Product Manager

At FlowFuse, an Engineering Manager is not just a lead to our team of engineers. An Engineering Manager is someone comfortable contributing to our codebase and can lead from the front, as well as guiding their engineering team to higher performance and faster innovation. Candidates aligned with Americas timezones must be willing to work ET hours. We believe in running our engineering team like a sports team. You'll be responsible for fostering a culture of high performance, continuous improvement, and a relentless drive to win.

As an Engineering Manager, you'll be shaping our engineering culture and driving the execution of our product roadmap. You will:

Coach and Develop Your Team: You'll be responsible for the growth and development of your engineers. This includes conducting regular one-on-ones, providing constructive feedback, identifying areas for improvement, managing performance, and creating opportunities for career advancement. You'll know your team's strengths and weaknesses and how to best utilize their talents. Drive Performance and Velocity: You’ll do whatever is in your power to increase team performance and velocity. You'll establish clear goals and metrics, track progress, and implement strategies to help the team move faster and more efficiently without sacrificing quality. You will analyze the team's current performance, identify bottlenecks, and implement solutions to optimize our development processes. Build a Winning Culture: You will cultivate a high-performance, results-oriented environment. This means fostering a sense of ownership, accountability, and a shared commitment to our goals. Strategize and Execute: You'll work closely with other stakeholders to translate business objectives into a clear technical roadmap. You will be responsible for the successful and timely delivery of user-valuable software. Lead from the Front: You're not afraid to get your hands dirty. You'll be expected to contribute to the codebase, conduct code reviews, and provide technical guidance to the team. Your technical expertise will be crucial in making architectural decisions and solving our most challenging problems. Skills

To be successful in this role, you'll need a blend of technical prowess and leadership skills. You should bring to the table:

A Proven Engineer: You have a strong background in software development and an understanding of modern technologies and best practices. You are proficient in Node.JS, understand Node-RED and its ecosystem, VueJS, and modern DevOps tooling. A Growth-Oriented Leader: You have startup experience, and a track record of building and scaling high-performing engineering teams. A Performance-Driven Mindset: You are data-driven and have experience implementing and tracking metrics to improve team performance. You're constantly looking for ways to optimize processes and increase efficiency. An Excellent Communicator: You can clearly articulate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. You are a great listener and can build strong relationships with your team and other stakeholders. A "Sports Team" Captain: You understand the dynamics of a high-performing team. You know how to foster collaboration, healthy competition, and a shared will to win. You lead by example and inspire your team to perform at their best.

90-Day Plan:

Week 1-4: Immerse & Understand

• Familiarize yourself with FlowFuse's product vision, engineering strategy, and current roadmap.

Conduct initial one-on-ones with all direct reports, setting up regular cadences for feedback and development. Get to know your team, understand their strengths, career aspirations, and current projects.

• Review existing engineering processes, tools, and codebase to identify initial areas of opportunity.
• Meet with key stakeholders across product, sales, and leadership to understand their expectations and challenges related to engineering.
• Week 5-8: Assess and Plan
• Begin to analyze team performance metrics and identify potential bottlenecks or areas for improvement in velocity and quality. Set goals for expected improvements.
• Collaborate with product and other engineering leads to refine the immediate technical roadmap and priorities.
• Start contributing to the codebase through code reviews and tackling a minor feature or bug fix to understand the developer workflow.
• Implement initial process improvements to increase team efficiency and output.

Begin to define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for your team, regularly reviewing progress. Week 9-13: Execute and Optimize Lead the planning and execution of a significant feature or project, demonstrating effective project management and technical leadership. Identify and start addressing any performance management or development needs within the team, creating individual growth plans. Develop plan to drive 20% throughput improvement in engineering org, leveraging AI and other tools to get there in the next 90 days.

Hiring Plan:

• Initial Screening: Review resumes and cover letters to assess candidate qualifications and experience.

First Interview (Technical Depth & Leadership): Conduct a video interview to assess technical proficiency in Node.js, Node-RED, Vue.js, and DevOps tooling, as well as initial leadership and management experience. Second Interview (Team Leadership & Culture Fit): In-depth interview with the CEO and other relevant team leads to discuss leadership philosophy, experience scaling teams, and alignment with FlowFuse's "sports team" culture. Technical Assessment / Case Study: Candidates will be presented with a real-world scenario or problem relevant to FlowFuse's engineering challenges and asked to propose solutions or provide a code sample.

• STAR Interview (Behavioral Alignment): A behavioral interview focusing on past experiences to understand how the candidate has handled challenges, collaborated, and driven performance.
• Offer: Extend an offer to the selected candidate.