Engineering Manager

Quick Summary

Lead a full-stack team building distributed, API-first systems on AWS. Player-coach role driving scalable architecture, reliable delivery, and high-performing engineers.

At this time, we are unable to sponsor employment visas for this role.

Who we are

Kin makes life simpler, more affordable, and better for homeowners - especially in the places where climate risks, rising costs, and outdated systems make it hardest. We start with smarter homeowners insurance and expand to everything homeowners need to thrive.

Using data, technology, and thoughtful human support, we’re building products that are clear, fair, and help homeowners feel confident - so homeowners aren’t left behind when they need help most.

Founded in 2016, Kin is a remote-first employer with Kinfolk across more than 35 states. We serve customers in 13 states (and counting). Our disciplined growth, strong customer satisfaction, and focus on long-term sustainability fosters outstanding growth, attracts marquee investors, and earns recognition and accolades, including:

• Built In Chicago's Best Places to Work, Midsize Companies (2021-2026)

• Forbes' America's Best Startup Employers (2021-2024)

• Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies

• Forbes’ Fintech 50

• Great Places to Work Certified (2024-2026)

Most importantly, we’re building Kin to be a place where people do meaningful work with real impact - for our customers, our communities, and each other. We're excited to tell you more about how you can contribute to our rapid growth, strong unit economics, profitability, and excellent customer ratings. To learn more about how we work and what we’re building, visit kin.com and see how we work.

The opportunity

We’re looking for a passionate, entrepreneurial Engineering Manager to help us scale our product architecture and elevate our engineering execution. As Kin continues to grow, we’re evolving from monolithic systems toward distributed, modular services - and we need a hands-on leader who can guide that transformation while delivering customer-facing innovation.

This role exists at a pivotal moment: we’re balancing rapid product development with long-term system reliability, performance, and scalability. You’ll lead a full-stack team across front-end and back-end systems, partnering closely with Product to ship roadmap features while strengthening architecture and engineering standards.

Your responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing full-stack engineering team, fostering ownership, accountability, and continuous growth

• Serve as a hands-on player-coach, contributing meaningful production code while setting technical direction

• Drive delivery of roadmap initiatives from concept through production with predictable, high-quality execution

• Champion API-first design and schema-first development practices (OpenAPI/Swagger, contract testing, interface-driven development)

• Guide the decomposition of monolithic systems into modular, distributed services with clear ownership boundaries

• Establish best practices for observability, resilience, and distributed communication (tracing, retries, idempotency, error handling)

• Lead architectural discussions to ensure long-term maintainability, reliability, and performance

• Partner cross-functionally with Product, PMO, and other engineering teams to align technical strategy with business priorities

• Participate in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring to strengthen the engineering organization

Success in this role

In your first 6-12 months at Kin, success is less about checking boxes and more about the impact you create. You’ll use your skills and judgment to take ownership of meaningful work, improve how we operate, and help move Kin’s mission forward. Along the way, you’ll deliver outcomes that make a real difference for both Kinfolk and the homeowners we serve.

By the end of your first year, you should feel confident in your role, trusted as an owner, and proud of the progress you’ve helped make.

• Your team consistently delivers roadmap initiatives with improved predictability, quality, and reduced production incidents

• Core services have been redesigned or evolved toward modular, API-first architectures with clear service ownership and scalability

• Engineering best practices for observability, distributed communication, and reliability are consistently adopted across your team

• Engineers on your team demonstrate measurable growth in technical capability, ownership, and cross-functional collaboration

What you’ll bring

Core Experience & Technical Skills

• Minimum 8 years of hands-on software development experience with strong computer science fundamentals

• Proven experience managing or leading a team of engineers in a fast-paced environment

• Demonstrated success acting as a player-coach who contributes meaningfully to the codebase

• Experience building distributed systems and decomposing monoliths into modular services

• Hands-on experience with API-first and schema-first workflows (OpenAPI/Swagger, contract testing, interface-driven development)

• Experience with relational and NoSQL databases, message queues/brokers, and distributed system design patterns

• Ability to design systems with clear service ownership, reliability, and modularity

• Excellent command of the full SDLC: analysis, design, development, testing, deployment, and support

• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to convey complex technical concepts clearly

Nice to have

• Experience with modern JavaScript frameworks (React, Angular, or Vue)

• Familiarity with BI or big-data technologies such as Looker or BigTable

• Experience with Ruby on Rails or similar backend frameworks

• Exposure to regulated industries such as insurance or financial services

How we hire

We believe a great hiring experience should be clear, respectful, and human. Applications for this role are accepted on an on-going basis. While our recruiting team uses AI tools for efficiency, resumes are still screened by Kin’s in-house recruiters, and candidate evaluations and hiring decisions are made by recruiters and hiring teams. Rest assured, real people make real decisions.

The hiring process and timeline for each role will vary, depending on the position. However, here are some things you can expect from us:

• Prompt updates and feedback following interviews

• Interviews with recruiters, hiring managers, and members of teams

• Skills assessment relevant to the position, if applicable

• Genuine, thoughtful human interaction at every step

How we support you

We offer a comprehensive, competitive benefits program, allowing you to choose the benefits that are best for you and your family, starting on the first day of the month following your start date.

Core Benefits

• Competitive salary and company equity through Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), granted as part of our standard compensation package and based on role and level

• 401(k) with company match up to 4% of eligible earnings

• Multiple medical plan options, plus dental and vision coverage

• Company-funded HSA contributions (based on medical plan selection)

• Company-paid life insurance and short-term disability

Health & Wellbeing

• A variety of supplemental benefit options, including long-term disability, critical illness, accident, legal, and pet insurance

• Access to mental health support and confidential counseling resources

• Flexible PTO for exempt employees (most employees take 15-20 days per year), plus 8 company-observed holidays

• Paid parental leave, including up to 14 weeks at 100% pay for birthing parents and 8 weeks at 100% pay for non-birthing parents

Growth & Development

• Career mobility and internal growth opportunities across the organization

• Professional development budgets for certifications, conferences, and learning available, subject to management approval

How we work

We don’t just hire for skills. We hire for alignment. Kinfolk bring diverse perspectives, but we’re united by a shared set of values that shape how we work and how we show up for each other and our customers.

Run through walls, together - Every one of us is responsible for creating the culture we want to work in. High performance. Low drama. Always respectful. We assume the best in each other and challenge ideas, not intentions. We show up, work hard, and play to each other's strengths - because that’s how great teams win.

Raise the bar. Drop the ego - Attitudes are contagious. Every one of us is responsible for creating the culture we want to work in. High performance. Low drama. Always respectful. Like professional sports teams, we win by working in sync. We show up, work hard, and play to each other’s strengths.

Act like an owner - We are owners, fully accountable for achieving Kin’s mission. That requires positive, proactive, big-picture thinking well beyond our job descriptions. Ask questions, Take ownership. Do the right thing, even when it‘s hard. Because when Kin thrives, so do you. And so do our customers.

Operate lean. Deliver more - We build efficiency into everything we do. Each dollar we save gets reinvested to deliver more to our customers: better pricing, more products, and new innovations. We work smarter by relentlessly prioritizing and using technology, including AI, to multiply our impact. Lean is about focus, not deprivation. Lean isn't a limitation - it's our competitive advantage.

Keep asking ‘What if?’ - We value curiosity. To make insurance better for our customers, we experiment. We embrace insights. And we base decisions on data rather than assumptions. We see setbacks as opportunities for growth and are always learning and improving. Both individually and as a company.

Where we work

We are a remote-first company with offices in Chicago, IL and St. Petersburg, FL where teams can come together for collaboration.

For Sales Agents and Customer Service Agents: These roles sit in any of the following 32 states: AL, AZ, CO, FL, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MT, NC, NE, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, and WI.

For all other positions, these roles can sit in any of the following 41 states: AL, AR, AZ, CA (exempt only), CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MD, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, and WI. Please only apply if you are able to live and work full-time in one of the states listed above.

For remote technical positions located in Canada, we are only able to hire individuals who reside in Ontario. Applicants must be able to live and work full-time in Ontario to be considered.

State locations and specifics are subject to change as our hiring requirements shift.

EEOC statement

Kin is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. We don't just accept difference - we honor it, nurture it, and celebrate it. We don’t discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. Kin welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. If you require accommodation, please contact us by sending an email to [email protected]