Engineering Manager, Messaging Platform & Tooling

Spotify; New York (NY); On-site; USD 164,448 - 234,926; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid parental leave

401(k) retirement plan

Monthly meal allowance

Paid days off

Paid flexible holidays

Paid sick leave

Job summary

A leading audio streaming service in New York seeks a Software Engineering Manager to lead the Selection team, driving performance and fostering an inclusive culture. You will partner with Product and Data Science to shape a high-impact technical roadmap. The ideal candidate has over 3 years managing engineers and experience with complex systems. Benefits include competitive salary, flexibility to work from home, and generous parental leave.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience managing software engineers.
• Strong sense of ownership and understanding of trade-offs.
• Experience with complex systems such as distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support the Selection engineering team.
• Define and deliver the technical roadmap for Selection.
• Guide the evolution of Selection to a more advanced decision engine.

Skills

Managing software engineers

Ownership and impact understanding

Working with distributed systems

Effective communication

Collaboration and team culture contribution

Job description

Overview

The Subscriptions Mission builds and evolves Spotify’s subscription products to drive sustainable growth by improving conversion, retention, and overall user value. We create seamless, personalized experiences that make it easy for users to discover, upgrade, and stay engaged with Spotify. Messaging Platform & Tooling is the system that decides what Spotify says to its 700M+ users — and how, when, and where it says it. Nearly every push notification, email, and in-app message flows through this platform, making it one of the highest-leverage systems at Spotify. Within this space, the Selection squad sits at the core — acting as the decision engine that determines what message reaches each user in real time. You’ll join a high-performing, collaborative team of senior engineers and play a key role in shaping the next generation of this platform as we invest heavily in its future.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and support the Selection engineering team, focusing on growth, performance, and creating an environment where engineers can do their best work
• Partner with Product, Data Science, and ML Engineering to define and deliver the technical roadmap for Selection
• Guide the evolution of Selection from a rules-based system to a more advanced, signal-driven and ML-informed decision engine
• Deliver platform capabilities that directly impact user engagement, retention, and conversion across Spotify
• Collaborate across squads and domains to ensure seamless integration and alignment across the Subscriptions mission
• Represent Selection in planning, strategy discussions, and initiative scoping tied to high-impact business goals
• Balance speed, scalability, and reliability while navigating complex platform trade-offs that affect millions of users
• Contribute to the broader engineering culture through hiring, architecture discussions, and cross-team collaboration

Who You Are

• You have 3+ years of experience managing software engineers and have supported teams through growth and delivery
• You bring a strong sense of ownership and think beyond execution to understand impact, trade-offs, and long-term direction
• You have experience working with complex systems such as distributed systems, real-time pipelines, or platform infrastructure
• You care deeply about people and create an environment built on trust, clarity, and continuous development
• You communicate clearly and effectively with engineers, cross-functional partners, and senior stakeholders
• You are comfortable engaging in technical discussions and asking thoughtful, probing questions
• You approach ambiguity with curiosity and are energized by building in evolving and high-impact environments
• You value collaboration and contribute to an inclusive, supportive team culture

Where You’ll Be

• This role is based in New York
• We offer you the flexibility to work where you work best! There will be some in person meetings, but still allows for flexibility to work from home.

Compensation and Benefits

The United States base range for this position is $164,448 - $234,926, plus equity. The benefits available for this position include health insurance, six month paid parental leave, 401(k) retirement plan, monthly meal allowance, 23 paid days off, paid flexible holidays, paid sick leave. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Equal Opportunity and Inclusion

Spotify is an equal opportunity employer. You are welcome at Spotify for who you are, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or what’s playing in your headphones. Our platform is for everyone, and so is our workplace. The more voices we have represented and amplified in our business, the more we will all thrive, contribute, and be forward-thinking! So bring us your personal experience, your perspectives, and your background. It’s in our differences that we will find the power to keep revolutionizing the way the world listens.

At Spotify, we are passionate about inclusivity and making sure our entire recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We have ways to request reasonable accommodations during the interview process and help assist in what you need. If you need accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know - we’re here to support you in any way we can.

Spotify transformed music listening forever when we launched in 2008. Our mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the chance to enjoy and be passionate about these creators. Everything we do is driven by our love for music and podcasting. Today, we are the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service.