Engineering Manager, Risk

relayfi; Toronto; On-site; CAD 207,000 - 253,000; Full time

Job summary

Relay is seeking an Engineering Manager, Risk to lead delivery of risk-critical systems for a fast-growing fintech. You will guide architectural decisions, manage a high-performing team, and partner with Product, Risk, Compliance, and Ops to balance growth with customer safety.

Strong emphasis on mentorship, code quality, and scalable design. The role requires 5+ years in full-stack development with 1–3 years in people management, with Node.js, TypeScript, React, and AWS experience preferred.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of full-stack software development experience, ideally in a high-growth B2B SaaS or fintech
• 1–3 years in a people-management role
• Proven track record shipping high-quality products and leading teams
• Strong collaboration with product, risk and compliance stakeholders

Responsibilities

• Delivery Leadership: plan, execute, and deliver risk-critical engineering initiatives with high standards of quality and safety
• Team Operations: ensure effective engineering rituals and strong code/design reviews
• Technical Strategy: shape the risk, fraud, and trust tech strategy with leadership
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: work with Product, Risk, Compliance, Operations and others to turn risk challenges into scalable solutions
• People Management & Development: hire, onboard, coach, and grow a high-performing team
• Culture & Growth: foster a collaborative, feedback-driven environment and mentorship

Skills

Full-stack software

People management

Node.js

TypeScript

React

AWS

Tools

Cursor

Claude

GitHub

GitHub Actions

Datadog

Jira

Metabase

Job description

Relay is a digital banking platform that gives self-made business owners the tools and know-how to be great with money—bringing clarity, confidence, and control to every dollar earned, so they can turn hard work into lasting success. We do this by replacing financial guesswork with real visibility, transforming cash flow from a constant source of stress into a clear signal owners can use to run stronger, more resilient businesses.

Relay is entering an exciting new chapter, and we're hiring an Engineering Manager, Risk to help shape our next stage of scale. You'll make high-impact, strategic decisions every day, with direct influence over a product used and loved by thousands of small businesses.

Our Risk Engineering team is building automated systems that detect, prevent, and mitigate financial risk and fraud—while maintaining a seamless customer experience and minimizing manual intervention. In this role, you’ll help scale and evolve these capabilities to support Relay’s growth, balancing effective risk management with a frictionless user experience. You’ll work on thoughtful, reliable solutions that enable the business to grow safely and confidently, alongside a team that moves quickly, ships with care, and takes ownership.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Delivery Leadership: Lead the planning, execution, and delivery of risk-critical engineering initiatives, ensuring systems meet high standards of quality, reliability, and safety

• Team Operations: Ensure engineering processes and rituals effectively support high-stakes systems, including thoughtful sprint planning, strong code reviews, and rigorous technical design reviews

• Technical Strategy: Partner with senior leadership to shape and execute the technical strategy for risk, fraud, and trust systems, balancing business growth, customer experience, and risk exposure

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Product, Risk, Compliance, Operations, and other partners to turn ambiguous risk challenges into clear, scalable engineering solutions

• People Management & Development: Build and grow a high-performing engineering team through hiring, onboarding, coaching, and performance management

• Culture & Growth: Foster a collaborative, feedback-driven environment that supports continuous learning and professional development; encourage mentorship and knowledge sharing while creating opportunities for team development

Who You Are

• You bring 5+ years of full-stack software development experience, ideally within a high-growth B2B SaaS or fintech environment, along with 1-3 years in a people management role

• You have a strong technical foundation and a proven track record of shipping high-quality products; experience with Node.js, TypeScript, React, and AWS is a plus

• You’ve built and owned internal tools or platforms, working closely with stakeholders to transform ambiguous problems into scalable, reliable systems that drive real impact

• You’re passionate about building and scaling engineering teams, and deeply invested in growing and developing people to do their best work

• You communicate clearly and effectively, and bring calm and clarity in times of ambiguity and change

• You’re a pragmatic decision-maker with a customer-centric mindset, able to navigate tradeoffs around scope, technical debt, and timelines while keeping customer needs front and center

• You demonstrate strong engineering judgment, thoughtfully weighing the impact of decisions on customers and the business, particularly in high-stakes or irreversible scenarios

• You thrive in cross-functional environments, bringing teams together, connecting the dots, and driving initiatives that deliver meaningful impact

Our Tech Stack

• Front-end: React, Typescript, React Native

• Back-end: Node.js, Typescript, Terraform, AWS (DynamoDB, RDS Postgres, Lambda, S3, SQS, SNS, SES, ElasticSearch, ECS)

• Tools: Cursor, Claude, GitHub, GitHub Actions, Datadog, Jira, Metabase

The Interview Process

• Stage 1: A 30-minute Google Meet video call with a member of the Talent team

• Stage 2: A 60-minute Google Meet video call with our Engineering Leaders

• Stage 3: A take-home case study followed by a 60-minute Google Meet video call with our Engineering team

• Stage 4: A 45-minute in-person interview with a member of the Leadership team

Our Compensation Approach

We believe Relayers should feel rewarded for the impact they have on our mission and growth. Compensation follows impact. As impact increases, compensation grows, and we do not limit compensation changes to a once-a-year review cycle.

The annual salary range for this role is $207,000 CAD to $253,000 CAD.

For candidates who demonstrate full readiness for the defined scope of the role, the typical starting salary is $230,000 CAD. Offers below this point reflect candidates we believe can grow into the full scope of the role with support and development. Offers above this point reflect impact that meaningfully exceeds the role’s defined expectations or an expanded scope from day one.

Why Relay Might Be the Perfect Fit For You

• You push relentlessly for reinvention: You're always asking "how can this be better?" -- in your work, in your craft, in yourself. Comfort is a signal to push harder, not coast. You'd rather build something better than defend something familiar.

• You crave autonomy: We trust our team with big challenges and the freedom to solve them. If you’re someone who takes initiative, is comfortable taking risks, and seeks input when needed, you’ll find the freedom here empowering.

• You own your work: You take pride in your work, follow through on commitments, and feel a deep sense of responsibility for outcomes, not just tasks.

• You build with AI, not just use it: You're actively embedding AI into how you work, pushing what's possible, and bringing your team along with you.

• You care about impact, not noise: You care deeply about the substance of your work. You measure success by results, not recognition, and you let your work speak for itself.

• You’re energized by complexity and ambiguity: You enjoy tackling problems that don’t come with a playbook. You’re comfortable building from scratch, iterating as you go, and collaborating to shape the best path forward.

• You seek out feedback: You see directness as respect, not criticism. You actively seek input, sit with hard truths, and use feedback as fuel for improvement.

• Small businesses are why we’re here: Relay exists to help them thrive -- and that mission has to resonate with you.

Join Us

We're looking for people who are relentless, curious, and care deeply about the work. We welcome diverse backgrounds and people who think critically, challenge the status quo, and want to help small businesses thrive.

If you require accommodations at any stage of the hiring process, please reach out to your Talent Partner.

Disclaimer: For compliance reasons, all offers of employment at Relay are conditional upon a successful background check and employment verification through Certn.

Important Notice: Relay’s recruitment team only contacts candidates and corresponds from official corporate email addresses ending in @relayfi.com. We will never ask for sensitive personal data (such as bank account details, credit card numbers, or social security/insurance numbers) during the initial application or interview stages.