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Engineering Manager

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Overview

Tern Software Inc., a venture-backed travel industry startup, is looking for an experienced and versatile Engineering Manager to help us scale our team, systems, and operations.

At Tern, we’re passionate about the power of travel and its ability to broaden worldviews. We’re committed to supporting travel advisors and the small businesses they run, helping them make the world more approachable for their clients.

As an Engineering Manager at Tern, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping the engineering function. You’ll partner closely with the CTO and the rest of the leadership team to build a high-performing, joyful, and resilient engineering organization. You’ll be part player-coach, part ops guru, and part team builder—responsible for everything from onboarding and hiring to compliance and security processes. This is a foundational, early-stage role that will blend aspects of manager-, director-, & VP-level responsibilities as the organization scales.

If you’re excited about growing teams, building systems, and supporting people—while maintaining a deep connection to product impact—we’d love to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

As Tern’s Engineering Manager, your work will span operations, planning, recruiting, and culture. Key responsibilities include:

Partner with the CTO to manage and evolve the engineering organization through strategic planning and operational support.
Design and scale the org structure, anticipating future needs and team growth.
Lead recruiting and hiring, collaborating with recruiters, maintaining a healthy pipeline, and overseeing interview processes.
Own onboarding and knowledge sharing, ensuring new engineers ramp quickly and institutional knowledge is well-documented and accessible.
Support team happiness and engagement by coordinating recognition programs, travel and development opportunities, and morale-boosting moments.
Manage vendors, contracts, and budgets for engineering tools, contractors, and external services.
Oversee engineering processes and logistics, including support/on-call rotations, security and compliance policies, and maintaining internal playbooks.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate for this role should have:

Prior experience managing engineering teams and operational processes
Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, especially in a remote environment
A deep sense of ownership and comfort wearing many hats
A background in software engineering (even if not currently coding day-to-day)
A track record of leading high-trust, high-performance teams
Strong organizational, planning, and project management capabilities
A warm, human-first approach to leadership that balances empathy with accountability

We know that not every candidate will check every box, and we believe diverse perspectives make stronger teams. If you’re excited about this role and passionate about supporting Tern’s engineers, we want to hear from you.

Finally, alignment with Tern's values is non-negotiable for this role. Tern’s values are:

We are in constant pursuit of growth. We’re endlessly curious and relish learning new things. We’re never satisfied with where we’re at and seek out ways to improve ourselves. We invest in our team and believe in growth at all levels. We believe growth is catalyzed when a diversity of perspectives is combined with an obligation to dissent.
We approach life with an optimistic sense of agency. When life gives us lemons, we choose to make lemonade. We aspire to build an enduring company and know the road to get there is full of peaks and valleys. We strive to stay positive, kind, and authentic in every phase of the journey.
Our ambition is to be extraordinary. We’re comfortable with the fact that the journey to get there takes effort. We put in the work to build something that matters to ourselves, to our teammates, and to our customers.

Location, Pay & Benefits

Location: Remote

Pay: $160,000 – $210,000

Benefits: We cover 100% of employee premiums for health, vision, and dental insurance. We cover 75% of dependent premiums. Tern offers flexible time off and provides all the hardware you need to be effective at the job.

Average salary estimate

$185000 / YEARLY (est.)

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$160000K

$210000K

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What You Should Know About Engineering Manager, Tern Travel

Welcome to Tern Software Inc.! We're an innovative travel industry startup and we're excited to find a dedicated Engineering Manager to join our dynamic team. In this role, you'll be crucial in shaping our engineering function as we scale our operations. Partnering closely with our CTO and leadership team, you’ll not only manage but inspire a resilient engineering organization. This is a unique opportunity for someone who is passionate about travel and thrives on building high-performing teams. From steering our recruiting processes to enhancing our onboarding procedures, your impact will be felt across the organization. You will play a vital role in ensuring our engineers feel appreciated and connected. You’ll also oversee the tools, processes, and logistics that keep our engineering function smooth and compliant. If you have a solid background in software engineering and an enthusiasm for team building, we want to hear from you! Join us at Tern, where we're not just about the journey of travel, but also about the growth and development of our dedicated engineers. This remote role comes with a competitive salary range of $160,000 to $210,000, and you’ll enjoy fantastic benefits including comprehensive health coverage and flexible time off. Let’s make travel more approachable together!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Engineering Manager Role at Tern Travel

What are the responsibilities of the Engineering Manager at Tern Software Inc.?

As the Engineering Manager at Tern Software Inc., your responsibilities will encompass managing and evolving the engineering organization through strategic planning, leading recruiting and hiring efforts, overseeing onboarding processes, and ensuring team engagement. You'll work closely with the CTO to design the organizational structure, manage budgets for engineering tools, and maintain a strong support system for operational processes.