The Role
The Engineering Manager will lead backend, AI, and data platform initiatives, oversee engineering lifecycle, translate business goals into technical requirements, and ensure high-performing system delivery.
Summary Generated by Built In
About ShyftLabs
At ShyftLabs, we live and breathe data. Since 2020, we’ve been helping Fortune 500 companies unlock growth with cutting-edge digital solutions that transform industries and create measurable business impact. We’re growing fast and we’re looking for passionate problem-solvers who are ready to turn big ideas into real outcomes.
The Opportunity
We’re a fast-growing startup on a mission to redefine how automation, AI, and data infrastructure power business decisions. We’re looking for a high-impact Engineering Manager to lead complex backend, AI, and data-platform initiatives that power our core products. This role is ideal for someone who is equally comfortable being hands-on with technical decisions as they are driving clarity, alignment, and execution across teams. If you thrive in fast-moving environments, enjoy balancing people leadership with technical ownership and love solving ambiguous problems, we’d love to meet you.
What you'll be doing
- Lead the end-to-end engineering lifecycle, from problem definition and PRD creation to delivery, launch, and iterative improvement across backend, AI, and data-platform initiatives.
- Translate business goals into detailed technical requirements, epics, and user stories for engineering teams working in Node.js, Python, React, and GCP/AWS cloud environments.
- Partner with engineering, data science, DevOps, QA, and design to prioritize roadmap items aligned with OKRs, cost constraints, and delivery velocity.
- Define and own success metrics including SLAs, SLOs, scalability, and cost-performance trade-offs while ensuring reliable and high-performing system delivery.
- Lead the development of AI-driven automation initiatives, such as OCR pipelines, reconciliation engines, anomaly detection, and LLM-powered data extraction.
- Conduct technical feasibility assessments and guide architecture decisions (e.g., GCP Cloud SQL vs. Aurora, Kafka vs. Pub/Sub, RDS Proxy adoption).
- Maintain alignment across teams through sprint planning, stakeholder reviews, backlog grooming, retrospectives, and transparent documentation.
- Own engineering documentation standards including PRDs, SOWs, cost models, and architecture diagrams.
- Coordinate with key vendors and partners (e.g., Altinity, AWS, Petco Cloud) to support integrations, platform scaling, and compliance readiness.
Your Qualifications
- 5 to10 years of engineering experience, ideally in fast-paced environments, with a mix of hands-on technical work and leadership.
- Strong backend and cloud expertise across GCP/AWS, distributed systems, APIs, data workflows, and automation frameworks.
- Experience leading complex engineering or platform teams working on AI, automation, or large-scale data products.
- Comfortable diving deep into architecture and guiding engineers through trade-offs in reliability, scale, and cost.
- A builder’s mindset, outcome-focused, pragmatic, and able to find elegant solutions without overengineering.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to distill technical concepts for both engineering teams and business stakeholders.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
- Bonus: Experience in startup or high-growth product environments where speed, adaptability, and ownership are essential.
Why You’ll Love Working at ShyftLabs
At ShyftLabs, your work matters. We’re a growing data product company making a big impact with Fortune 500 clients and as we scale, you’ll have the chance to shape solutions, influence strategy, and grow your career alongside us.
Here’s what you can expect when you join our team:
-Hybrid Flexibility: Enjoy a hybrid model with three days per week in our Toronto office.
-Downtown Toronto Office: Work in the heart of the city.
-Comprehensive Benefits: We cover 100% of health, dental, and vision insurance premiums for you and your dependents which means no out-of-pocket costs. Eligibility starts from day one itself.
-Growth & Learning: Access extensive learning and development resources to keep leveling up your skills.
Inclusion at ShyftLabs
We’re building something big, and we want you on the journey with us. If you’re ready to use data and innovation to make an impact, apply today and let’s grow together.
ShyftLabs is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating a safe, diverse, and inclusive environment. We encourage applicants of all backgrounds including ethnicity, religion, disability status, gender identity, sexual orientation, family status, age, and nationality to apply. If you require accommodation during the interview process, let us know and we’ll be happy to support you.
Top Skills
AWS
GCP
Node.js
Python
React
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The Company
What We Do
We provide customized data and analytics consulting services, including automation and software development for a sustainable and intuitive digital transformation.
