Staff Engineering Manager, Vault

Collectors; California (MO); Hybrid; USD 190,000 - 309,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401(K) Matching Plan

Vacation

Holiday Pay

Employee Discounts

Flexible Hours

Fun Working Environment

Job summary

Collectors is the leading creator of innovative technology that provides value-added services for collectors worldwide, operating vaults and fulfillment for priceless items. We seek a Staff Software Engineering Manager to lead a team of WMS and vault engineers, delivering reliable, scalable systems and strong security.

You will partner with product to define the roadmap, apply AI-driven tooling to speed delivery, and develop engineers into future leaders while balancing hands-on coding with

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience.
• 5+ years leading software teams.
• Experience with AI/LLMs and agentic workflows.
• Experience with AWS services and cloud architectures.
• Strong security fundamentals.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow vault/fulfillment software team with accountability for delivery.
• Own WMS and its integrations from end to end, with roadmap ownership.
• Ensure reliability, security, and scalability of vault and fulfillment systems.
• Collaborate with product to shape the roadmap and technical health.
• Provide architectural guidance across WMS, vault, and fulfillment.
• Establish on-call, incident response, and observability standards.
• Recruit, mentor, and retain engineering talent.

Skills

Leadership

Software engineering

AI / LLMs

Cloud architectures

Security fundamentals

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Tools

AWS

Terraform

Docker

OpenSearch

Kubernetes

Job description

Collectors is the leading creator of innovative technology that provides value-added services for collectors worldwide. We grade, authenticate, vault, and sell millions of record-setting collectibles, all while modernizing and digitalizing the process to further our mission of helping collectors pursue their passions. We're always on the lookout for talented people to join our growing team. Our services span collectible trading cards, autographs, comic books, coins, video games, event tickets, and memorabilia. Our subsidiaries include PSA, PCGS, Beckett, SGC, and Card Ladder. Since our founding in 1986, we have graded and authenticated millions of items. We employ more than 3000 people across our headquarters in Santa Ana, California and offices in New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and France.

As part of our interview process, we request that candidates have their cameras on during video interviews. This helps foster meaningful conversation and allows us to create an experience that closely resembles our standard working environment. Certain interview steps may take place by phone. For remote roles, and at our discretion, candidates may be asked to participate in an on-site interview as part of the final stages of the process. We understand there may be occasional circumstances requiring accommodation and are happy to discuss them as needed. Your recruiter will be able to clarify expectations and answer any questions you have.

Remote or hybrid candidates will also be considered. We believe that there is significant value in in-person collaboration. If you live within a 1-hour commuting distance to one of our offices, you will be required to be onsite most of the time. This will be discussed further as part of the recruiting process.

Role Overview

This role leads the software engineering team behind Collectors' vault and fulfillment operations, the systems that securely store, track, and ship some of the world's most valuable collectibles. As Staff Software Engineering Manager, you will manage a team of WMS developers and software engineers, with ownership and accountability for the warehouse management system (WMS), its integrations, and the vault and fulfillment platforms. Your team owns not only fulfillment workflows but also the vault services that teams across Collectors rely on to submit and withdraw items from the vault. You will own the delivery, technical health, and growth of the team, partnering with product on the roadmap while ensuring the platforms that power physical custody and order fulfillment are reliable, scalable, and continuously improving. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who thrives at the intersection of software and physical operations, and who can raise the bar on engineering execution while developing the engineers and leads around them.

What You'll Do

• Lead, coach, and grow the vault and fulfillment software engineering team, including WMS developers responsible for the WMS and its integrations and software engineers responsible for vault and fulfillment services, with direct accountability for delivery, quality, and team health.
• Own the warehouse management system (WMS), its integrations, and the fulfillment platform end to end, serving as the accountable leader for the reliability, roadmap, and continuous improvement of these systems.
• Oversee the vault services owned by your software engineers, which teams across the company consume to submit and withdraw items held in the WMS and physically stored in the vault, ensuring these services are dependable, well-designed, and easy for partner teams to integrate with.
• Partner closely with product to shape and deliver the vault and fulfillment roadmap, while owning the technical health of both platforms, including KTLO work, operational improvements, and long-term platform investments.
• Champion an AI-first approach to engineering, applying AI tooling, LLMs, and agentic workflows to increase team efficiency and speed of delivery.
• Ensure the reliability, scalability, and security of systems that support high-value physical inventory, including item intake, chain of custody, storage tracking, order orchestration, picking, packing, and shipping workflows across the WMS and fulfillment systems.
• Provide architectural guidance and technical judgment across the WMS, vault, and fulfillment domains, reviewing high-level designs and influencing key technical decisions while empowering engineers to own implementation.
• Establish clear ownership, operating rhythms, and engineering standards, including on-call practices, incident response, and observability, that enable the team to execute effectively and independently.
• Drive integration with adjacent Collectors systems (grading, marketplace, customer-facing platforms) and collaborate across the broader technology portfolio to align on shared platforms and best practices.
• Recruit, develop, and retain strong engineering talent, including mentoring senior engineers, WMS developers, and future technical leads.

Who You Are

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, including 5+ years managing software engineering teams (Engineering Manager, Senior Manager, or equivalent).
• Experience building and operating systems that support physical operations at scale, such as fulfillment, logistics, warehouse management, inventory, or supply chain platforms, or comparable high-reliability, customer-facing systems.
• Experience working with AI, LLMs, and agentic frameworks to boost engineering productivity and quality.
• Strong understanding of modern cloud architectures, distributed systems, and security fundamentals.
• 3+ years working with AWS services (Lambda, RDS, DynamoDB, MSK, OpenSearch, S3, SNS, SQS) and infrastructure tools (Terraform, Docker).
• Track record of partnering effectively with product and operations teams, translating operational requirements into robust technical solutions.
• Experience working within a shared platform or portfolio-based technology environments.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field preferred, or equivalent practical experience.

Salary Range: The salary range for this position is $190,167-$308,741. Actual compensation on this range varies based on a variety of non-discriminatory factors, including location, job level, experience, and skill set. This role may be eligible for bonuses, commissions, or other forms of compensation, please ask your recruiter for details.

Diversity Statement

Collectors Universe is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual orientation (m/w/d).

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, national origin, gender, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or parental status, disability, veteran status, or other class protected by applicable law. We believe that a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills will better service the diverse community of collectors we support.

Reasons To Join Us

• Health Insurance: All full-time employees are eligible to enroll in Medical, Dental, and Vision
• Additional Benefits: Full-time employees are eligible for fertility, commuter, and educational assistance benefits
• 401(K) Matching Plan: We are proud to offer a competitive 401k matching plan to our employees to support their future financial goals
• Vacation: All salaried employees are eligible for flexible time-off
• Holiday Pay: All regular, full-time employees are eligible for ten company paid holidays
• Employee Discounts: Employees receive discounts on select grading services for approved submissions
• Flexible Hours: Many of our teams offer flexible schedules with varying shifts and will work with you to accommodate your needs
• Fun Working Environment: Our team members are invited to participate in celebrations, holiday events, and team building activities

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States. Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Collectors uses e-Verify to validate your ability to work legally in the United States.