Software Engineering Manager

Who we are

Zappi is a fast-growing SaaS platform helping Fortune 500 companies pre-test new ideas and creative content before production. From new products, media campaigns, names, logos, packaging or flavours, Zappi allows companies to shelve bad ideas and improve on good ones. We bring together top expertise in applied statistics, data science, visualisation, UX and engineering to create a platform that allows non-expert users to make high-stakes decisions easily and confidently. We believe it’s possible to run a profitable business while also having a positive impact on the environment and our communities

What we value

We believe in hiring people that want a chance to do their best work. Driven engineers operate best in high-trust, small, cross-functional teams who work together with the rest of the business to bring value to our customers.We believe great engineering happens in great teams that value improvement, curiosity and continuous learning. We align as a business on the challenges we need to solve and trust teams to solve them in the best possible way.We value experimentation, failing fast and being bold. We practice continuous delivery and fast iteration. We hate politics, gate-keeping, unfairness and toxic behaviour. We believe in transparency, even when it’s unflattering. We believe in honesty, even when it’s uncomfortable. We treat failure as a learning opportunity.

About the role

We are looking for a talented and experienced Engineering Manager to lead one of our product teams. Our product teams are the backbone of innovation and growth at Zappi and comprise a cross-functional team of engineers (back-end, front-end, data-science as needed) along with a Product Manager and Product Designer to produce high value products through continuous discovery. Product teams have full autonomy to discover and implement solutions to customer problems as they see fit and will immerse themselves in the customer’s context.We accept that people lead in different ways, but we’re looking for people that have:

• The engineering experience to challenge and participate in engineering decisions, but seeks to empower the team to make decisions themselves
• The ability to help members of your team reach their goals through building relationships and coaching
• A knowledge of what a high performing team looks like and how to help the team get there
• An ability to focus on the outcome and not be distracted by the tasks – to keep creating customer value at the core of problem solving
• An understanding of how to create a diverse and inclusive environment that fosters psychological safety and celebrates success
• Be a clear and effective communicator, and be able to explain complex problems to non technical audiences
• Experience in hiring to great teams

This is both a technical and leadership role. Engineering Managers are still Engineers and able to contribute technically, but their main responsibility is to create the best team to get the job done rather than being the hero. They are accountable for the team’s success.

Requirements

• You will need to be able to demonstrate characteristics of a senior engineer
• Be passionate about building high performing and motivated teams
• Be able to demonstrate experience working closely with a Product Manager and other functions to deliver successful software projects
• Be able to demonstrate using data to support decision making
• Be a clear and effective communicator, and be able to explain complex problems to non technical audiences
• Have experience maintaining a strong culture of quality and testing and experience building high quality systems
• Have a strategic mindset and be able to take in the big picture

Benefits

• Competitive pay scales that are benchmarked annually – this is not something we just say in job descriptions. We aim to pay well so that you can do your best work.
• Unlimited holidays – we want well rested and motivated teams so encourage people to take plenty of time off. We don’t cap your allowance, but do set a minimum of at least 20 days per year plus national holidays
• Remote-first working environment
• Thoughtfully designed offices to support both individual work and collaboration without interrupting others
• Generous hardware budget – get what works for you (e.g: 16” M1 MBP, monitors, etc)
• Support setting up your home office, if appropriate (chair + desk, etc)
• Wellbeing benefits such as yoga and access to trained therapists / counsellors
• 24 hour secure parking in Cape Town

Equal Opportunity

Zappi is an equal opportunity employer; our diversity is a major strength. We maintain a constant dialogue with our teams and wider communities about how we can become a more inclusive place to work.