Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
Esper sits in a SaaS segment where cloud software meets real world device fleets, combining platform engineering with enterprise operational requirements. That intersection makes the Senior Engineering Manager remit notable: it spans cloud native services, APIs, and data pipelines while staying grounded in the constraints of Android internals and large scale device management. For SaaS professionals, it is a view into how product strategy and reliability expectations translate into architecture choices when customers depend on always on fleet operations.
From a career perspective, this role builds durable SaaS leadership muscles: running multiple teams, aligning roadmaps to customer outcomes, and setting operational standards through SLOs, observability, and release discipline. The mix of distributed systems, Kubernetes, and cross functional partnership mirrors patterns seen in mature SaaS organisations, while the emphasis on delivery predictability and stakeholder alignment is highly transferable across platform, infrastructure, and product engineering groups.
The position tends to suit an established engineering leader who enjoys balancing people development with technical direction, and who is comfortable influencing architecture without needing to be the primary implementer. It also fits managers motivated by systems thinking, operational accountability, and collaboration across Product, Security, and Customer Success in an enterprise oriented SaaS environment.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
About Esper
Esper revolutionizes device management by redefining what it should be: a driver of business growth. With advanced and modern capabilities, automation replaces outdated workflows, re-provisioning becomes obsolete, and managing by exception transforms efficiency, resulting in increased efficiency, improved ROI, and bolsters security for device fleets of all sizes. Esper has been recognized as number 735 on Inc. Magazine's 2025 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America, and 133 on the 2024 Deloitte Technology Fast 500. Some of the world’s most innovative brands, like Google, Doordash, Taco Bell, Clinical ink, SF 49ers, and Intelity, rely on Esper to deliver exceptional device experiences. Esper partners with the leading mobile device hardware manufacturers, solution providers, and distributors globally.
About The Role
We are looking for a Senior Engineering Manager who brings a strong blend of technical depth, strategic thinking, and people leadership.
In this role, you will lead multiple high-performing engineering teams, define and execute technical strategy, and drive the delivery of scalable, high-quality systems. You will play a critical role in shaping engineering culture, mentoring leaders and engineers, and aligning execution with business and customer outcomes.
This role requires someone who can operate at both strategic and execution levels—comfortable influencing architecture, guiding managers, and partnering cross-functionally to deliver impactful products at scale.
What You'll Do
- Build and Lead High-Performing Teams - Lead, mentor, and grow multiple engineering teams, including Engineering Managers and senior ICs. Define hiring standards, actively recruit top talent, and build a diverse, inclusive organization. Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, innovation, and continuous learning through regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and career development planning.
- Drive Technical Strategy and Architecture - Define and execute the engineering roadmap aligned with company strategy and product vision. Guide architectural decisions across Android platform internals, device management (EMM/MDM), and cloud-native systems (AWS, GCP, Azure). Oversee the design of distributed systems, microservices, Kubernetes-based platforms, Kafka-based data pipelines, and REST/gRPC APIs, ensuring best practices in security, scalability, reliability, and performance.
- Own Delivery and Operational Excellence - Own end-to-end delivery from planning and design to deployment and live-site operations. Establish and track SLOs/SLAs, observability, and system health metrics. Drive predictable execution with clear milestones, risk management, and stakeholder alignment. Uphold high standards across design reviews, code quality, testing, release readiness, and CI/CD automation for fleet-scale deployments.
- Collaborate Cross-Functionally and Influence Strategy - Partner closely with Product, Program Management, QA, Security, DevOps, and Customer Success teams. Translate business needs into scalable technical solutions and influence company-wide decisions through data-driven insights and technical expertise.
- Champion Innovation and AI-Driven Engineering Practices - Stay current with emerging technologies and drive innovation in device management, IoT, and SaaS platforms. Drive adoption of AI-assisted development tools to improve engineering productivity, and establish best practices for responsible AI usage with strong validation, code review, and quality standards.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- 9+ years of software engineering experience, with 4–6+ years in engineering leadership roles.
- Proven experience managing multiple teams and/or managers in a fast-paced product environment.
- Strong technical background with the ability to contribute to architecture and design decisions.
- Experience building and scaling cloud-native, distributed systems.
- Demonstrated success in delivering complex, high-impact software products.
- Strong collaboration skills with experience working cross-functionally.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field (or equivalent experience).
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in device management, Android/iOS platforms, IoT, or enterprise SaaS.
- Familiarity with MDM/EMM frameworks and fleet-scale device operations.
- Hands-on experience with:
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- Cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure)
- Kubernetes, Kafka, CI/CD tools (Jenkins, Git, etc.)
- Programming languages such as Go, Python, or Java
- Experience with Agile methodologies and modern engineering practices.
- Strong track record of developing engineering leaders and scaling teams.
- Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools and strong verification practices.
