About the role

Rippling's Object Platform is the foundation upon which every product in the company is built.

The team owns the core frameworks that define how business data is modeled, connected, queried, and extended across Rippling. At the center of this platform is Universal Objects - the underlying framework that powers all transactional data in the system. Every employee, company, benefit, device, application, workflow, and customer-defined object ultimately builds on these primitives.

The team is responsible for the evolution of Rippling's object store, object graph, ontology framework, query infrastructure (RQL), customer-defined object platform, and the developer capabilities that enable both internal teams and external partners to build applications on top of Rippling's data model. Together, these systems create a unified, permission-aware platform that powers automation, reporting, workflows, approvals, integrations, and every major product across the company.

We're looking for a Senior Engineering Manager to lead a team within this organization and help shape the future of Rippling's platform architecture. This is a highly technical leadership role focused on large-scale distributed systems, data modeling frameworks, developer platforms, and systems-of-record infrastructure that serve hundreds of engineers and millions of end users.

What you will do

• Lead and grow a high-performing team responsible for foundational platform infrastructure used across every Rippling product
• Define the technical strategy and roadmap for core platform capabilities including object modeling, schema frameworks, query systems, metadata services, and developer tooling
• Drive the evolution of Universal Objects, the framework that powers transactional data across Rippling
• Partner closely with engineering leaders across the company to build platform capabilities that unlock leverage for hundreds of engineers
• Deliver scalable, reliable, and highly performant systems that serve as the foundation for workflows, reporting, approvals, automation, integrations, and application development
• Improve developer productivity through investments in platform abstractions, APIs, tooling, and self-service capabilities
• Maintain a high bar for system design, reliability, scalability, and operational excellence
• Mentor engineers and engineering leaders while fostering a culture of ownership, craftsmanship, and technical rigor
• Influence long-term architectural decisions across Rippling's data and platform ecosystem

What you will need

• 8+ years of software engineering experience building large-scale backend or distributed systems
• 4+ years of engineering management experience leading high-performing teams
• Experience building foundational platforms, frameworks, or systems used by other engineers
• Strong understanding of data modeling, metadata systems, object-oriented data abstractions, or systems-of-record architectures
• Experience operating and scaling highly available distributed systems
• Proven ability to lead complex cross-functional initiatives spanning multiple engineering organizations
• Strong architectural judgment and the ability to balance long-term platform investments with near-term business needs
• Track record of hiring, developing, and retaining exceptional engineering talent
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence senior technical stakeholders

Additional Information

This role will receive a competitive salary + benefits + equity. The salary for US-based employees will be aligned with one of the ranges below based on location; see which tier applies to your location here.

A variety of factors are considered when determining someone's compensation-including a candidate's professional background, experience, and location. Final offer amounts may vary from the amounts listed below.

The pay range for this role is:

198,000 - 346,500 USD per year (US)