Manager, Engineering - Applications

Job description

**SimSpace serves as an AI Proving Ground where organizations can confidently train, test, and outmaneuver adversaries in any environment.** Trusted by allied governments, militaries, enterprises, and research institutions worldwide, SimSpace enables adaptive, AI-ready defenses that stay ahead of evolving threats. Founded in 2015 by experts from U.S. Cyber Command and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the platform unifies training, testing, and validation in a realistic, live-fire simulation—helping teams evaluate security investments, optimize performance, and compress cyber readiness cycles from months to days. **Why join SimSpace?** We are an organization that is focused on building our culture and mindfully enhancing our atmosphere every day which is why we have collaborated on an integral value system. Our governing philosophy of being Human Centered is deeply embedded within our value system. We apply this philosophy to every one of our internal team members, external clients, and their customers. **How Do We Work?** We believe that people are at the center of everything we do. SimSpace fosters a culture of continuous learning, curiosity, and professional growth. That belief shows up in action: in-house training, internal and external learning platforms, cyber conferences, industry events, and dedicated time for skill development. Our people are empowered to shape their careers - and it shows. Year over year, SimSpace consistently outperforms industry benchmarks in internal mobility, promotions, and total rewards growth. **Who Thrives Here?** We are a team of innovators, protectors, and problem-solvers. We believe diversity of thought and experience fuels better solutions, and we’re committed to building teams that reflect the communities we serve. Whether you’re remote or office-based, you’ll collaborate with talented colleagues across departments and time zones, united by the mission to create a safer digital world. **We invite you to apply today!** ## About the Role SimSpace builds the environments where the world's leading organizations train, test, and operationalize their cyber capabilities with confidence. Our application teams own the product experiences customers use every day—turning complex cyber, infrastructure, and simulation capabilities into features that are intuitive, reliable, and valuable. As the **Engineering Manager for an Application Team**, you'll lead and grow a full-stack team responsible for delivering end-to-end product features—from the React frontend through the Kotlin services and APIs behind them. You'll be accountable for the health of your team, the quality of what it ships, and the careers of the engineers who build it. This is a people-leadership role with deep technical grounding. You lead *through* your team while staying close enough to the work to guide architecture, unblock hard problems, and make smart trade-offs. We're looking for a **hands-on, go-getter engineering leader** who loves to figure things out—someone who thrives in ambiguity, adapts as plans shift, and drives their team to success without waiting to be told how. ## What You'll Do ### Build and Lead a Full-Stack Team - Lead, grow, and develop a team of full-stack engineers; own hiring, onboarding, 1:1s, performance, and career growth. - Invest in your engineers as people—coaching, mentoring, and creating the conditions for them to do the best work of their careers. - Set the team's direction, goals, and priorities, translating product strategy into a clear plan and predictable execution. - Foster a culture that values collaboration, ownership, craft, and continuous improvement. ### Own Delivery End to End - Own the delivery of full-stack product features across frontend, backend, and APIs—balancing scope, quality, and timelines. - Stay close enough to the technical decisions to guide architecture, review work credibly, and unblock the hard problems. - Steward architectural decisions and manage technical debt deliberately, balancing long-term health with delivery needs. - Establish and uphold standards for code health, testing, performance, observability, and operational ownership. ### Figure Things Out and Drive to Success - Dig into ambiguous, poorly defined problems and drive them to clarity and resolution—for yourself and for the team. - Adapt as priorities and plans shift, re-planning and re-sequencing work without losing momentum or morale. - Identify what's slowing the team down and remove it, whether it's technical, process, or cross-team friction. - Take real ownership of outcomes, holding the team accountable to a high bar while keeping delivery moving. ### Drive Cross-Team Execution and Influence - Partner with Product Management to align engineering work with business objectives and maintain plans and resourcing for predictable delivery. - Collaborate with other engineering teams, platform teams, and QA so features integrate cleanly and meet a high quality bar. - Influence how the broader organization works—improving processes, standards, and ways of working beyond your own team. - Continuously improve Agile practices to enhance your team's velocity, quality, and delivery. ## What You Bring ### Required Qualifications - 8+ years in software engineering, including 2+ years directly managing or leading engineers. - Proven ability to lead and grow full-stack engineering teams, including distributed or hybrid teams. - Strong technical depth across the stack—modern frontend (**TypeScript and React**) and backend services and APIs—enough to guide architecture and review work credibly. - Track record of delivering complex product features end to end, on predictable timelines. - Demonstrated ability to operate in ambiguity—defining the problem, forming a plan, and driving it to completion. - Hands-on experience with Agile methodologies, paired with strong leadership and communication skills. ### Preferred Qualifications - Experience with **Kotlin** or comparable JVM backend services. - Comfort owning services in production—CI/CD, observability, reliability, and operational ownership. - Experience adapting teams through reorganizations, roadmap shifts, or rapid growth. - Experience partnering closely with Product Management and designers to shape as well as deliver work. - Interest in AI-assisted development and improving engineering productivity. - Bachelor's in Computer Science or a related field (or equivalent practical experience). ## Who You Are - **A go-getter**—you take initiative, drive outcomes, and don't wait for permission to solve problems. - You love to figure things out, and you're energized rather than frustrated by ambiguity and hard problems. - You genuinely care about people—you build engineers up, grow careers, and create teams others want to be on. - You adapt gracefully when plans shift, keeping the team focused and moving forward. - You lead through your team but stay close enough to make—and unblock—hard technical calls. - You influence how things work across teams, improving the system rather than just working within it. ## Why This Role Matters Application teams are where SimSpace's capabilities become real products in customers' hands. As the leader of one of these teams, you own the experience customers depend on and the engineers who build it—setting the standard for how work gets delivered, how problems get solved, and how the team grows. Your impact compounds: strong teams, shipped features, and better ways of working that ripple outward across engineering. ## Our Tech Stack Includes TypeScript, React, Kotlin, Git/GitHub, Docker, Kubernetes ***We’re proud to offer a competitive and comprehensive package designed to support your well-being, growth, and success:*** - **Compensation.** Base salary range: $160,000 - $220,000, reflecting our confidence in your expertise and impact, with the opportunity for annual bonuses tied to company performance and individual contributions. - **Health & Wellness.** Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, plus savings plans—coverage starts on day one! - **Mental Health Support.** Access to company-paid counseling, coaching, and resources for you and your family through Spring Health. - **Financial Well-Being.** Plan for your future with a 401(k)-retirement savings plan featuring a company match. - **Flexible Time Off.** Take the time you need with flex vacation, company holidays, and dedicated health & wellness days. SimSpace provides flexible solutions to meet the diverse work-life needs of team members. - **Parental Leave.** Paid leave plans to support you and your loved ones during life’s most important moments. - **Ownership Opportunities:** Equity stock options at hire, with annual performance-based grants—become an invested stakeholder in our shared success. - **Peloton Interactive Wellness Program:** Full- and partial- subsidized membership plans and equipment discounts to help you reach your personalized fitness goals. - **Continuous Learning:** Access a LinkedIn Learning membership to prioritize your personal and professional development. - **Social Connections:** Monthly reimbursements for meaningful connections with teammates through our SocialSpace Community. - **Extra Perks:** Legal plan coverage, pet insurance, wellness reimbursements, and more to simplify life’s details. **SimSpace is an Equal Opportunity Employer:** *In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.* *SimSpace is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.* *Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups only apply to jobs if they meet all of the qualifications. However, no one ever meets 100% of the qualifications. SimSpace encourages you to break that statistic and to apply. We look forward to your application!* *We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, in accordance with applicable law. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please contact* [*careers@simspace.com*](mailto:careers@simspace.com)*.* *SimSpace does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies.* *Actual compensation for the position is based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to affordability, skills, qualifications and experience, and may vary from the range.*