Engineering Manager, Control Plane

About the company

Tailscale provides an identity-first, zero-trust networking service that uses WireGuard to create peer-to-peer encrypted meshes, integrating with identity providers to simplify NAT traversal and access control.

About this role

<div class="content-intro"><p><strong>About Tailscale&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>Tailscale is building the new Internet by delivering software that makes it easy to securely interconnect people and their devices, no matter where they are. From hobbyists to multinational corporations, teams of every size use Tailscale each day to protect their networks, share access to internal tools, and more. We're building a future for the Internet that's easy, sensible, and safe, like it used to be. Founded in 2019 and fully distributed, we're backed by Accel, CRV, Insight, Heavybit, and Uncork Capital.</p></div><h3><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>About the Role</strong></span></h3> <p>We’re seeking a talented and motivated full-time Software Engineering Manager to join our growing team. You will work as part of the engineering team to:</p> <ul> <li>Provide guidance, mentorship, and career development for a team of software engineers.</li> <li>Contribute toward the success of our Product organization which includes Engineering, Product Management, and Design. We operate in Pods of 2-4 engineers plus a Product Manager and Designer, and each Engineering Manager handles 2-3 such Pods.<br>Pods work across the codebase to implement features, address shortcomings, and answer customer requests.</li> <li>Provide technical direction in projects as needed, as well as growing the technical leadership capabilities of the engineers reporting to you.</li> <li>Help in growing the organization: interviewing and recruiting, guiding the development of the engineering culture, developing processes as we grow.</li> </ul> <p>Because we’re an early-stage and fully remote company, we’re looking for a motivated individual who can help move the product forward. The ability to think on your feet, collaborate with highly technical teams, and comfort working asynchronously are essential.</p> <h3><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Key Responsibilities</strong></span></h3> <ul> <li>Experience as a people manager: we are not yet at a size and level of maturity as an engineering org to provide the training and support for someone new in the management role.</li> <li>Achieve significant business outcomes through cross-functional collaboration with product managers, data scientists, and designers</li> <li>Help your team to improve their performance, the quality of their work; make major design decisions</li> <li>Hire, nurture, and oversee a team of engineers while fostering an atmosphere of psychological well-being, embracing diversity and promoting inclusion.&nbsp;</li> <li>Lead a team responsible for managing a critical production service, including operational concerns (monitoring, alerting, on call, etc)</li> <li>Manage healthy conflict by moderating design discussions and cultivating a positive culture of feedback with candor and kindness</li> <li>Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams across the organization to complete complex projects spanning multiple technical domains</li> <li>Drive planning across multiple time horizons, from immediate tactical needs to long-term strategic direction.</li> </ul> <h3><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>What We Are Looking For</strong></span></h3> <ul> <li>Demonstrated leadership with substantial experience in managing and mentoring Engineering teams, including performance evaluations, career development, and fostering a collaborative work environment</li> <li>Background building and operating production services with high availability and performance targets.&nbsp;</li> <li>Expertise managing on call rotations and incident response</li> <li>A highly technical manager, able to independently evaluate complex technical tradeoffs in design conversations while leaning on experts in the team for design and implementation</li> <li>Experience developing in Go, used for much of the system</li> <li>Ability to give and process constructive feedback, as well as work independently</li> <li>Flexibility to adjust to the dynamic nature of a startup</li> </ul> <p>As a company, we strive to maintain fair and equitable compensation practices within our team across all roles and all levels. Tailscale's compensation package includes base salary, equity, and comprehensive benefits. The salary range displayed on each job posting represents the target range for a new hire's base salary. Individual offers may vary based on experience and skill set.</p><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">US Pay Range</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$206,000</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$257,000 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><p><em data-stringify-type="italic">Frequently cited statistics show that people who identify with historically marginalized groups are likely to apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications.&nbsp;</em><strong data-stringify-type="bold"><em data-stringify-type="italic">We encourage you to help us break that statistic!</em></strong></p> <p><strong>What We Offer</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>An inclusive, flexible environment where you can be your authentic self.</strong> We recognize the impact of diverse voices and backgrounds on the growth of our people, product, and company. And that flexibility in how and when you work empowers our team to integrate work and life.</li> <li><strong>A competitive total compensation package.</strong> This includes a base salary, an equity incentive plan and variable commission (for quota-based roles).</li> <li><strong>Comprehensive group benefits with no waiting period. </strong>Take advantage of coverage for health, vision, dental, and more for you and your family!</li> <li><strong>Remote first company</strong>—most of our teams work fully remotely. Enjoy a change of scenery wherever you can get wifi, participate in virtual and in-person social events, and leverage our corporate co-working program to visit WeWork (or other similar spaces near you). Some roles require i