Engineering Lead

Nonprofits do some of the most important work in the world, and most of them are still managing grants in spreadsheets. We’re fixing that. 
Instrumentl is a profitable, hypergrowth, YC-backed SaaS platform building the operating system for grant-funded organizations. More than 5,500 nonprofits use Instrumentl to discover, track, and win grant funding, from local community organizations to the San Diego Zoo and the University of Alaska. Collectively they’ve moved over $1 billion through our platform.
We’re doubling year over year, customers love us (NPS 65+, Ellis PMF 60+), and we’re hiring people who want to build something that matters.

About this role:

We’re hiring an Engineering Lead to provide hands-on technical leadership as our product evolves. You’ll report to the Head of Engineering and will help shape technical direction and ensure we’re delivering scalable, high-impact product experiences, especially through the use of modern AI tools and features. 
 
You'll concentrate on one of Instrumentl's core Engineering focus areas, which include:
• Growth Product/Customer Acquisition: go-to-market tooling
• Find/Win/Manage: core Instrumentl product functions, supporting end-to-end grant lifecycle management
• Data, Tools, and Infrastructure (DTI): platform and internal tooling 
 
Instrumentl is fully distributed (though if you’d like to work from our Oakland office, we would love to see you there). For this position, we are looking for candidates based in the United States who have significant overlap with Pacific Time Zone working hours.

What you'll do:

Technical Leadership

Drive technical planning and execution for an engineering team, from early discovery to final delivery

Raise the bar on technical standards: pull request quality, incident response, and continuous improvement

Foster a team culture where engineers take ownership, challenge each other constructively, and level up

AI & Product Partnership

Partner on AI-backed product features, bringing practical experience integrating models and AI services into production systems

Transform product development by applying cutting-edge AI tools, driving impact in both what we build and how we build it

Work side by side with Product and Design, connecting technical feasibility to customer outcomes

What we're looking for:

• Software engineering background: you’ve been a software engineer for 7+ years, including at least 2 years in a technical leadership role. Startup experience and comfort operating in fast, scrappy environments is a huge plus!
• Hands-on leadership: you’ve demonstrated your ability to guide system design and drive execution on growing Engineering teams. Your leadership style is grounded in clarity, trust, and accountability.
• Experience with AI integration: you have practical experience shipping AI-powered product features or integrating third-party AI services into production systems.
• Technical adaptability: you’re proficient in Ruby on Rails (our core platform is built in Rails), and open to learning new tools or frameworks to move faster and build better. Additional experience with Python, JavaScript, PostgreSQL, Redis, HTML, and CSS is a plus!
• Collaborative approach: you thrive in a cross-functional environment involving product managers, designers, marketers, and data analysts, and you value the unique perspective each person brings to the table.
• Results-driven: you’ve shown a bias for action and ownership in fast-paced, high-autonomy environments. You have strong instincts for balancing speed, quality, and simplicity in technical decision-making.
• Passion: you’re excited about Instrumentl’s mission to propel nonprofits into a bigger, brighter future!

Compensation and Benefits:

For US-based candidates, the target salary range for this role is $175,000 – $220,000 USD, plus equity. Final compensation is determined based on experience, skillset, scope of responsibility, interview performance, and geographic location. We’re committed to paying competitively and equitably.

Benefits

• 100% covered health, dental, and vision insurance for employees (50% for dependents)
• Generous PTO, including parental leave
• 401(k)
• Company laptop and home-office stipend
• Bi-annual company retreats

Instrumentl is evolving rapidly. You’ll always have new challenges and opportunities to grow here.