Engineering Manager, Cloud Systems

About the role

Every merchant on Shopify depends on infrastructure they never have to think about. Cloud Systems is the foundational layer underneath all of Shopify's infrastructure: we build and run the systems that provide compute, service discovery, internal routing, and egress routing for the entire platform. When it works, nobody notices. That's the point, and it's a hard thing to pull off at Shopify's scale.

As the Engineering Manager for Cloud Systems, you'll lead a highly senior, globally distributed team of Software engineers. You'll set direction, raise the bar on reliability and execution, and stay close enough to the technical work to go deep with the engineers doing it. You'll also partner closely with our ML Infrastructure team to build out GPU capabilities and make Day 2 operations for ML workloads solid. Coming up next: extending our platform across multiple clouds, and building and running our own Kubernetes and host OS for VMs. If you want to own the foundation and shape where it goes, this is the role.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, grow, and support a senior team of Software engineers, building an environment where experienced engineers do their best work

• Set technical direction for Shopify's compute, service discovery, internal routing, and egress routing systems, in partnership with the team's technical leads

• Stay hands-on with the technical work: read and review code, weigh in on design, and pressure-test architectural decisions

• Drive execution on large, cross-cutting infrastructure projects, spotting risk early and getting off-track work back on course

• Own operational excellence for the team's systems, including on-call health, incident response, and turning incidents into lasting reliability improvements

• Partner with ML Infrastructure to build GPU capabilities and improve Day 2 operations for ML workloads

• Help shape the team's path toward multi-cloud and toward building and running our own Kubernetes and host OS for VMs

• Lead effectively across very different time zones, building rituals and communication habits that keep a distributed team connected and moving fast

• Collaborate with peer infrastructure teams and the product engineering teams that build on top of the platform

• Hire, coach, and develop engineers, and give clear, candid feedback that helps people grow

Qualifications

• A track record of leading Software engineering teams, ideally including senior and Staff-level engineers

• A background in SRE, production engineering, or infrastructure platform work, with the technical credibility to lead deeply experienced engineers

• Hands-on experience running Kubernetes at fleet scale (GKE, EKS, or similar)

• Strong understanding of cloud networking, including load balancers, gateways, service discovery, and service mesh

• Solid distributed systems, operating systems, and networking fundamentals

• Experience operating production systems with on-call responsibilities and leading teams through incidents

• Comfort managing a team spread across multiple regions and time zones

• Clear, direct communication, and the ability to explain technical tradeoffs to engineers and leaders alike

• High agency in ambiguous situations: you see what needs fixing and you go fix it

Nice to have:

• Experience with GPU or ML infrastructure

• Infrastructure-as-code experience, especially Terraform

• Multi-cloud experience (for example, GCP and AWS)

• Experience building or operating Kubernetes control planes or host operating systems

• Experience leading large-scale incident response and post-incident reviews

About the discipline

Engineering. It’s our DNA.

Engineering isn't a department at Shopify. It's our DNA. The engineers who thrive here care about the code, the system, and the merchants relying on both. They want hard problems and uncomfortable growth. They find solutions without waiting for permission. They ship weekly. They want commerce to work better for everyone. So does our founder, Tobi, who still codes and still shapes where this thing is going.

They're open source nerds. They pair program because two brains write better code than one. New tools, new models, new approaches. They experiment constantly. Most of what's standard here started as someone hacking on something.

They use AI like a keyboard, reflexively and everywhere, to clear the mundane and make room for thinking. And they work in the open. The fastest way to learn here is to watch someone better than you do the work. If that sounds like you, come build with us.

Infrastructure engineering

Infrastructure Engineers at Shopify build and maintain the systems that handle millions of requests per second and billions of dollars in transactions. At that scale, performance gains matter and weak assumptions surface quickly. Your systems power the experience for millions of entrepreneurs and buyers every minute of every day, including peak events like Black Friday.

Engineers at Shopify spend the majority of their time actually writing code to build and improve infrastructure. You’ll solve problems that don’t exist anywhere else, with challenges that push what’s possible. If that lights you up, come build with us.

Growth and rewards

Mastery-matched compensation.

~Mastery

At Shopify, getting better at your craft and increasing your impact is how you grow. Twice a year, we assess both in our ~Mastery cycle, Shopify’s performance review. Achieving higher ~Mastery is a promotion, and when you earn a promotion your total rewards grow with it. Crafter and manager are equal paths, so you can pursue excellence in the craft you’re best at.

Total Rewards

With Flex Comp, your Rewards Wallet gives you agency over your compensation mix. Adjust your mix of cash, restricted share units, and stock options (including programs like Long-Term Equity)* to where it makes sense for you, and mix it up anytime as life and priorities change. Buying a house? Want more skin in the game? Just experimenting? It’s your call.

• Flex Comp program offerings vary based on location, role, and employment type. Full details are set out in our Terms & Conditions and related plan documents.

Built for real life

Room for the rest of your life.

Flexible work, remote by design

A flexible vacation policy means most Shopifolk can take the vacation days they feel they need to recharge.

If a change of everyday scenery is more your jam, Destination 90 means you can work from (almost) anywhere in the world for 90 days of the year.

Your setup

Your battlestation is your home base. Request the desk, chair, and AV gear you need to get shit done.

Benefits

• You need ‘em, we’ve got ‘em. Our health and welfare benefits may include health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance depending on your country. If you’re in a country without a package, you'll receive a monthly allowance. We also offer mental health support for you and your dependents, including immediate and confidential services like counseling and coaching sessions.

• Family support

• We offer fertility benefits globally, along with paid parental leave to welcome a new family member.