Engineering Manager (PHP)

Your impact

Few things are more professionally gratifying than assembling a team of people that can do big things. They deliver ambitious projects, make their teammates better, and contribute to a culture of excellence. That, in a nutshell, is the job of an Engineering Manager at Help Scout.

About the role

• Your mission is to develop a team of high-performing engineers. When a team is doing great work, happiness and engagement is a byproduct. You measure performance not only in terms of quality, accessibility, reliability, performance, and security, but also in terms of attitude, creativity, communication, and collaboration. You hold each member accountable to a high bar across all of these competencies.
• This is a hands-on role. Comfort with PHP is a must. We assume that you’ll spend a portion of your time coding — pairing with engineers, reviewing PRs, taking on guild-level priorities, building a prototype, or even jumping in to help with a project if a team is shorthanded. One of the most valuable things you can do is model what great looks like. 
• Most of our engineering teams are organized by function, so you will lead a team of 5-8 PHP engineers. Every four months (we do triannual planning), engineers on your team will be distributed among cross-functional initiatives that map to the company’s biggest priorities. Although you aren’t responsible for project managing these initiatives, you’ll  still be coaching the engineers in their craft, the complexities of working in a diverse codebase, and being a great teammate.
• Since you are focused by function instead of product/area, it’s your responsibility to develop best practices and cohesion at the guild level by spearheading strategic initiatives and resolving technical debt that impacts pace of delivery. Your work enables engineers to move to different areas of the codebase every four months and get up to speed quickly.

About you

• You are an excellent engineer, with a required proficiency as a Software Engineer—especially PHP—in your function. We’ll ask you to pass the same project as we give to senior engineers. We believe it’s necessary for managers to be skilled practitioners so they can accurately assess performance and help their team members grow in their craft.
• You’ve managed teams before. It energizes you to see people grow and succeed. You love the mentorship aspect of the work, whether it’s helping someone figure out a tough problem, take the next step in their craft, or become a better teammate. 
• You are an outstanding communicator, both verbally and in writing. Help Scout is fully remote and relies heavily on written communication, so it’s critical to your success in the role. You are organized, efficient, and disciplined in your communication, whether it’s a meeting agenda, PR comment, project proposal or performance assessment.
• You understand the nuance between micromanagement and operating in the details. We’re not asking you to manage tasks or projects. We’re asking you to invest in the people with your time and expertise. You are skilled at providing the mentorship and critical feedback necessary to help members of your team do their best work. 
• You are determined to operate in such a way that minimizes unnecessary bureaucracy and process. These things limit the business’ potential. You are skilled at removing these obstacles and empowering the team to run fast.
• You lean into hard things. That’s being a manager, right? You don’t shy from a difficult conversation, but you do approach it with curiosity and compassion. As a result, you’re able to build trust and confidence with teammates.