About this role
Hi there, we’re Article. 👋 Since 2013, we have been redefining the furniture industry one sofa at a time, it’s not easy — it requires solving challenging, meaningful problems. This is where you come in. As a Software Engineering Manager II, you will empower high-performing, micro-sized engineering squads to rapidly build, scale, and maintain the technology powering Article's operations. Why We Need You In Application Engineering, we operate with maximum agility. Our engineers rotate across projects and own delivery end-to-end—spanning frontend, backend, data engineering, and cloud infrastructure. We leverage modern AI tools like Claude AI as a force multiplier so engineers can query systems in natural language and spend less time wading through legacy documentation. Because our projects, processes, and team compositions vary significantly depending on business needs, we need an Engineering Manager who is pragmatic, flexible, and highly adaptable. Our operating model thrives on fluidity—dogmatic approaches or rigid frameworks will break this system. You will meet our teams and systems where they are, adapting your management style and delivery practices to fit the unique needs of each initiative while building flexible, high-impact systems quickly. Within your first few months, you’ll take ownership of capacity planning, establish clear delivery standards across active project squads, and guide engineer project rotations smoothly. In a year, you’ll be proud to say you’ve streamlined squad operations, reduced ongoing maintenance overhead, and coached a high-performing, highly adaptable engineering team that consistently delivers business outcomes. Why Article? As a Particle (people of Article), you will have a high level of autonomy to solve challenging, meaningful problems the best way you can. That means you’re trusted to explore solutions you believe will work best (you’re the expert, after all). You’ll do all this while growing your skills within a company that is redefining the furniture industry. About the Application Engineering Team We are a modern, adaptable engineering organization built around micro-sized squads (typically 1–2 engineers) with full-stack ownership. We use Claude AI to understand complex codebases fast and skip dense documentation. Instead of sitting in traditional code reviews, our managers act as Delivery Managers and partner with Staff Engineers on sprint execution, resource planning, and stakeholder alignment. We are a hybrid team—you'll be in the office at our Vancouver HQ 3 days per week. Adapt & Execute Across Varied Contexts: Lead multiple concurrent micro-squads (1–2 engineers) through rapidly shifting project scopes, team structures, and operational frameworks, applying a pragmatic lens to execution rather than enforcing one-size-fits-all processes. Drive Agile Operations: Lead fast, high-quality project cycles from scoping through to production deployment, embracing changing business needs with composure and flexibility. Leverage AI Integration: Empower engineers with AI tools like Claude AI to navigate complex codebases via natural language, accelerating onboarding and smooth project rotations. Manage Capacity & Trade-offs: Own capacity planning and project sequencing, pragmatically balancing high-ROI initiatives with technical debt reduction and operational stability. Interface with Stakeholders: Serve as the key interface for project delivery—leading trade-off conversations with cross-functional stakeholders, managing delivery timelines, and setting realistic expectations. Partner on Execution: Partner with Product Managers and Staff Engineers on sprint planning, task creation, and resource allocation without conducting direct code reviews. Cross-Domain Guidance: Guide engineers as they traverse front-end, back-end, integrations, data engineering, and AWS cloud infrastructure across different project rotations. Maintain Health & Stability: Review operational metrics (incidents, bugs, debt) and ensure squads schedule proactive improvements to continuously reduce operational workload. Cultivate Accountable Culture: Model "above the line" behavior across squads, maintaining high standards of fairness, ownership, and clear accountability.