Lead the engineering organization for an AI-native automotive marketing cloud product, overseeing technical direction and team development.

About the Company

Tekion is a B2B SaaS platform transforming the automotive retail industry with its cloud-native solutions. By harnessing innovative technology, Big Data, and AI, Tekion delivers seamless, integrated, and intuitive platforms designed to enhance customer experiences and solve significant industry challenges.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Senior Engineering Manager to lead our engineering organization for Tekion Automotive Marketing Cloud (TAMC), a completely AI-native product aimed at addressing the marketing and advertising needs of our automotive partners. This strategic role is crucial for the product's success, and the Senior Engineering Manager will be directly involved from day one, responsible for sprint cadence, technical direction, and the development of individual engineers. As the business scales, the role will evolve, necessitating additional engineering managers and expanding leadership responsibilities. Collaborating across time zones, you will ensure alignment between business goals and engineering execution.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the TAMC engineering team (approximately 20 engineers) across multiple Scrum teams, ensuring optimal delivery and project management.
• Accountable for technical delivery, tracking risk, and providing regular executive updates on engineering progress.
• Set and uphold technical standards, including disciplines in architecture, integration patterns, code quality, and observability.
• Act as the key engineering liaison for business and product partners, translating requirements into actionable plans while maintaining alignment on project goals.
• Manage dependencies and coordinate with platform teams to ensure issues are tracked and resolved promptly.
• Own the full talent lifecycle: recruiting, developing, and retaining top engineering talent while setting career advancement frameworks and performance reviews.
• Advance the technical roadmap in collaboration with ML Architects and Product leadership, focusing on future AI capabilities.
• Maintain deep technical involvement by engaging in architecture reviews and addressing complex engineering challenges.
• Foster a high-trust culture within the team, encouraging ownership, accountability, and pride in the engineering craft.

Requirements

• 12+ years of software engineering experience.
• 5+ years of engineering leadership experience managing teams of 15+ engineers.
• Deep technical background in Java backend systems and distributed microservices.
• Proven track record of building and operating SaaS platforms on AWS.
• Experience with hexagonal architecture and cross-functional leadership involving Product Management and Design.
• Strong recruiting and mentoring abilities for senior engineering talent.
• Experience working in fast-paced environments with shifting priorities.

Good to Have

• Experience with AI-native products and systems.
• Background in marketing technology or customer data platforms.
• Familiarity with Temporal for workflow orchestration.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation and generous stock options.
• Comprehensive medical insurance coverage.
• Work with top-tier professionals from leading companies in Silicon Valley.