Job Description

Software Engineering Manager

Kipsu is rooted in a simple, yet profound goal: Elevate service professionals to the center of the customer experience, transforming transactional interactions into fully-developed relationships through the use of our leading edge digital messaging capabilities. As one of the Twin Cities’ leading growth stage technology companies, Kipsu has cultivated a reputation for strong company culture, providing exemplary service to its customer partners, and investing in the growth of its team members. Kipsu was recognized by Star Tribune as a top small company workplace for 2022! Our Vice President of Product will be helping us conceptualize new product offerings and will be central to Kipsu’s growth over the next five years.

THE OPPORTUNITY

You’ll join and help shape a team of full stack engineers who value creativity, collaboration, and technical curiosity. We put a lot of effort into our team culture and will value your contribution to how we build and grow a healthy, productive, and respectful environment of growth and challenge. You’ll be empowered to lead a team and maximize results of a group of talented and engaged Software Engineers.

.WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Participate in strategic planning, whether for part of the stack, a specific product, or for a team’s workload.
• Think intentionally about what makes an inclusive, positive, and productive Engineering culture and work as part of a leadership team within Engineering to reinforce, reassess, and improve how we operate as a team.
• Lead stand-ups and working group meetings, fostering an environment of critical thinking and constructive collaboration.
• Provide review, advice and mentoring to team members regularly, through one on ones, peer programming, or other means.
• Monitor metrics like code quality, productivity, etc. to ensure that we are achieving our goals.
• Identify deficiencies in the development processes and support activities to improve them.
• Deliver regular updates to relevant stakeholders on a portfolio of work, such as a squad or working group.
• Manage projects effectively, driving accountability through effective planning and monitoring through execution.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

• 5+ years of experience as a Software Engineer
• 2+ years of experience in a Leadership role.
• Thorough understanding of full software development lifecycle/process and the role of Engineering and non-Engineering teams.
• Ability to see the big picture beyond the Engineering team, taking into account customer expectations, company goals and external pressures.
• Ability to lead an engineering team and customer-facing teams to deliver critical new capabilities.
• Strong technical and business communication skills.
• Comfortable with delivering presentations internally and externally.
• Computer Science, software engineering or engineering course history; demonstrated ability to parse complex problems.
• Enjoy stepping up to challenges and helping others overcome obstacles to achieve goals.
• Ability to track subordinate project progress, estimate / forecast work efforts and work to deadlines.

WHAT MAKES KIPSU DIFFERENT

• We’re a solid, stable growing company, and we enthusiastically embrace our founding startup spirit– everyone pitching in and working to the same goals.
• Our culture– We have a team of highly motivated colleagues who are all in it together. We all succeed as one, and we all learn from our mistakes holding our interdependence in high regard.
• Our unique philosophy– we bootstrapped this company ourselves and are in it for the long-term. There is a distinct sense of purpose and ownership at Kipsu as we do things on our own terms.
• Remarkable growth– with nearly a decade of advancement, we continue to accelerate. It’s an exciting time to be here.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT HERE

• Unity– Everyone here is committed to the same mission. Our core values are not platitudes but our pact. We believe in the best in each other while always reaching to be better.
• Transparency– Our leadership gets into the details. We all gather for weekly space to discover how each team is doing so that we have a full understanding of the business and think like a CEO.
• Trust– Our team members are given the trust and license to excel at their jobs, and are supported along the way to continuously grow.
• Respect– Our success and future as an industry leader depend on actionable commitment to cultivating a diverse and equitable team. Everyone here has a voice that is heard and respected. We seek open and honest conversation on our journey to be active stewards of our shared communities.
• Purpose– Everyone here is closely connected to the result of their work. Every day our team gets to see the impact of what they do enhancing the value of our customers’ work in their own professions. Our goals are explicitly tethered to our mission of building relationships.

One last thing – At Kipsu, we believe that our values, success, and future as a leader in our industry require a vibrant and diverse workforce. This is one of the many challenges we seek to solve, and we are intentional and active in recruiting talent of all identities and building an environment that is inclusive of all backgrounds. We need your contribution to our team. Please consider rolling up your sleeves and joining us on our journey.