The Role
Leads Wattpad’s Platform Engineering team, overseeing backend platforms supporting social, notifications, subscriptions, and coin economy features. Responsibilities include managing and mentoring engineers, setting technical direction and roadmaps, guiding architecture and code quality, coordinating project resources, collaborating with Product and business stakeholders, supporting hiring, and managing team performance and development. The role requires significant backend distributed-systems expertise and hands-on experience with APIs, application design, Unix platforms, and compiled programming languages.
Summary Generated by Built In
Wattpad’s vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories. A leading global webnovel platform, Wattpad has democratized storytelling for a new generation of diverse Gen Z writers and their fans. Wattpad is part of WEBTOON Entertainment’s IP & Creator Ecosystem, where approximately 155 million monthly active users discover incredible stories in multiple formats. Come build the future of entertainment and storytelling with our global team, and write your next chapter with us!
Wattpad is part of the WEBTOON Entertainment family of brands, home to some of the world's largest storytelling platforms. With approximately 155 million monthly active users, WEBTOON Entertainment’s IP & Creator Ecosystem of aligned brands and platforms include WEBTOON, Wattpad--the world’s leading webnovel platform--WEBTOON Productions, Studio N, Studio LICO, WEBTOON Unscrolled, LINE MANGA, and eBookJapan, among others. To read more about our family of Brands, check out our website here.
Wattpad follows a hybrid work model, with employees working from our vibrant downtown Toronto office 3x per week.
We are hiring an Engineering Manager for our Platform Engineering team to lead the design, development, and maintenance of the backend platforms that underpin Wattpad's social, notifications, subscriptions, and coin economy features. This is a highly collaborative team that works closely with Product, Marketing, Business, and other engineering teams who build upon these platforms to deliver features to our end users. As Engineering Manager, you will be responsible for both the technical direction of the team and the growth and development of the engineers within it.
What You'll Do:
- Lead and support a team of engineers, overseeing performance management, career growth, and general team administration including rituals and meetings
- Contribute to planning and determining the technical roadmap by understanding and aligning business and engineering goals
- Spearhead and participate in technical design and planning sessions
- Provide technical guidance and feedback on documentation, designs, and code
- Work with Product and other teams during requirements gathering and solutioning
- Coordinate resourcing on projects, provide time estimates, and communicate blockers and issues
- Maintain high quality standards and foster a culture of long-term thinking and innovation
- Play an active role in hiring across the team
- Mentor and coach team members in both technical and soft skills relevant to their roles
Required Qualifications:
- 8+ years of experience in software development with at least 3 years managing a team of 3 or more engineers including those at the Senior level or higher
- Significant experience designing and building backend distributed systems, including writing and critiquing design and technical plan documentation with diagrams
- Majority experience in backend development with substantial hands-on experience in API, application, and systems design and building
- Expert level experience developing on Unix-based platforms
- Experience with one or more compiled languages such as C++, Java, Golang, or Rust
- Strong technical background with the ability to make well informed decisions and translate complex technical concepts to various audiences
- Comfortable working with ambiguity and collaborating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field
Nice To Haves:
- Experience in a Staff, Principal Engineer, or Architect position
- AWS Cloud experience
- Experience with OpenAPI, gRPC, or Protobuf
- Experience with Golang
- Experience with Docker, containerization, or Kubernetes
What we offer (For Full-Time Only):
* Career development; we believe in mentorship and investing in your learning, supporting you to achieve your goals
* Top industry health benefits, including vision and dental
Your own health/wellness account to spend each year
* RRSP Contributions (Canada), 401K Contributions (USA)
* Generous vacation and Maternity/Parental leave top-up program
* Corporate discount for gym memberships for you and your family
* Work from almost anywhere in the world for part of the year
* Winter break shutdown and a whole lot more!
Wattpad is conducting all interviews in a distributed manner using applicable third party software where needed and using visual interface tools such as Google Meet and Zoom.
About Wattpad
Who are we? Entrepreneurs and Do-ers. Our vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories, and our mission is to use the power of community and technology to unleash the full potential of stories to the world.
What does that mean? We are visionaries, community builders, passionate problem solvers, storytellers, coffee snobs (tea drinkers, too!), curious by nature, and culturally diverse.
What are we obsessed with? Our users. Solving complex problems and maximizing flow. Learning constantly. Building the next great storytelling product. Finding the greatest stories ever told. Dogs (and cats), coffee, and good snacks.
How do we work? Autonomously, collaboratively, respectfully. Balancing with work, family, and play...and all while having a great time.
Unlock the best of both worlds with a role that keeps you connected! Wattpad has a hybrid work model, where employees enjoy the flexibility to connect with colleagues and collaborate on exciting projects in person, as well as the time and space to for productive work from home. This is your opportunity to be a part of our thriving workplace culture.
Wattpad encourages candidates to apply as long as they are authorized to work in Canada (excluding Quebec) as a precondition of employment. We are not able to sponsor applicants for work permits.
Culture and Diversity
Wattpad is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate. Period.
Wattpad welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. We have taken a leadership position on creating a culture and an organization that truly values diversity. We are committed to fostering a global team that reflects the diversity of the Wattpad community. At Wattpad, we believe cultural fit doesn’t mean culturally identical, and diversity of thought helps us to challenge one another to think big and think differently. We consider employment applicants without regard to age, race, colour, national origin, citizenship, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital status, disability status or any other protected status.
If you have any special needs or accessibility requirements, please let us know. We will do our utmost to accommodate, in accordance with applicable local legislation.
Don’t meet all the requirements? Studies show women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs if they do not meet all the qualifications. Therefore, in an effort to build a more diverse workplace, we encourage you to apply anyways. You might actually be the right person or you may be a good fit for a number of other openings we currently have.
#Wattpad
Skills Required
- 8+ years of software development experience
- At least 3 years managing a team of three or more engineers, including senior-level engineers
- Significant experience designing and building backend distributed systems
- Experience writing and critiquing design and technical plan documentation with diagrams
- Majority of experience in backend development
- Substantial hands-on experience with API, application, and systems design and development
- Expert-level experience developing on Unix-based platforms
- Experience with one or more compiled languages, such as C++, Java, Golang, or Rust
- Strong technical background and ability to make informed decisions and explain complex technical concepts to varied audiences
- Ability to work with ambiguity and collaborate with technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field
- Experience in a Staff, Principal Engineer, or Architect position
- AWS Cloud experience
- Experience with OpenAPI, gRPC, or Protobuf
- Experience with Golang
- Experience with Docker, containerization, or Kubernetes
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The Company
What We Do
Wattpad. Where Stories Live. Wattpad’s vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories. The global multi-platform entertainment company uses the power of community and technology to enable the creation and distribution of content across a variety of formats. Its flagship app, Wattpad, is home to a community of more than 90 million people who spend over 23 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories. Tap by Wattpad, the company’s second storytelling product, offers short, chat-based stories in over a dozen languages. Wattpad Studios co-produces stories for film, television, digital and print, together with industry partners. Wattpad Brand Partnerships offers a full suite of advertising products to help brands build deep engagement with Gen Z consumers. The company is proudly based in Toronto, Canada.
