About the role

Role Overview

Portless is looking for a data-driven, execution-focused Engineering Manager to run day-to-day engineering operations and optimize the company’s global delivery engine. Reporting to the VP of Engineering, you will focus on execution, people management, and elite delivery metrics for a globally distributed team of ~10 engineers across the USA, Canada, EU, UK, and China.

Responsibilities

Drive global engineering delivery
- Break down the leadership-defined technical roadmap into executable work
- Own sprint commitments, release cycles, and day-to-day momentum across multiple time zones
Balance planned vs. reactive work
- Create frameworks for competing priorities
- Protect sprint velocity while reserving capacity for bug triage and incident-related prioritization
Own incident management & on-call
- Define and run real-time incident response processes for a 24/7 global logistics platform
- Design sustainable distributed on-call rotations and foster a post-mortem culture that reduces MTTR
Architect asynchronous workflows
- Build operational processes that reduce dependency on real-time meetings
- Ensure strong documentation, handoffs, and independent execution
Own delivery metrics (DORA)
- Track and optimize Deployment Frequency, Lead Time for Changes, Change Failure Rate, and Time to Restore Service
Champion AI-augmented engineering
- Standardize usage of AI development tools (e.g., Cursor, Copilot, Claude Code)
- Balance rapid AI-assisted execution with code review, security guardrails, and codebase cleanliness
Global people management & team health
- Manage, mentor, and coach the distributed team
- Run high-impact flexible 1-on-1s, set clear expectations, and maintain an inclusive culture across geographies

Requirements

2+ years experience directly managing ~10 software engineers
Proven ability running globally distributed, asynchronous teams
AI fluency: active use of modern AI development tools, with a clear philosophy for balancing speed, quality, risk, and tech debt
Experience building triage frameworks for ad-hoc bugs and running real-time incident management for production systems

Nice-to-haves

Not explicitly stated, but the posting emphasizes operational maturity around triage, incident response, documentation, and metrics-driven delivery.

About Portless

Portless is building a global e-commerce logistics platform that lets brands decouple from costly domestic warehousing. It enables shipping directly from manufacturing hubs to consumers worldwide in as little as 3–5 days. The company is growing rapidly and is focused on improving global delivery performance through data-driven engineering execution.