Senior Engineering Manager

Remotedxb; Dubai; On-site; AED 300,000 - 540,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible paid time off

10 company-wide paid holidays

Parental leave

Medical, dental, and vision benefits

401K eligibility

Estate planning documents

Learning budget

Home office setup

Job summary

Vanilla is seeking an experienced engineering leader to guide end-to-end delivery, set architectural standards, and mentor engineers in a fast-growing SaaS environment. You will drive strategy, coordinate cross-functional teams, and scale engineering practices to align with business goals.

Ideal candidates bring 8+ years of hands-on software experience, 3+ years in leadership, and strong communication skills, with a track record of building complex systems and navigating ambiguity in ambitious

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional engineering experience with recent hands-on coding
• 3+ years leading engineers as a hands-on technical lead or player/coach engineering manager
• Proven track record of building and scaling complex software systems at high-growth SaaS companies
• Deep, current technical skills in architecture and debugging
• Strong operational, process-oriented, and data-driven instincts
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and work autonomously in a fast-paced environment
• Strong communication and leadership skills
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience

Responsibilities

• Stay hands-on in the code by writing production code, reviewing PRs, and picking up meaningful work in critical areas
• Set the technical bar by architecting scalable solutions and driving strong engineering practices
• Coach and grow engineers through pairing, mentoring, and unblocking the team
• Lead end-to-end delivery by balancing speed with technical quality
• Drive technical and product strategy to align engineering execution with business goals
• Improve development velocity and collaboration by implementing new systems and tools
• Serve as a cross-functional partner to product, design, marketing, sales, and support
• Support pre-sales and customer onboarding by helping stakeholders understand product capabilities
• Coordinate external integrations and platform partnerships
• Define and own engineering metrics and KPIs
• Collaborate with Legal and Security teams to uphold compliance and privacy standards
• Adopt and scale the company's AI SDLC

Skills

Architectural design

Distributed systems

Leadership

Debugging

Cross-functional

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent

Job description

About the Company

Vanilla is the first AI-powered estate advisory platform, built by advisors, planners, and attorneys to transform how wealth is transferred across generations. Our technology unifies scenario modeling, client visualization, and document creation into one seamless, digital experience.

Responsibilities

• Stay hands‑on in the code by writing production code, reviewing PRs, and picking up meaningful work in critical areas
• Set the technical bar by architecting scalable solutions and driving strong engineering practices
• Coach and grow engineers through pairing, mentoring, and unblocking the team
• Lead end‑to‑end delivery by balancing speed with technical quality
• Drive technical and product strategy to align engineering execution with business goals
• Improve development velocity and collaboration by implementing new systems and tools
• Serve as a cross‑functional partner to product, design, marketing, sales, and support
• Support pre‑sales and customer onboarding by helping stakeholders understand product capabilities
• Coordinate external integrations and platform partnerships
• Define and own engineering metrics and KPIs
• Collaborate with Legal and Security teams to uphold compliance and privacy standards
• Adopt and scale the company's AI SDLC

Requirements

• 8+ years of professional engineering experience with recent hands‑on coding
• 3+ years leading engineers as a hands‑on technical lead or player/coach engineering manager
• Proven track record of building and scaling complex software systems at high‑growth SaaS companies
• Deep, current technical skills in architecture and debugging
• Strong operational, process‑oriented, and data‑driven instincts
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and work autonomously in a fast‑paced environment
• Strong communication and leadership skills
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in pre‑sales engineering roles
• Project management experience in fast‑paced or cross‑functional environments

Benefits

• Flexible paid time off policy and 10 company‑wide paid holidays
• Parental leave (6 weeks for all employees, up to 14 weeks for birthing parents)
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits coverage
• 401K eligibility after one month
• Free estate planning documents
• Budget for learning & development and home office setup