Senior Engineering Manager - Product Engineering

Relay is fundamentally reshaping how goods move in an online era. Backed by Europe’s largest-ever logistics Series A ($35M), led by deep‑tech investors Plural (whose portfolio spans fusion energy and space exploration), Relay is scaling faster than 99.98% of venture‑backed startups. We\’re assembling the most talent‑dense team the logistics industry has ever seen. Relay’s Mission is to free commerce from friction . Today, high delivery costs act as a hidden tax on e‑commerce, quietly shaping what can be sold online and limiting who can participate. We envision a world where more goods move more freely between more people , making the online shopping experience seamless and accessible to everyone. The Team ~90 people, more than half in engineering, product and data 45+ advanced degrees across computer science, mathematics and operations research Thousands of data points captured, calculated, analysed and predicted for every single parcel we handle An intellectually vibrant culture of first‑principles thinking, tight feedback loops and relentless experimentation Work Alongside Industry Leaders Rob Ladbrook – Director of Engineering. Deliveroo’s first‑ever Principal Engineer. Rob has designed and operated low‑latency, fault‑tolerant systems for global marketplaces (Deliveroo, Skyscanner). His platforms handle hundreds of millions of real‑time transactions at four‑nines uptime and he is known for rigorous engineering standards and mentorship that accelerates team mastery. Diego Protas – Director of Platform Engineering. Diego, an expert in distributed systems and hardware architecture, is merging physical computing with enterprise‑scale infrastructure. Previously directing teams of 170+ engineers at Mercado Libre and orchestrating large‑scale ML‑based inference at Meta. At Relay, Diego’s infectious enthusiasm and hands‑on leadership are redefining the boundaries of speed and reliability. Tech Stack Highlights Python, Rust and TypeScript – we keep things simple but use the right tool for the job Cross‑platform Flutter apps with a deep focus on user experience Cloud‑native on GCP with extensive use of BigQuery and Cloud Run Extensive use of ML modelling and LLM inference – no gimmicks here, this is our daily routine Emerging tech integrations, including robotics and IoT‑powered operations The Opportunity As a Senior Engineering Manager, you will lead and inspire by mentoring engineers and tech leads while fostering a culture of ownership, psychological safety, and continuous learning, unlocking and accelerating our engineering talent with strategic direction. You will get your hands dirty by immersing yourself in the code, as our engineering leadership is deeply technical, and you will be expected to move the needle through technical collaboration and direct contributions when necessary. You will raise the bar by championing best practices in developer velocity, code quality, observability, incident response, user analytics, and product engagement, ensuring that excellence becomes the default. Additionally, you will scale the team by attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent, running a fair, data‑driven performance process, and building clear growth paths. Who Will Thrive in this role? You see no job in engineering (and a few outside it) you wouldn’t dive into when it drives impact. You operate with high agency and proud ownership. You have deep empathy for the humans behind the code: couriers, retailers, operatives, colleagues and consumers. You thrive in fast‑paced, ambiguous settings and bring structure where it’s missing. You communicate with clarity and intent, listen actively and collaborate deliberately. Fast and Focused Hiring Process Talent Acquisition Interview – 30 min | [Remote] Hiring Manager Interview – 60 min | [Remote] Technical