Engineering Manager

Summary

Are you a proactive and driven Engineer Manager looking to shape scalable systems and contribute to a product that empowers traders around the world? At Topstep, you’ll have the opportunity to help architect evolving systems, contribute to thoughtful engineering decisions, and build software with real user impact. You’ll work closely with managing a team of engineers, product managers, and stakeholders to turn ideas into durable, high-quality solutions. If you’re energized by solving meaningful problems, bringing clarity to complexity, and continuously leveling up your craft. Join us and help build what’s next at Topstep.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and mentor a team of talented engineers building high-performance APIs and microservices
• Partner with Product Managers to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions
• Drive architectural decisions for distributed systems handling real-time financial data flows
• Champion best practices for API design, database optimization, and service reliability
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, code quality, and technical excellence
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration between services
• Balance hands-on technical contribution with people management and strategic planning
• Guide the team through technical challenges while maintaining project velocity and quality
• Establish monitoring, alerting, and performance benchmarks for mission-critical services
• Build strong relationships across engineering teams to promote knowledge sharing

Required Qualifications and Key Competencies

Must Have Skills:

• 7+ years of software engineering experience with at least 2 years in a leadership role
• Deep expertise in building and scaling API-driven architectures and microservices
• Strong background in database design and optimization (SQL and NoSQL)
• Hands-on experience with real-time data streaming and event-driven architectures
• Proven track record of leading teams delivering complex backend systems
• Excellence in technical communication - able to explain complex concepts simply
• Experience with distributed systems patterns and their trade-offs
• Natural ability to mentor engineers and help them grow their careers
• Comfortable making architectural decisions that balance innovation with stability
• Strong project management skills with experience in agile methodologies

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency in designing RESTful and/or GraphQL APIs
• Experience with microservices orchestration and service mesh technologies
• Understanding of database technologies (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, etc.)
• Knowledge of message queuing and streaming platforms (Kafka, RabbitMQ, etc.)
• Familiarity with containerization and cloud-native development
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools

Preferred Skills

Bonus points if you have experience with:

• Node.js or C#/.NET development - hands-on experience with our stack!
• Financial services or high-frequency trading systems
• WebSocket implementations and real-time bidirectional communication
• Event sourcing and CQRS patterns
• Kubernetes and container orchestration at scale
• Performance tuning for low-latency systems
• Building teams from scratch or scaling existing teams
• CI/CD pipeline design and DevOps practices
• Data pipeline architecture and ETL processes
• Chaos engineering and resilience testing
• Leading remote or distributed engineering teams

Don't worry if you don't check all these boxes - we're looking for someone who's passionate about building great teams and systems!

Company Culture & Perks

• Topstep is an engaging working environment which ranges from fully remote to hybrid. We foster a culture of collaboration with cameras on during meetings and a robust Slack environment for communication. 
• 9 Company paid Holidays and generous Family Leave. Paid time off is accrued monthly.
• Competitive 401(k) matching, health, dental, and vision insurance is offered for full time employees 
• Vacations are encouraged with a bonus for taking 5 consecutive days. Employee referrals are bonused. Topstep offers a food and groceries budget and contributes towards health and wellness.

New Hire Base Salary Range

• $175,000-$200,000
• Bonus: This position is eligible for a performance-based bonus as provided by the plan terms and governing documents.
• The compensation offered will take into account internal compensation structure and may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Topstep is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all employees and applicants are valued. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status, in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Interested in the role? Apply today with your resume and cover letter!