Director of Engineering, Backend Platforms

About OnebriefOnebrief is a revolutionary platform for military staff workflows and operational planning. The software is designed to enable smarter, real-time decisions. With unparalleled collaboration features, AI-enhanced tools, and customizable workflows, Onebrief makes staffs superhuman. Our expanding roster of customers includes COCOMs and Service Components worldwide.Founded by experienced planners in 2019, our diverse team of over 120 includes veterans from all branches of the military and technologists from leading software companies. With $53M+ raised from top-tier venture investors, Onebrief continues to scale globally, making an impact where it matters most.About the RoleWe’re hiring a Director of Engineering to lead our Backend Platform teams, which includes our Data Platform, API & Integrations, and Applied AI teams. This is a foundational role; you’ll guide the people and systems behind how we store data, move information, and power smart workflows across our product.You’ll report to the VP of Engineering and work closely with leaders across Product, Design, and Infrastructure. The scope here is broad: organizational and technical, near-term and strategic. We’re looking for someone who thrives at the system level and sees platforms not just as architecture, but as leverage for the entire company.What You’ll DoSet direction and connect the dots. Shape the vision across data, APIs, and AI enablement, then turn that vision into focused, sequenced initiatives.Support and scale great teams. Coach 2–3 Engineering Managers (and their teams of ~8 engineers). Help them grow, navigate ambiguity, and scale their own leadership.Invest in technical quality. Make sure our backend systems are observable, secure, performant, and cost-aware. Raise the bar on architecture without slowing down delivery.Collaborate deeply. Work with PM, Design, and other eng leaders to shape quarterly plans, unblock cross-team delivery, and align technical work with real user outcomes.Make systems better over time. Guide the evolution of our microservices, cloud infra, and AI foundations. Balance speed with sound engineering judgment.Build a healthy culture. Model low-ego, context-rich leadership. Create rituals that help teams plan, reflect, and work asynchronously without burning out.About YouYou’ve built and led platform teams before, ideally in fast-moving product companies. You care about systems that last and teams that grow with clarity. You’re comfortable zooming between strategic tradeoffs and technical details. You believe in building trust through presence, not control.QualificationsLeadership & org-building2+ years leading managers in backend or platform teams6–10+ years of engineering experience, with significant depth in backend or infrastructure domainsExperience growing healthy teams, mentoring EMs, and designing org structures that support autonomy and focusClear communicator across functions and async-first teamsTechnical depth & rangeStrong grasp of backend platforms: Node.js, Postgres, Redis, Kubernetes, AWSExperience with data pipelines, secure ingestion, API ecosystems, and system design at scaleFamiliarity with observability, cost optimization, and reliability patternsBonus: experience enabling AI/ML teams or building infra for LLM-powered featuresStrategic executionHistory of driving multi-quarter platform roadmaps in product-led companiesComfort shaping team scopes, defining SLAs, and guiding technical standardsAbility to translate complexity into clarity, and align cross-functional teams around the work that mattersWhy Join Onebrief?We build planning tools for military staffs, replacing brittle, legacy workflows with modern, real-time software. Our product is used in classified environments, often in moments that truly matter. That means our infrastructure needs to be trustworthy, scalable, and invisible when it works.We’re a mission-driven team with strong product instincts and a bias toward clarity. We’ve been profitable since 2024, are deployed across COCOMs and Joint Staff, and are still small enough for each new leader to shape how we scale.If this role sounds like a fit, or you’re curious to learn more, we’d love to meet you.

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