Engineering Manager, Risk Engineering

Relay; Toronto; On-site; CAD 286,000 - 349,000; Full time

Job summary

Relay is looking for an Engineering Manager to lead our Risk Engineering team as we continue scaling, guiding risk, fraud, and trust systems that protect thousands of businesses.

You’ll oversee planning, delivery, and design reviews, collaborate with Product, Risk, Compliance, and Operations, and grow a high-performing engineering team.

This hybrid role requires in-office collaboration Tue–Thu, with a compensation range of $207,000–$253,000 USD per year.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant development experience in a startup environment.
• 1+ year of people-management experience.
• Exposure to our tech stack: Node.js, Typescript, React, AWS.

Responsibilities

• Oversee planning, execution, and delivery of risk-critical engineering initiatives.
• Ensure engineering processes and rituals support high-stakes systems, including sprint planning, code reviews, and design reviews.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to shape and execute the technical strategy for risk, fraud, and trust systems.
• Work with Product, Risk, Compliance, Operations, and other partners to turn ambiguous risk problems into scalable engineering solutions.
• Build, support, and grow a high-performing team by hiring talent, setting ownership, and coaching engineers.
• Foster a collaborative engineering culture with knowledge-sharing sessions and professional development.

Skills

People management

Leadership

Communication

Tools

Node.js

Typescript

React

AWS

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 of growth.We’re looking for an Engineering Manager to lead our Risk Engineering team as we continue scaling. This is an opportunity to guide a strong team working on risk and trust systems that directly prevent fraud and financial harm to customers. You’ll make high-impact decisions daily and help build complex systems that protect thousands of businesses.

Please note that we are a hybrid environment and choose to collaborate in the office three days a week (Tues-Thurs)

About the team:

Relay’s Risk Engineering team builds automated systems that detect, prevent, and reduce financial risk and fraud, while maintaining a frictionless experience for legitimate customers and minimizing manual intervention. Our goal is simple: enable Relay to grow safely, confidently, and without unnecessary friction.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Oversee the planning, execution, and delivery of risk-critical engineering initiatives, ensuring systems meet quality, reliability, and safety standards
• Ensure engineering processes and rituals support high-stakes systems, including thoughtful sprint planning, strong code reviews, and rigorous technical design reviews
• Collaborate with senior leadership to shape and execute the technical strategy for risk, fraud, and trust systems, balancing business growth, customer experience, and risk exposure
• Work closely with Product, Risk, Compliance, Operations, and other partners to turn ambiguous risk problems into clear, scalable engineering solutions
• Build, support, and grow a high-performing team of engineers by hiring strong talent, setting clear ownership, and coaching engineers through complex, high-impact work
• Foster a collaborative engineering culture that encourages feedback, learning, and growth. Organize knowledge-sharing sessions and support professional development opportunities for team members

Who You Are

• 5+ years of relevant development experience in a start-up environment; 1+ year of which includes people-management experience
• You have a strong technical background with a proven track record of shipping high-quality products. Exposure to our tech stack (Node.js/Typescript/React/AWS is a plus)
• You are excited about building and scaling an engineering team while supporting them in doing their best work
• You have excellent communication skills and are able to calmly provide clarity in times of uncertainty or change – we are a startup after all!
• You’re a pragmatic decision maker – delivering product in a startup often requires tradeoffs in scope, technical debt, and tight timelines, and you’re comfortable making those calls
• You think deeply about the impact of engineering decisions on customers and the business, especially in areas where mistakes are costly or hard to reverse
• You have experience building or owning internal tools or platforms, and working closely with internal stakeholders to turn ambiguous problems into scalable, reliable systems
• You are an energetic and results-oriented person, committed to adding value to our business and inspire this same ethos with your team
• You’re highly collaborative and know how to connect the dots between teams and manage cross-functional initiatives

Bonus Points

• You’ve joined a company at its early stages and have seen it through scale
• You have experience working in a fintech

The Interview Process

Stage 1: A 45-minute Google Meet video call with a member of the People Team

Stage 2: A 60-minute Google Meet video call with the Hiring Team, our Senior Engineering Managers

Stage 3: A 45-minute in person meeting with a member of our leadership team

Stage 4: A take-home case study followed by a 60-minute Google Meet video call with our 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 - $253,000.

For candidates who demonstrate full readiness for the defined scope of the role, the typical starting salary is $230,000. 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 built to constantly ask, “How can this be better?”
• 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 treat comfort as a red flag: You seek growth. When things feel too comfortable, you lean into change. You’re excited about stepping into the unknown and navigating new terrain to create something better alongside your team.
• 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: We value directness, clarity, and respect. We believe honesty fuels great work and career growth. You see feedback as a tool for learning and improvement, and you know that open, honest dialogue is key to achieving the best results — together.
• You’re here for more than a job: At Relay, everything we do is in service of our mission to help small businesses thrive. To drive impact and have purpose here, that mission must matter to you too.

What’s Important to Us:

Research shows that women-identifying and other marginalized individuals often apply only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. But no one is a perfect match on paper. If this role excites you, we’d love to hear from you and figure out together if it’s a great fit.

At Relay, we believe that diversity is key to building high-performing teams, and creating an inclusive work environment is our priority. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome people of diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills.

We will work with applicants to provide accommodations at any stage of the hiring process. If you require accommodations during the interview process, please email your Talent Partner, and we will work with you to meet your needs.

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