BackerKit is the next-generation crowdfunding platform that empowers creators to bring their biggest ideas to life and live their boldest creative lives.

Built for today’s creator economy, BackerKit helps turn crowdfunding into a repeatable, reliable source of funding - powered directly by the fans you gain, keep, and grow with each campaign.

After more than a decade offering the most trusted pledge management software in the industry, we launched BackerKit Crowdfunding in 2022. In under three years, it’s hosted some of the biggest, record-breaking campaigns and creators in crowdfunding history.

Our platform is now our fastest-growing product, powering the entire crowdfunding journey - from launch to fulfillment and beyond - with built-in pledge management, email marketing, and more.

We’re a small, founder-led startup with a diverse, close-knit team that values creativity, enthusiasm, and a willingness to learn. We’re seeking an experienced Engineering Manager to lead our 6-person dev team (with plans to grow). This role reports directly to the CEO and is critical to our ability to ship valuable features, run experiments, and support our developers.

If this sounds like a fit, we’d love to hear from you.

Our tech stack

BackerKit is a Ruby on Rails “majestic monolith” deployed on Heroku. The codebase has been around since 2012, but thanks to years of careful tending, it’s pretty well-structured and well-tested.

We stay current with the latest Ruby and Rails versions, and have adopted tools like Hotwire and Tailwind where they add value. We believe in solving problems pragmatically, balancing new tools with proven ones that work well for us.

How We Work

We prioritize fast feedback, small experiments, and solving the problem in front of us - not overengineering for hypothetical futures.

Our developers:

Pair program full-time
Practice test-driven development
Work in one-week iterations
Deploy code multiple times a day

We have a mature CI setup (though not full continuous deployment), and our weekly retrospectives help us evolve our process as we grow. Nothing is sacred — if you’ve worked in similar environments (or are excited to), we’d love for you to help shape how we work.

What We’re Looking For

Has 3–5+ years of experience as an engineering manager (Senior EMs welcome to apply)
Has prior experience as a software developer (Ruby/Rails experience is a big plus)
Has worked in startups or small companies
Is enthusiastic about agile, iterative development
Communicates clearly and effectively
Manages time well and is proactive in a busy environment
Is based in the U.S. and able to work Pacific Time hours (approx. 9–5 PT)

What We Offer

Competitive salary and a great benefits package, including 401(k) matching
Excellent work/life balance - we sign off at 5pm and take unplugged vacations
Fantastic, diverse, and enthusiastic coworkers (many of whom are creators themselves)
A thoughtful, mission-aligned team building tools for the future of creative work

What You’ll Do

Align with the CEO on team strategy and direction
Sustain and evolve our team culture and working philosophies
Champion your team’s work and support career growth
Meet regularly with Product to align staffing with roadmap needs
Hold weekly 1:1s with direct reports
Occasionally pair program with the team
Gather 360° feedback and deliver performance reviews
Lead leveling and promotion discussions
Coach devs to deepen product thinking and navigate the org
Address performance or delivery issues as they arise
Manage time-off requests and ensure appropriate team coverage

Benefits

Remote-first position on a distributed team
Competitive salary and stock option plan
Annual company profit sharing
Stipends for supporting creators of your choosing
Medical, dental, vision, and FSA benefits
401k plan (with employer match!)
Annual Learning and Development stipend to support your professional growth
Family-friendly environment focused on maintaining a healthy work/life balance