Engineering Manager, Search Storage

Reddit·Remote(Remote - United States)

Software Development

Excel

WFA Digital Insight

As demand for skilled tech professionals grows, with a 25% increase in remote engineering roles in 2025, Reddit stands out for its commitment to community and innovation. The need for experts in search storage and backend infrastructure has never been more pressing, with companies like Reddit leading the charge. Candidates with a strong background in people management and storage systems will find this role particularly appealing, given Reddit's embrace of cutting-edge technologies and its impact on digital discourse. Before applying, candidates should be prepared to showcase their technical prowess, leadership skills, and ability to thrive in a remote environment.

Job Description

About the Role

The Engineering Manager, Search Storage position at Reddit represents a unique opportunity to lead a team of highly skilled engineers in developing and maintaining the foundational components of Reddit's platform. This role is crucial for enabling platform teams to build and innovate, with a focus on search infrastructure that satisfies a wide range of needs, from classical ranking and search to more novel applications involving vector embeddings. The team operates with a strong emphasis on reliability, performance, efficiency, and developer productivity, offering abstractions that map customer needs into infrastructure resources.

As part of Reddit's search infrastructure team, the successful candidate will be at the forefront of evolving technologies, including Milvus, Vespa, Solr, and Kubernetes. The role involves working closely with various teams across Reddit Engineering, contributing to open-source ecosystems, and managing the full lifecycle of systems. Given the growth of AI and embedding models at Reddit, the challenge of scaling conventional databases to meet new needs is both pressing and exciting.

What You Will Do

Steer the team towards high-leverage projects that align with Reddit's goals, focusing on search storage systems and infrastructure.
Build and execute a strategy to create more efficient and reliable storage systems, expanding the team as necessary.
Mentor individual contributors and provide leadership to the team, amplifying their skills and output.
Collaborate with multiple teams across Reddit Engineering to integrate search infrastructure into various platforms.
Evolve your technical and non-technical abilities to stay ahead of the curve and contribute to Reddit's growth.
Work on scaling search primitives, such as databases, to be secure, highly available, and geo-distributed.
Contribute to open-source ecosystems involving codebases like Go, Rust, C++, and Java.
Manage the lifecycle of systems, including provisioning, scaling, self-healing, and decommissioning via software engineering.
Abstract systems like Milvus, Vespa, and Solr to support key use cases, such as lexical search, semantic search, and relevance/ranking.
Ensure the efficient operation of these systems without compromising reliability.

What We Are Looking For

3+ years of experience in people management of high-performing engineering teams.
7+ years of experience in backend infrastructure with a focus on storage systems.
Strong leadership and mentoring skills, with the ability to drive projects and motivate team members.
Experience with technologies such as Milvus, Vespa, Solr, and Kubernetes.
Understanding of software engineering principles, with the ability to contribute to and lead engineering teams.
Experience with managing the full lifecycle of systems, from provisioning to decommissioning.
Familiarity with open-source ecosystems and contributing to them.
Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to scale systems efficiently.
Experience with collaboration tools and methodologies for remote teams.

Nice to Have

Experience with vector embeddings and AI models, particularly in a search context.
Knowledge of cloud computing platforms and their integration with search infrastructure.
Familiarity with containerization using Docker and orchestration with Kubernetes.
Experience with security and compliance in distributed systems.
Background in data science or a related field, with the ability to understand and contribute to the development of search algorithms.

Benefits and Perks

Competitive compensation package.
Opportunity to work with a talented team of engineers on cutting-edge technologies.
Flexible, remote work environment with a stipend for home office setup.
Comprehensive health insurance, including dental and vision.
Generous PTO policy, including holidays and sick leave.
Access to professional development opportunities, including conferences and training.
Equity in a company that is shaping the future of digital discourse and community building.
A dynamic, collaborative culture that values openness, creativity, and innovation.

How to Stand Out

Highlight your experience: Emphasize your background in people management and storage systems, especially in a remote context.
Showcase technical skills: Demonstrate proficiency in technologies like Milvus, Vespa, Solr, and Kubernetes, and be prepared to discuss their applications.
Prepare for leadership questions: Be ready to talk about your approach to mentoring, motivating team members, and driving project outcomes.
Research Reddit's technology stack: Understand the role of search infrastructure at Reddit and how it contributes to the company's mission and goals.
Discuss innovation and scalability: Show enthusiasm for evolving technologies and the ability to scale systems efficiently, highlighting any relevant experiences.
Emphasize collaboration and communication: As a remote role, the ability to collaborate effectively with distributed teams and communicate technical ideas clearly is crucial.

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