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