying close to the craft, supporting architectural discussions, reviewing complex code, and providing technical clarity when teams need it.
- Develop and empower engineers through thoughtful coaching, clear expectations, and regular 1:1s, helping them grow their skills, confidence, and impact over time.
- Shape and elevate engineering excellence by defining high-quality standards, role modeling agency, strengthening engineering practices, and ensuring that performance, reliability, and pragmatism guide how we build software.
- Drive and lead cross-team technical initiatives (e.g., design system, architecture improvements, developer experience), taking ownership for momentum, clarity, and technical direction.
- Build a scalable engineering organisation by improving our structures, rituals, and processes, from hiring and onboarding to collaboration, delivery, and long-term organisational health.
- Lead hiring and talent decisions end-to-end: identifying strong technical talent, assessing skill depth and mindset, and helping build a diverse, high-performing engineering community.
- Influence the evolution of tech@plancraft together with our VP Engineering and Staff Engineers, shaping technical vision, organisational design, and how engineering scales with ambition.
- Strengthen cross-functional collaboration by creating clarity between Engineering, Product, and Design, ensuring that teams operate with shared context, trust, and aligned priorities.
- Reduce complexity and friction across engineering by improving communication, enabling better decision-making, and removing blockers before they slow teams down.
- Act as a builder who manages, someone who leads through competence, empathy, and action, setting the tone for modern, pragmatic, high-quality engineering.
Requirements / Qualifications
- Strong technical skills at Senior/Staff level, with the ability to contribute hands-on, review complex code, and support architectural decisions across the stack.
- Extensive experience in modern TypeScript development, including clean-code principles, scalable patterns, and a deep understanding of web application architecture.
- Experience across both frontend and backend environments, enabling you to understand trade-offs, guide teams holistically, and contribute meaningfully to discussions on system design, performance, and reliability.
- Experience mentoring, coaching, and developing engineers, helping people grow their craft, confidence, and ownership.
- Ability to lead and moderate key conversations (e.g. performance, development, hiring, technical debates) with clarity, empathy, and outcomes in mind.
- Strong communication skills, enabling you to align engineering with product and business context, while bringing technical clarity to stakeholders.
- Experience working in modern cloud environments (GCP or similar) and the ability to participate in architectural planning and scaling discussions.
- Hands-on experience with AI-enabled engineering workflows (e.g. GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor).
- Senior-level ownership and decision-making capability, navigating ambiguity and translating organisational goals into engineering action.
- English at C1/C2 working level for effective communication in our international environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- German language skills.
- Additional depth in either frontend or backend that complements your generalist leadership perspective.
- Cross-functional experience in Product, Design, or analytics-driven environments.
Location
Hamburg, Germany (Remote)
Employment Type
Full Time
Salary & Benefits
- 30 vacation days per year
- Personal learning budget
- AI Enablement (ChatGPT+ license)
- Modern tech setup (MacBook, premium headphones)
- Flexible work environment
- Subsidized sport memberships and commuting benefits
Equal Opportunity Statement
Diversity makes us better. We welcome people of all backgrounds, identities, abilities, and experiences, and we believe that different perspectives lead to better ideas, stronger products, and a healthier workplace.
