Engineering Manager

Engineering ManagerSanta Clara, CA (5 days/week in office) Comp: ~$250K$300K base + equityBuilding the Backbone of Distributed Applications.At Orkes, we are reimagining how developers build reliable, scalable, event-driven applications without wrangling complex infrastructure.Born from Netflix's battle-tested open-source project, OSS Conductor, our platform is now powering billions of mission critical workflows across fintech, e-commerce, logistics, healthcare, and more.Our platform powers billions of mission critical workflows across industries like fintech, e-commerce, logistics, and healthcare helping companies run the core operations of their business with confidence. These are the workflows behind every transaction, every delivery, every patient check-in, quietly orchestrating our digital world.We're solving some of the hardest infrastructure problems: how do you make distributed systems reliable, observable, and scalable without every team having to reinvent the wheel? We absorb the complexity of distributed systems, letting teams build with confidence.We're hiring a strong engineering leader to own the Cloud & Platform engineering function at Orkes.This is a high-impact, highly operational role; you'll lead engineers while staying deeply hands-on in architecture, systems, and production challenges. The primary goal is to drive velocity of engineers on the team.We are open to:A hands-on Tech Lead ready to step into managementOR a Manager who still codes and operates at a high technical levelWhat You'll OwnCloud & Platform EngineeringLead systems responsible for cloud infrastructure, deployments, and platform capabilitiesSupport customer environments and production systems at scaleDrive improvements in reliability, performance, and scalabilityTeam Leadership (Player-Coach)Lead and mentor engineers while contributing technicallyReview architecture, code, and system designPotential to grow and manage a larger team over timeExecution in a Startup EnvironmentHandle frequent context switching across prioritiesSupport high-profile customers and urgent production needsDrive velocity while maintaining engineering qualityWhat We're Looking ForStrong background in distributed systems / cloud infrastructureProven experience as a hands-on engineer (recently)Experience leading engineers (formal or informal)Ability to operate in high-context-switch, fast-moving environmentsStartup experience or large-company experience with understanding of scaleWhat Won't WorkManagers who have been out of hands-on engineering for too longPure people managers without deep technical credibilityEngineers who struggle with fast pace or shifting prioritiesIdeal ProfileFormer senior/staff engineer stepping into leadershipOR current EM who still codes and leads technicallySomeone who has seen both startup and structured scale