Engineering Manager

About Stora

Stora builds an integrated platform for modern self-storage companies, enabling operators to handle bookings, payments, customer management, facility operations, and daily business tasks seamlessly through automation and software. Over five years, Stora has expanded into a platform utilized by over 500 operators worldwide. The company operates with a product-led and remote-first culture, supported by an experienced engineering team and ambitious growth plans.

Role Overview

This role is a true leadership position focusing on people management. You will oversee around 12 engineers distributed across three product teams, with plans for team growth. While each product team is led technically by Tech Leads working alongside Product and Design teams, your primary responsibility is to manage, develop, and support the engineers themselves rather than technical direction.

You must have sufficient technical background to comprehend engineering tasks, engage in discussions, and ask insightful questions without being responsible for every technical decision. You will collaborate closely with the Head of Engineering and People team but will have autonomy to shape engineering management practices at Stora.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct regular, meaningful one-on-one meetings, coach engineers and provide constructive feedback.
• Clearly define performance expectations and help engineers understand what constitutes good performance.
• Identify and address performance concerns promptly and manage sensitive conversations appropriately.
• Support career progression of engineers from junior levels through senior and beyond.
• Maintain strong rapport with engineers while ensuring lean management overhead.
• Design and oversee the engineering performance and progression framework, improving career level definitions and review processes.
• Make promotion and progression decisions based on consistent evidence understood by all team members.
• Promote a culture of continuous feedback throughout the year, beyond formal review cycles.
• Lead engineering hiring efforts alongside Tech Leads; define requirements, evaluate candidates, and uphold a high hiring standard.
• Ensure structured and effective onboarding for new engineering hires.
• Proactively assess team composition, identify skill gaps and future recruitment needs.
• Monitor team engagement, retention, collaboration, and address emerging interpersonal issues.
• Collaborate with Tech Leads to resolve issues at the intersection of technical delivery and team dynamics.
• Support and nurture a strong remote working culture as the company expands.
• Stay technically involved enough to understand ongoing work streams, review code and pull requests, and engage intelligently in technical discussions while deferring technical ownership to Tech Leads.

Success Metrics after One Year

• Engineers have a transparent grasp of expectations and career progression pathways.
• Managers and engineers conduct more impactful performance and development conversations.
• Early resolution of performance issues preventing surprises.
• A progression framework that aligns with Stora's current engineering scale and maturity.
• More consistent and effective hiring and onboarding practices.
• Reduced direct management demands on the Head of Engineering for people management.

Desired Experience and Qualifications

• Proven experience managing software engineers across multiple product teams or areas.
• Demonstrated success developing engineers at various career stages.
• Experience managing difficult performance and underperformance situations.
• Track record of making promotion and career progression decisions.
• Involvement in designing or enhancing engineering career frameworks and review processes.
• Experience leading hiring processes and crafting interview approaches.
• Sufficient engineering expertise to understand code and meaningfully participate in technical discussions.
• Good judgement establishing boundaries between management and technical decision-making roles.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, especially in remote work contexts.
• Practical knowledge of AI tools' impact on software engineering and personal experience applying them.

Although experience with Ruby or Rails is advantageous, it is not mandatory. The emphasis is on effective leadership rather than pure technical prowess.

Role Clarifications

• This role is not a Tech Lead with managerial duties added, nor a Delivery or Project Manager position.
• It is distinct from Product Management and is not a predominantly hands-on coding role.
• It is intended for seasoned Engineering Managers, not first-time people managers.
• Technical leadership responsibilities remain with the product teams' Tech Leads; this role focuses exclusively on people management.

Technology Stack

• Backend: Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, Redis, Sidekiq, TimescaleDB
• Frontend: Turbo, React, ViewComponents, Sass
• Testing: Minitest, Playwright
• Deployment: GitHub Actions, Heroku

Salary & Benefits

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience.
• Fully remote position within the UK or Ireland; Belfast office available for optional use.
• Private health insurance covering employees and their families.
• Company pension scheme.
• 35 days annual leave inclusive of applicable public holidays, dependent on location.
• Support for learning and development initiatives.
• Employee share options.
• Work-from-home allowance.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Stora is committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all individuals are treated equitably with dignity and respect. We value diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives and welcome applications irrespective of age, disability, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, race, religion, political opinion, or sexual orientation. Employment decisions prioritize merit, competence, and business requirements, aligned with Northern Ireland equality legislation. Reasonable accommodations are available during the recruitment process upon request.