Hands-on Software Engineering Manager / Must be near Cambridge MA

Kelly Services; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 220,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous equity package

Health, dental, and vision coverage

Flexible PTO and holidays

Job summary

Motion Recruitment Partners in Cambridge, MA, is seeking senior-level backend engineers to lead scalable infrastructure projects while remaining hands-on. The role is in-office, with a compensation range of $220,000 to $250,000 annually.

You will help build a modern, cloud-native backend using TypeScript, Node.js, and AWS, mentoring teams, and owning critical systems for a fast-growing AI-driven startup.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading scalability and performance projects (P99).
• Proven track record guiding 5-6 engineers on software delivery.
• Experience with online databases, platform infrastructure, or customer-facing backends.

Responsibilities

• Design and build scalable backend services and cloud infrastructure.
• Lead technical projects across teams of 5-6 engineers.
• Architect new product features and platform capabilities.
• Tune performance and ensure system reliability.
• Mentor engineers and contribute to technical strategy.

Skills

Scalability leadership

Team leadership

Backend services

Product-focused teams

Tools

TypeScript

Node.js

AWS

Kafka

ClickHouse

Flink

Spark

Job description

$220000 - $250000

Hi there! Just to put it up front: this role is looking for high level back end software engineers who have direct experience leading scalability and infrastructure projects on teams of 5-15 people while still being a hands on developer. It is located in Cambridge, and the role is fully in-office. Thanks for applying!

This employer is a 50 person AI-driven startup building a modern CRM platform that helps businesses better manage, activate, and leverage their customer data. By combining automation, intelligent insights, and scalable infrastructure, the organization is redefining how teams engage with customers and make data-driven decisions. They are actively hiring Senior and Staff Software Engineers to help build out their Boston engineering office, focusing on highly scalable backend systems and cloud-native applications using TypeScript, Node.js, React, and AWS.

This is an opportunity to join a high-growth engineering team tackling complex distributed systems and large-scale data challenges. Ideal candidates will bring experience building mission-critical backend services at scale, leading engineering initiatives, and mentoring teams. Engineers coming from product-focused technology companies or startups solving difficult systems, infrastructure, analytics, or scalability problems will find significant ownership, impact, and growth opportunities in this role.

Required Skills & Experience

• Significant experience working on scalability and performance projects, P99 latency, etc.


• Demonstrated track record leading software projects with teams of 5-6 engineers, driving technical execution and cross-functional collaboration


• Background working on teams that own online databases, platform infrastructure, or customer-facing backend services


• Experience working at product-focused technology companies rather than internal IT organizations

Desired Skills & Experience

• Experience with TypeScript, Node.js, and AWS


• Experience with Kafka, ClickHouse, Flink, Spark, or similar real-time data infrastructure technologies

What You Will Be Doing Tech Breakdown

• TypeScript


• Node.js


• React


• AWS


• Distributed Systems


• Real-Time Data Infrastructure


• Cloud-Native Architecture


• High-Scale Backend Services

Daily Responsibilities

• 40% Designing and building scalable backend services and cloud infrastructure


• 25% Leading technical projects and coordinating efforts across teams of 5-6 engineers


• 15% Architecting new product features and platform capabilities


• 10% Performance tuning, scalability improvements, and system reliability initiatives


• 10% Mentoring engineers, conducting design reviews, and contributing to technical strategy

The Offer

• Competitive base salary and extremely generous equity package


• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage


• Flexible PTO and paid holidays


• Hybrid Boston office environment


• Opportunity to influence architecture and technical direction at an early-stage company


• Strong career growth opportunities into technical leadership and organizational influence

Motion Recruitment Partners (MRP) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants must be currently authorized to work on a full-time basis in the country for which they are applying, and no sponsorship is currently available. Employment is subject to the successful completion of a pre-employment screening. Accommodation will be provided in all parts of the hiring process as required under MRP's Employment Accommodation policy. Applicants need to make their needs known in advance.