Software Engineering Manager, Aviation

Who is Flock?

Flock Safety is an all-in-one technology solution to eliminate crime and keep communities safe. Our intelligent platform combines the power of communities at scale - including cities, businesses, schools, and law enforcement agencies - to shape a safer future together. Our full-service, maintenance-free technology solution is trusted by communities across the country to help solve and deter crime in the pursuit of safer communities for everyone.

Our holistic public safety platform is comprehensive and intelligent, providing the actionable evidence needed to solve, deter and reduce crime across neighborhoods, schools, businesses and entire cities. Without compromising transparency or privacy, we are turning unbiased data into objective answers.

Flock strives to offer a career-defining experience where you can also make an impact on your community. While safety is a serious business, we are a supportive team that is optimizing the remote experience to create strong and fulfilling relationships even when we are physically apart. Our group of hard-working employees thrive in a positive and inclusive environment, where a bias towards action is rewarded.

We have raised over $700M in venture capital from investors including Tiger Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Matrix Partners, Bedrock Capital, Meritech Capital Partners, and Initialized Capital. Now surpassing a $7.5B valuation, Flock is scaling intentionally and seeking the best and brightest to help us meet our goal of reducing crime in the United States by 25% in the next three years.

The Opportunity

The Aviation team is responsible for building world class remotely piloted aircraft and supporting ground systems for public safety customers. To give first responders an eye on the scene, we build flying cameras (drones) that push the boundaries of connectivity, video transmission, power and thermal management, and imaging. We build platforms that are meant to fly thousands of missions without human intervention in harsh environments across the country. We deliver these drones to our customers as a service and ensure they are able to operate them with safety and compliance without the need to become aviation experts themselves.

We're looking for an experienced and empathetic Engineering Manager to lead our backend team. You'll manage a team of talented engineers. Your primary responsibility will be to build performant systems, drive to architectural discussions, and deliver features that matter.

This role requires a blend of technical expertise and strong leadership skills. You should be a strong technical leader who can contribute to architectural discussions, help define technical strategy, and understand the intricacies of a Ruby on Rails backend. Our backend team is fully remote, so you'll need to be an outstanding communicator and proactive about providing asynchronous support and feedback.

The Skillset

• Passionate about building software, with a desire to keep learning and improving.
• Proven leadership skills, with confidence in leading and supporting engineers to reach their full potential.
• Skilled in people management: coaching direct reports, driving performance, and fostering career growth.
• Experienced in project management: leading initiatives from planning through delivery, ensuring milestones and timelines are met.
• Technically engaged: able to conduct thorough code reviews, set high engineering standards, and hold meaningful technical discussions with the team.
• Strong proficiency in at least one of the following:
• TypeScript with ReactJS
• Ruby on Rails
• Rust
• Strong collaboration with Product Management: reviewing specifications, clarifying requirements, and aligning on priorities through agile processes and ceremonies.
• Motivated by tackling ambiguous problems, creating structure, and driving solutions.
• Excited to work in a fast-paced, constantly evolving environment and influence the growth of a young company.

Feeling uneasy that you haven’t ticked every box? That’s okay; we’ve felt that way too. Studies have shown women and minorities are less likely to apply unless they meet all qualifications. We encourage you to break the status quo and apply to roles that would make you excited to come to work every day.

90 Days at Flock

We are a results-oriented culture and believe job descriptions are a thing of the past. We prescribe to 90 day plans and believe that good days lead to good weeks, which lead to good months. This serves as a preview of the 90 day plan you will receive if you were to be hired as a Software Engineering Manager at Flock Safety.

The First 30 Days

• Gain a deep understanding of the Aviation team’s mission and the Flock Aerodome product.
• Establish 1:1’s with team members to understand individual strengths, challenges, and career goals.
• Learn existing processes, ceremonies, tools, and team agreements for delivering code and projects.
• Build working knowledge of current projects, timelines, and deliverables.
• Identify bottlenecks in processes, communication, or execution that impact delivery or team effectiveness.
• Develop strong collaboration habits with Product Managers to understand specifications, clarify requirements, and align on expectations.

The First 60 Days

• Submit a clear proposal of identified bottlenecks with recommendations for improvement.
• Collaborate closely with the Director of Engineering to prioritize these bottlenecks and define an action plan.
• Establish 90-day plans with direct reports, setting clear expectations for growth and performance.
• Strengthen relationships with stakeholders and cross-functional partners to build alignment and trust.
• Ensure ongoing project tracking and reporting to provide visibility on progress, risks, and dependencies.

90 Days & Beyond

• Execute and resolve prioritized bottlenecks, improving efficiency, communication, or delivery pipelines.
• Ensure the team consistently meets project milestones and timelines.
• Implement measurable process improvements that enhance code quality, review standards, and team collaboration.
• Drive strong partnership with Product Managers, ensuring seamless handoff from requirements to delivery.
• Establish clear, trackable goals for the team and for individual engineers.
• Continue to build an engaged and motivated team culture, encouraging ownership and accountability..

Salary & Equity

In this role, you’ll receive a starting salary of $200,000 - $220,000 as well as stock options. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, as well as market indicators. Your recruiter will discuss this in-depth with you during our first chat.

The Perks

🌴 Flexible PTO: We seriously mean it, plus 11 company holidays.

⚕️Fully-paid health benefits

plan for employees: including Medical, Dental, and Vision and an HSA match.

👪 Family Leave: All employees receive 12 weeks of 100% paid parental leave. Birthing parents are eligible for an additional 6-8 weeks of physical recovery time.

🍼 Fertility & Family Benefits: We have partnered with Maven

, a complete digital health benefit for starting and raising a family. In 2024, Flock will provide a $ 50,000-lifetime maximum benefit related to eligible adoption, surrogacy, or fertility expenses.

🧠 Mental Health: All employees receive an annual subscription to Headspace

.

💖 Caregiver Support: We have partnered with Cariloop

to provide our employees with caregiver support

💸 Carta Tax Advisor: Employees receive 1:1 sessions with Equity Tax Advisors who can address individual grants, model tax scenarios, and answer general questions.

💚 ERGs: We want all employees to thrive and feel like they belong at Flock. We offer three ERGs today - Women of Flock, Flock Proud, and Melanin Motion. If you are interested in talking to a representative from one of these, please let your recruiter know.

💻 WFH Stipend: $150 per month to cover the costs of working from home.

📚 Productivity Stipend: $300 per year to use on Audible, Calm, Masterclass, Duolingo, Grammarly and so much more.

🏠 Home Office Stipend: A one-time $750 to help you create your dream office.

If an offer is extended and accepted, this position requires the ability to obtain and maintain Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) certification as a condition of employment. Applicants must meet all FBI CJIS Security Policy requirements, including a fingerprint-based background check.

Flock is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diverse backgrounds and thoughts and welcome everyone to apply for employment with us. We are committed to fostering an environment that is inclusive, transparent, and collaborative. Mutual respect is central to how Flock operates, and we believe the best solutions come from diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills. We embrace our differences and know that we are stronger working together.

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at recruiting@flocksafety.com. This information will be treated as confidential and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the interview process.

At Flock Safety, we compensate our employees fairly for their work. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, as well as market indicators. The range above is representative of base salary only and does not include equity, sales bonus plans (when applicable) and benefits. This range may be modified in the future. This job posting may span more than one career level.