Engineering Manager, CDN

Vercel; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 196,000 - 336,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation package

Flexible Time Off

Mentorship and network-building events

WFH budget for workspace

Equity-based compensation

Job summary

A leading cloud infrastructure company in San Francisco is looking for a Manager to lead their CDN and edge caching systems. Candidates need 8+ years in distributed systems, including 3+ years in management. The role demands translating business goals into technical strategies while fostering team trust and autonomy. Competitive compensation package is offered with flexibility and growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in distributed systems.
• 3+ years of management experience.
• Experience with HTTP, TLS, and caching strategies.

Responsibilities

• Lead the team for CDN and edge caching systems.
• Translate strategy into a clear roadmap.
• Foster high trust and autonomy within the team.

Skills

Building and operating large-scale distributed systems

Managing engineers

Leading CDN/proxy/caching/edge infrastructure

Translating business goals into technical strategy

Technical conflict facilitation

Technical conflict facilitation

Understanding of HTTP, TLS, caching strategies

Tools

Go

Lua

Node

Job description

Vercel gives developers the tools and cloud infrastructure to build, scale, and secure a faster, more personalized web. As the team behind v0, Next.js, and AI SDK, Vercel helps customers like Ramp, Supreme, PayPal, and Under Armour build for the AI-native web.

Our mission is to enable the world to ship the best products. That starts with creating a place where everyone can do their best work. Whether you're building on our platform, supporting our customers, or shaping our story: You can just ship things.

About the Role:

You’ll lead the team responsible for Vercel’s CDN, proxy, and edge caching systems—the core infrastructure that powers performance, reliability, and cost efficiency for every customer request at Vercel. Your mandate is twofold: Operate critical systems exceptionally (latency, reliability, COGS), and align the team to product and business goals, translating strategy into a clear roadmap.

You will set direction, grow people, and create the conditions for high trust, high autonomy, and high output—balancing technical depth with strong people leadership. This is a manager role, not a principal IC role. You’ll code when it’s the highest leverage (e.g., prototypes/unblocking), but your default is delegation, coaching, and alignment.

About You:

• 8+ years building and operating large-scale distributed systems
• 3+ years managing engineers (managing managers is a plus)
• Demonstrated success leading CDN/proxy/caching/edge or similar high-throughput, low-latency infrastructure
• Proven ability to translate business goals into technical strategy and drive cross‑org alignment
• Track record establishing trust, psychological safety, and clear expectations; skilled at timely, candid feedback
• Strong facilitator in technical conflict—you listen, synthesize, decide, and bring the team with you
• Competence across HTTP, TLS, caching strategies, load shedding, capacity planning, observability, and cost optimization

Bonus If You:

• Have experience with Go, Lua, or Node at the edge; running high‑signal hiring pipelines
• Collaborating with product/PMM on customer‑facing narratives.
• Competitive compensation package, including equity.
• Learn and Grow - we provide mentorship and send you to events that help you build your network and skills.
• Flexible Time Off.
• We will provide you the gear you need to do your role, and a WFH budget for you to outfit your space as needed.

The San Francisco, CA base pay range for this role is $196,000.00 - $336,000.00. Actual salary will be based on job‑related skills, experience, and location. Compensation outside of San Francisco may be adjusted based on employee location. The total compensation package may include benefits, equity‑based compensation, and eligibility for a company bonus or variable pay program depending on the role. Your recruiter can share more details during the hiring process.

Vercel is committed to fostering and empowering an inclusive community within our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Vercel encourages everyone to apply for our available positions, even if they don't necessarily check every box on the job description.