Senior Engineering Manager, Growth

Handshake; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in fast-growing company

401(k) match

Parental leave

Wellbeing benefits

Job summary

Handshake is seeking a Senior Engineering Manager of Growth Engineering in San Francisco to own the systems powering user acquisition, activation, and retention across the Handshake ecosystem. You’ll lead a growing team of engineers, collaborate with Product, Data, and Marketing, and raise the bar on observability and delivery velocity.

This in-office role requires building a scalable growth platform and setting the technical strategy to support rapid experimentation and lifecycle targeting at

Qualifications

• 4+ years managing engineering teams and 5+ years hands-on engineering experience.
• Experience owning systems that drive user acquisition, activation, or retention.
• Proven ability to mentor senior engineers and/or managers.
• Ability to align cross-functional teams and deliver in fast-moving environments.
• Ability to translate growth goals into technical roadmaps and ship with urgency.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a high-performing Growth Engineering team.
• Own the full growth funnel: acquisition, activation, retention, and notifications.
• Build a scalable growth platform enabling rapid experimentation and personalization.
• Drive architecture and technical strategy balancing platform investments with product bets.
• Partner cross-functionally with Product, Data Science, and Marketing.
• Raise the engineering bar with observability and data integrity.
• Operate with ownership and velocity in ambiguous environments.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Growth/Platform experience

People leadership

Execution in ambiguity

Product + systems mindset

Job description

About Handshake

Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions.

In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest-growing AI data business in history. Weâve grown from $0 to ~$1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month.

Why join Handshake now:

• Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel

• Partner hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the worldâs top educational institutions

• Work together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC founders

• Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue

About the Role

The Senior Engineering Manager of Growth Engineering at Handshake owns one of the most strategically important growth levers and platforms in the company â the systems that power how we acquire, activate, and retain users across the entire Handshake ecosystem.

This isn't a single-product role. You'll lead a platform that cuts across every surface of Handshake, serving as a foundational lever for company growth. You'll partner closely with Product, Data, and Marketing to define what the growth loop looks at scale â and then build the infrastructure and product capabilities to make it real. You'll lead a growing team of engineers and are expected to up level and build leadership capacity as the team scales.

Location: San Francisco, CA. This is an in-office role, 5 days/week (no remote/hybrid).

What You'll Do

• Lead and grow a high-performing Growth Engineering team â hire, develop, and retain strong engineers; build the leadership layer needed to scale

• Own the full growth funnel â acquisition, activation, retention, and notification systems that move the needle on Handshake's core growth metrics

• Build a scalable, extensible growth platform â modular infrastructure that enables rapid experimentation, personalization, and lifecycle targeting across the product

• Drive architecture and technical strategy â design systems for reliability, performance, and speed-to-ship, balancing platform investments with high-impact product bets

• Partner cross-functionally â work shoulder-to-shoulder with Product, Data Science, and Marketing to align on growth strategy and execution

• Raise the engineering bar â champion strong fundamentals: observability, experimentation rigor, data integrity, and engineering quality at scale

• Operate with ownership and velocity â set the standard for a team culture that moves fast, takes accountability, and delivers in ambiguous, high-stakes environments

What We're Looking For

• Engineering leader + builder: 4+ years managing engineering teams, 5+ years of hands-on engineering experience

• Growth or platform background: Experience owning systems that drive user acquisition, activation, or retention â or platform infrastructure that powers growth at scale

• Strong people leadership: Track record of developing senior engineers; experience managing managers or equivalent scope is a strong plus

• Execution in ambiguity: Able to align cross-functionally, build clarity from ambiguity, and deliver iteratively in fast-moving environments

• Balanced product + systems mindset: Can translate business and growth goals into technical roadmaps, ship with urgency, and measure outcomes rigorously

Nice to Have

• Experience building experimentation platforms, A/B testing infrastructure, or personalization systems

• Background in lifecycle marketing infrastructure (notifications, email, push, in-app messaging)

• Familiarity with growth analytics, funnel instrumentation, or event tracking at scale

• Experience in two-sided marketplace or consumer/prosumer products

Perks

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supportedâand thrive at work and in life.

The below benefits are for full-time US employees.

• Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
• Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
• Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
• Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend
• Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development
• Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
• Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days
• Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.