Senior Engineering Manager

Prisma Data, Inc.; Remote; ZAR 300 000 - 400 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech company is seeking a seasoned leader for its engineering team in South Africa, Gauteng. The role emphasizes empowering teams to achieve excellence in software delivery and requires strong expertise in database and backend technologies. With a focus on relationship-building and effective communication, the ideal candidate should possess 8+ years of leadership experience. The company values its people, offering remote work options and substantial benefits, including competitive salaries and generous time off.

Benefits

Competitive Base Salary and Stock Options

Fully Remote Work

Generous Time Off

Parental Benefits

Sabbatical Leave

Mental Health Support

Annual Off-sites

Relocation Support

Qualifications

• 8+ years proven leadership in software engineering teams.
• Hands-on experience as a software engineer.
• Strong understanding of backend technologies.

Responsibilities

• Empower engineering team for technical excellence.
• Optimize development processes for continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with Product Manager to define the roadmap.

Skills

Leadership in software engineering

Database technologies (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB)

TypeScript proficiency

Strong communication skills

Methodical problem-solving

Job description

About the role

At Prisma, we're redefining how developers work with databases. If you're fascinated by cutting‑edge data infrastructure powering companies like Twitter, Airbnb, and Facebook, but want the agility, ownership, and impact of a fast‑moving startup, Prisma is the place for you.

Backed by top‑tier Silicon Valley investors like Amplify Partners, Kleiner Perkins, and IVP, our small, distributed team is making advanced database technology accessible to developers everywhere.

Our open‑source tools are trusted by thousands of developers each month, with a thriving community on Discord and GitHub, where we've earned 41,000+ GitHub Stars.

At the heart of our commercial offerings is Prisma Postgres, our flagship product designed to supercharge PostgreSQL with modern developer workflows, performance optimizations, and seamless scaling.

Alongside it, Prisma Accelerate, and Studio provide a world‑class toolkit for building with data.

Responsibilities

People : Empower your engineering team to achieve technical excellence and meaningful impact by ensuring they have the support and resources to do their best work. Provide constructive feedback, create learning and growth opportunities, and challenge them to improve. Help them understand why their work matters and how it aligns with company‑wide KPIs. We believe that strong, healthy teams start with investing in people.

Process : Optimize and refine development processes and technical practices to drive continuous improvement. Lead engineering team meetings to plan and prioritize work, run retrospectives to identify improvements, and establish policies that enhance communication, collaboration, and code quality.

Delivery : Collaborate closely with the Product Manager to prioritize product initiatives, define the roadmap, and drive technical improvements, consistently delivering high‑quality software that provides value while maintaining a sustainable pace.

Candidate Profile

We believe the right candidate for this position should meet a majority of the criteria listed below:

• 8+ years proven leadership in software engineering teams, with hands‑on experience as a software engineer.
• Strong understanding of database and backend technologies, including TypeScript, SQL/NoSQL databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB, SQL Server), and familiarity with cloud services, APIs (GraphQL/REST), and developer tooling.
• High standards for quality, balancing pragmatism, purpose, and a strong sense of agency—taking ownership, making thoughtful trade‑offs, and driving meaningful impact.
• Strong communication skills in English, both written and verbal—able to articulate complex ideas clearly, adapt messaging to different audiences, and foster collaboration across teams.
• A structured thought process, approaching problems methodically, and making well‑reasoned decisions. Plans effectively, sets clear goals, anticipates challenges, and ensures smooth execution while keeping stakeholders aligned.

Benefits

We put our people first.

• Competitive Base Salary and Stock Options, including extended post‑termination exercise windows.
• Fully Remote Work with flexibility to work from anywhere within our required time zones. If you prefer an office environment, we provide access to a local co‑working space for up to ten days per month.
• Generous Time Off, including 24 days of paid vacation and paid sick leave.
• Parental Benefits, including 20 weeks of fully paid parental leave and child sick leave.
• Sabbatical Leave, with 6 weeks of fully paid time off after 3 years of continuous employment.
• Mental Health Support, including 4 fully paid Mental Health Days per year and access to professional resources.
• Annual Off‑sites, bringing the team together twice a year with all expenses paid retreats at exciting locations.
• Relocation Support, offering a relocation package for team members moving to Berlin after 12 months, if you choose to relocate.

Hiring Process

• Introductory Call with our Head of Engineering.
• Take Home Assignment where you will share some of your thoughts and approaches to management.
• Team Interview with some of the engineers that form part of your team.
• Leadership Interview with our COO.
• Final Interview with our CEO.

Equal Opportunity Statement

In line with our Fair Treatment and Equal Opportunity Policy, as well as our Disability Policy, Prisma follows fair and merit‑based hiring practices, ensuring all candidates are evaluated based on their skills, experience, and qualifications. We do not make hiring decisions based on age, race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, parental or caregiver status, trade union membership, disability, religious belief or lack of belief, life expectancy, sexual orientation, genetic information, or veteran or military status.

Locations (Remote)

Remote (Brussels, BE)

Remote (Sofia, BG)

Remote (Prague, CZ)

Remote (Berlin, DE)

Remote (Budapest, HU)

Remote (Dublin, IE)

Remote (Amsterdam, NL)

Remote (Oslo, NO)

Remote (Lisbon, PT)

Remote (Bucharest, RO)

Remote (Belgrade, RS)

Remote (Ljubljana, SI)

Remote (Madrid, ES)