Engineering Manager
At a glance
Manager-level Engineering Leadership role at Cardless. San Francisco · full-time · $230,000–$300,000 base.
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Lead a product engineering team focused on payments, money movement and financial infrastructure
- Set your team’s technical direction and execution, from sprint planning through architectural decisions
- Pair technical judgment with practical processes that let the team work independently as it grows
- Work with the Head of Engineering on hiring plans, technical priorities and organizational needs
- Turn requirements from partners, compliance and other teams into dependable systems, while advancing useful AI practices
What you bring
- Several years managing engineers, preferably backend teams responsible for complex systems at scale
- Technical depth to discuss system design, assess architecture choices and earn senior engineers’ trust
- Background in fintech, payments, card infrastructure or money movement, with an understanding of compliance demands
- Experience developing people, processes and team practices while scaling systems
Who this fits
This role suits an engineering manager who can stay close to technical decisions while growing a team and helping it operate with autonomy. You’ll work across product, compliance, operations and external partners, and help the team adopt AI tools. The role is based in San Francisco and requires office work at least three days a week.
From the employer
About Cardless
Cardless is building the infrastructure for the world's best companies to design, build, and launch financial products. Companies like Coinbase and Bilt use Cardless to create credit cards that feel entirely their own. In an industry where branded financial products usually mean shared logos and shared control, Cardless is built to disappear. Our APIs and components shape the journey from the first application to every purchase, reward, and moment of support that follows, while we handle lending, compliance, and operations behind the scenes.
In September 2025, we raised a $60 million Series C led by Spark Capital, bringing our total funding to $170 million. The team is over 70 people and scaling toward profitability by year-end 2026.
We're looking for kind, humble people with high standards and low egos. We take the work seriously without taking ourselves too seriously. We see what could be improved, make it so, and leave every product, system, and team better than we found it.
About the Role
At Cardless, we're building a credit card and loyalty platform that consumer businesses use to engage their customers. We power programs for names like Coinbase, Bilt, Qatar Airways, and Alibaba — real products, real cardholders, real transaction volume. And we're growing fast.
Our north star is to become the platform that powers the next generation of credit card programs globally: deeper integrations with partners, higher reliability at scale, and a platform that lets any consumer business launch and operate a card program without needing to build the infrastructure themselves.
We're looking for an engineering manager to lead one of our product engineering teams. This is a critical hire: you'll help shape not just the team, but how we build at Cardless as we scale toward that goal.
Responsibilities
Lead and grow a high-performing engineering team working at the intersection of payments, money movement, and financial infrastructure.
Own the technical health, execution, and culture of your team — from sprint planning to architectural direction.
Be a hands-on technical partner: go deep on system design and complex technical decisions when it matters, while also stepping back to implement frameworks and processes that help the team operate autonomously at scale.
Partner closely with the Head of Engineering on hiring strategy, technical roadmap, and organizational planning.
Work directly with external partners, compliance, and cross-functional stakeholders to translate complex requirements into reliable, high-quality systems.
Bring clarity to ambiguous situations — define the right problems, set technical standards, and build a team that can move fast without breaking things that matter.
Champion the thoughtful use of AI tooling across the team — from developer productivity to how we design and build systems — and help set the standard for how engineering at Cardless evolves alongside these tools.
What we look for
Several years of engineering management experience, ideally leading backend teams building complex, high-scale systems.
Strong technical depth — you can credibly engage in system design discussions, challenge architectural decisions, and earn the trust of senior engineers.
Experience in fintech, payments, credit or debit card infrastructure, or money movement. You understand the compliance and regulatory realities of building in this space.
A track record of scaling teams as well as systems — you've grown people, defined processes, and built cultures that ship.
Strong cross-functional instincts. You're comfortable navigating ambiguity alongside product, compliance, operations, and external partners.
High standards and a commitment to quality — in code, in communication, and in outcomes.
Excitement about how AI is reshaping software development and a track record of putting these tools to work — whether for developer productivity, system design, or building smarter products.
Compensation
This role has an annual starting salary range of $230,000-$300,000 + equity + benefits (see above). Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skills, experience, and specific work location.
Benefits
We're proud to offer our team excellent benefits:
💸 Meaningful Start-up equity
🏥 100% health, vision & dental primary coverage
➕ 75% health, vision & dental dependent coverage
🍱 Catered lunches
🚎 $250/month Commuter benefit
👶 Parental leave
✈️ Team building events & happy hours
🌴 Flexible PTO with a minimum of 15 days off per year
🖥️ Apple equipment
💸 401k plan
Location
We're headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with a beautiful office in Jackson Square. We’re in the office at least three days a week, and most of us are there more than that, because we do our best thinking and building together in person. We’re looking for someone who’s genuinely excited to be there alongside the team.
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