Senior Engineering Manager

Credit-Genie; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/dental/vision coverage

Fitness reimbursement

401(k) with match

Meal program

HSA match

Life insurance

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Credit Genie is seeking a Senior Software Engineering Manager for the backend team. You will lead a talented engineering group, shape technical direction, and remain hands-on to ensure reliable, scalable systems powering our fintech products.

You will mentor engineers into future leaders, drive architecture and system design reviews, and manage incident response. This is a hybrid leadership role with a focus on delivering impact in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience leading engineering teams
• 5+ years of hands-on software engineering with active coding
• Experience building and operating distributed, high-throughput systems in fintech
• Proven track record delivering complex projects
• Experience mentoring engineers into leaders and growing talent
• Familiarity with incident management and on-call operations
• Comfortable in fast-paced, iterative environments with bias for action
• Strong understanding of security and data privacy would be ideal

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and set direction for backend systems
• Lead system design reviews and shape architecture
• Remain hands-on to contribute code and unblock the team
• Oversee reliable, scalable backend services and optimize health
• Drive trade-offs between tech debt and feature delivery
• Conduct 1:1s and develop clear career plans for direct reports
• Mentor engineers into senior ICs and leaders
• Promote ownership, accountability, and urgency within the team
• Own incident response and on-call rotations
• Improve engineering processes like sprint planning and retrospectives

Skills

People leadership

Hands-on coding

System design

Distributed systems

Mentoring engineers

Incident management

Job description

Company

Credit Genie is a mobile-first financial wellness platform designed to help individuals take control of their financial future. We leverage artificial intelligence to provide personalized insights and are building a financial ecosystem by offering tools and services that provide instant access to cash, and building credit. Our goal is to empower every customer to achieve long-term financial stability.

Founded in 2019 by Ed Harycki, former Swift Capital Founder (acquired by PayPal in 2017). Backed by Khosla Ventures and led by industry pioneers from companies such as; PayPal, Square, and Cash App, we are well positioned to build the future of inclusive finance through cutting-edge technology and customer-centric solutions.

Overview

As a Senior Software Engineering Manager for the backend team, you will lead a team of talented engineers responsible for building and maintaining systems that power our financial products. This is a hybrid technical leadership role: you'll set technical direction, stay hands-on, and grow the people on your team — not just manage delivery from a distance. You'll play a key role in shaping the technical direction of our foundational infrastructure and product architecture, with a clear path to greater scope as you and the team grow. This is a rare chance to join a fast-growing fintech startup where your work will have a direct and meaningful impact on both the company and the financial well-being of our users.

What You'll Do

Technical leadership:

• Set technical direction for the team — deciding what to build and how — in partnership with product managers and cross-functional leaders, aligning engineering efforts with business priorities.
• Lead system design review, giving substantive, critical feedback that shapes how the team's architecture evolves.
• Stay genuinely hands-on: write code regularly (not just review it), and step in to unblock the team or fill in for engineers when the situation calls for it, without hesitation.
• Oversee the architecture and delivery of scalable, high-performance backend services, ensuring technical solutions are reliable, maintainable, and aligned with long-term goals.
• Make thoughtful trade-offs between tech debt and feature delivery, maintaining system health while accelerating product impact.

People leadership:

• Run consistent 1:1s, give direct and meaningful feedback, and build clear career development plans for each direct report.
• Mentor and coach engineers to help them grow into stronger ICs and future leaders.
• Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, and urgency on the team.

Operational excellence:

• Promote engineering best practices with a strong focus on reliability, observability, and code quality.
• Manage and continuously improve team processes — sprint planning, execution, and retrospectives — to drive effective collaboration and timely delivery.
• Own incident response for your team's systems, including on-call participation.

What Success Looks Like

We're looking for someone who treats the role the way our strongest engineering managers do:

• Bias toward building, not just overseeing. You'd rather write the code and review the design than just delegate it — hands-on work is a current habit, not a résumé line from a few years ago.
• Low ego, high initiative. You notice broken processes and fix or flag them without being asked — you don't wait for permission to make things better.
• Constructive with peers. You're comfortable challenging other engineering leads directly when something isn't working, not just within your own team.
• All-in. This is a high-ownership, fast-paced environment, and we're looking for someone who wants that kind of intensity, not someone weighing it against a slower-paced alternative.

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience managing engineering teams of 5 or more
• 5+ years of hands-on software engineering experience, with current, active coding involvement (roughly 20% of your time, or a clear desire to increase it)
• Experience building and operating distributed, high-throughput, and mission-critical systems, ideally in financial services
• Proven track record of leading teams to deliver complex projects
• Experience mentoring engineers into future leaders and growing talent
• Familiarity with incident management and on-call operations
• Comfortable working in fast-paced, iterative environments with a bias for action
• Solid understanding of security, data privacy, and regulatory compliance

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with mobile app ecosystems and lending or cash advance products
• Experience managing managers, or a clear track record of preparing for it

Benefits and Perks

Our goal is to provide a comprehensive offering of benefits and perks that promote better financial, mental, and physical wellness.

We believe working alongside each other in person is the best way to build a great product and foster a strong company culture. Our expectation is that employees are in the office five days a week, allowing for optimal collaboration, inclusivity, and productivity. At the same time, we understand that life happens and recognize the importance of flexibility. We are committed to supporting our employees when circumstances arise that require remote work or adjusted schedules. Our goal is to ensure everyone can effectively balance personal and professional responsibilities while maintaining our collaborative and productive environment.

Here are some highlights of our benefits and perks offerings, feel free to ask your recruiting partner for more details on our comprehensive offering for employees.

• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents on your first day of employment.
• Receive up to $100 per month in fitness reimbursement or enjoy a complimentary full membership to LifeTime Fitness or Equinox.
• 401(k) with a 3.5% match and immediate vesting
• Meal program available for both lunch and dinner
• Pre-tax benefits, including a $1,000 HSA match
• Life and accidental insurance
• Flexible PTO

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience. Base salary is just one part of your total compensation and rewards package at Credit Genie. You may also be eligible to participate in the bonus and equity programs. You will also have access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, a 401(k) retirement plan with company match, short & long term disability insurance, life insurance, and flexible PTO along with many other benefits and perks.

Credit Genie is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer where we welcome and celebrate differences. We are committed to providing a workspace that is safe and inclusive, where everyone feels supported, connected, and inspired to do their best work. If you require any accommodations to participate in our recruitment process, please inform us of your needs when we contact you to schedule an interview.