Engineering Manager II, UI Framework

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Engineering Manager II, UI Framework

Company: Ridgeline

Location: Reno, NV

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Engineering Management / Platform Engineering

Date Posted: 2026-09-04

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the UI Framework team in developing and maintaining foundational front-end systems, developer tooling, and infrastructure.

• Drive the strategic technical direction for Ridgeline's UI platform, balancing long-term investments with immediate product needs.

• Enhance developer productivity by creating reusable solutions, APIs, utilities, and automation to streamline the software development lifecycle.

• Foster a culture of operational excellence, ensuring the reliability, performance, and maintainability of core front-end services.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role focuses on building and scaling the core platform that enables product engineers. It requires a blend of deep technical expertise in front-end technologies and strong people management skills to lead a team responsible for critical infrastructure. The emphasis on AI-assisted development suggests a forward-thinking approach to engineering practices.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the UI Framework team, responsible for the architecture, development, and maintenance of Ridgeline’s front-end platform.

• Define and execute the technical strategy for the UI framework, shared services, and developer tooling, ensuring alignment with company goals.

• Partner closely with product engineering teams to understand their challenges and deliver solutions that improve build times, deployment efficiency, and overall developer velocity.

• Own and optimize the build, test, bundle, and deployment infrastructure for front-end code, prioritizing reliability and performance.

• Drive the integration of AI workflows and tooling to enhance the front-end development process for both engineers and AI agents.

• Establish and uphold high standards for operational excellence, observability, and maintainability of the UI platform.

• Mentor, coach, and develop engineers on the team, fostering their technical and leadership growth.

• Recruit and retain top engineering talent to build a high-performing and collaborative team.

• Collaborate with Engineering, Product, and Design leaders to influence technical direction and communicate tradeoffs transparently.

• Review technical designs and code, ensuring pragmatic, high-quality decision-making within the team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a proactive approach to enabling other engineering teams through robust platform development. The role requires not just managing but also actively contributing to technical direction and operational rigor, with a significant focus on developer experience and emerging AI technologies.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field is typically expected for this level of role.

Experience:

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience.

• 2+ years in a software engineering management or technical leadership role.

• Demonstrated experience building and evolving front-end architectures for large-scale web applications. Required Skills:

• Deep understanding of core web technologies: JavaScript or TypeScript, HTML, and CSS.

• Expertise in modern front-end ecosystems, particularly React.

• Strong working knowledge of front-end build and development tooling (e.g., Webpack, ESBuild, Bun, Jest).

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, build systems, bundling, and deployment infrastructure.

• Proven ability to design platform APIs, frameworks, shared services, or developer tooling.

• Understanding of backend and cloud infrastructure supporting web applications (e.g., Node.js, AWS, containers, IaC).

• Experience leading teams in environments where AI is integrated into the software development lifecycle.

• Ability to influence technical direction and build consensus across multiple teams.

• Track record of hiring, developing, and retaining engineering talent.

• Aptitude for problem-solving and effective communication. Preferred Skills:

• Prior experience leading platform, developer infrastructure, or developer experience teams.

• Experience operating front-end platforms or build systems at scale.

• Experience with TypeScript-first frameworks and large-scale React applications.

• Experience with AWS services (e.g., Cloudfront, S3), infrastructure as code, or containerized architectures.

• Experience improving front-end or build performance and developer feedback loops.

• Experience designing systems and documentation for AI-assisted software development.

• Experience in FinTech, investment management, or building complex enterprise applications.

📝 Enhancement Note: The qualifications emphasize a strong technical foundation in front-end development and infrastructure, coupled with significant leadership and strategic thinking. The preference for experience with AI-assisted development signals a key area of focus for this role.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrations of leading the development and scaling of critical software systems, particularly in front-end frameworks or platform engineering.

• Case studies showcasing successful strategic technical direction setting and execution for engineering teams.

• Examples of implemented developer productivity tools, automation, or reusable components that significantly improved engineering efficiency.

• Evidence of operational excellence initiatives, including improvements in system reliability, performance, or maintainability.

• Documentation or examples of how you have coached and developed engineering talent. Process Documentation:

• Showcase experience in defining and documenting engineering processes, such as agile methodologies, code review standards, CI/CD workflows, or incident response procedures.

• Provide examples of how you have standardized or optimized development workflows to enhance team output and collaboration.

• Illustrate your approach to measuring and reporting on the effectiveness of processes and systems, demonstrating impact through data and metrics.

📝 Enhancement Note: For an Engineering Manager role focused on platform and developer experience, a portfolio should highlight leadership in building robust, scalable systems and improving engineering team efficiency. Emphasis should be placed on strategic impact, technical vision, and team development, rather than individual code contributions.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Based on the experience level (10+ years), location (Reno, NV), and the nature of a specialized Engineering Manager role in a FinTech company, the estimated base salary range is $170,000 - $240,000 per year. This estimate is derived from industry benchmarks for similar roles in major tech hubs, adjusted for Reno's cost of living and the specific demands of a platform engineering leadership position.

Benefits:

• Company Stock Plan (subject to Stock Option Agreement)

• Unlimited vacation policy

• Educational reimbursements

• Wellness reimbursements

• $0 cost employee insurance plans

• Opportunities for career advancement and significant product impact Working Hours:

A standard 40-hour work week is expected, with flexibility for hybrid work. Given the nature of managing a critical engineering team and platform, occasional work outside of standard hours may be necessary to address urgent issues or meet project deadlines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on data from similar Engineering Manager roles in tech, considering the 10+ years of experience and the hybrid work arrangement in Reno, NV. The provided benefits are comprehensive and align with a high-growth tech company culture.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: FinTech (Investment Management Software)

Ridgeline operates in the FinTech sector, specifically providing a comprehensive front-to-back system of record for investment managers. This industry demands high levels of accuracy, security, reliability, and innovation. For operations professionals, this means working within a highly regulated environment that values meticulous attention to detail, robust process management, and a deep understanding of financial workflows. The company's focus on modernizing outdated technology within this sector suggests a culture that embraces innovation and efficiency.

Company Size: Headquartered in Lake Tahoe with offices in New York, Reno, the Bay Area, and Dublin, Ireland. The company is likely mid-sized to large, indicated by its multiple locations and recognition by industry publications. This size offers opportunities for significant impact and growth while maintaining a degree of agility.

Founded: Founded by Dave Duffield (co-founder of PeopleSoft and Workday), Ridgeline was established to modernize investment management technology. This founding history brings a legacy of enterprise software expertise and a commitment to building scalable, user-friendly solutions.

Team Structure:

• The UI Framework team is likely a specialized group within the broader Engineering organization, focusing on core platform infrastructure.

• The team structure will involve a mix of senior engineers, mid-level engineers, and potentially junior engineers, all reporting to the Engineering Manager.

• Cross-functional collaboration is expected with Product Management, Design, and various Product Engineering teams who will be the primary consumers of the UI Framework. Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making is implied through the focus on performance, reliability, and developer productivity metrics.

• Agile methodologies are likely employed for iterative development and continuous improvement.

• A strong emphasis on automation and tooling to support the software development lifecycle.

• Collaborative problem-solving and a culture of transparency are explicitly mentioned as core values.

Company Website: https://www.ridgelineapps.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Ridgeline's background in FinTech and its founding by industry veterans suggest a culture that values both technical excellence and business acumen. The "founder-led" aspect often translates to a strong sense of ownership and a fast-paced environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is at the "Engineering Manager II" level, indicating a mid-to-senior management position. It requires not only technical leadership but also the ability to manage a team, set strategic direction, and influence across departments. This is a crucial role for scaling the company's engineering capabilities.

Reporting Structure: The Engineering Manager will report to a higher-level engineering leader, such as a Director or VP of Engineering. They will, in turn, manage a team of individual contributor engineers. This structure allows for focused team management while contributing to broader organizational strategy.

Operations Impact: The UI Framework team has a direct and significant impact on the entire engineering organization's ability to deliver value to customers. By improving developer productivity, reliability, and the quality of front-end applications, this team enables faster product iteration, higher customer satisfaction, and reduced development costs. Their work is foundational to Ridgeline's ability to scale its innovative FinTech solutions.

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical Specialization: Deepen expertise in UI architecture, performance optimization, build systems, or AI-assisted development.

• Leadership Advancement: Progress to Director-level roles, managing larger teams or multiple engineering functions.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Take on broader responsibilities for platform strategy or developer experience initiatives across the company.

• Domain Expertise: Develop a deep understanding of the FinTech investment management domain, enabling more impactful contributions.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a clear path for career growth within both technical leadership and people management tracks, particularly within a growing FinTech company. The emphasis on platform and developer experience positions the candidate for high-impact roles in scaling engineering organizations.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The job posting indicates "#LI-Hybrid," suggesting a hybrid work model. This means employees will likely split their time between working remotely and in a physical office location. The specific office environment in Reno would typically be a modern tech office space designed for collaboration, focus work, and team interaction.

Office Location(s): Reno, NV. This location offers a growing tech hub environment with a potentially lower cost of living than major coastal tech centers.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model necessitates intentional collaboration, likely involving scheduled team meetings, stand-ups, and brainstorming sessions, both in-person and virtually.

• Operations Tools & Technology: Access to cutting-edge development tools, cloud infrastructure (AWS), and internal platforms for CI/CD, monitoring, and collaboration.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities to interact with a diverse group of engineers, product managers, and designers, fostering a dynamic and innovative atmosphere.

Work Schedule: A standard 40-hour work week is typical for engineering roles. The hybrid nature allows for some flexibility in daily schedules, but core working hours will likely be established for team synchronization and meetings. The focus is on output and impact rather than strict adherence to hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid work arrangement in Reno provides a balance between remote flexibility and in-person collaboration, which is crucial for effective team management and platform development.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application and conduct an initial phone screen to assess basic qualifications and fit.

• Technical Interviews: Expect multiple rounds of technical interviews focusing on front-end architecture, system design, JavaScript/TypeScript, React, build tools, and potentially cloud infrastructure.

• Management/Leadership Interview: This will delve into your experience managing teams, setting strategy, coaching engineers, handling conflict, and driving operational excellence. Behavioral questions will be common.

• System Design/Architecture Deep Dive: You may be asked to design a complex front-end system or framework, discussing trade-offs, scalability, and maintainability.

• Cross-Functional Stakeholder Interview: An interview with a peer or leader from Product, Design, or another engineering team to assess collaboration and communication skills.

• Final Round: Typically with senior leadership, focusing on strategic vision, cultural fit, and alignment with Ridgeline's values.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Leadership: Focus on projects where you led teams, defined technical strategy, or significantly improved engineering processes and outcomes.

• Quantify Impact: Use metrics to demonstrate the success of your initiatives (e.g., "reduced build times by X%", "increased developer productivity by Y%", "improved system uptime to Z%").

• Showcase Process Improvement: Present case studies on how you've optimized development workflows, implemented new tools, or driven operational excellence.

• Address AI Integration: If applicable, include examples of how you've leveraged or enabled AI in the development lifecycle or how you envision doing so.

• Tailor to UI Framework: Emphasize experience with front-end architecture, build systems, developer tooling, and platform engineering.

Challenge Preparation:

• System Design: Be ready to design a scalable, performant, and maintainable UI framework or a critical piece of developer infrastructure. Consider aspects like modularity, extensibility, API design, and integration.

• Behavioral Scenarios: Prepare examples for common management challenges: handling underperformance, resolving team conflicts, managing competing priorities, and motivating engineers.

• Technical Scenarios: Review common JavaScript/TypeScript challenges, React best practices, and concepts related to build tools and CI/CD.

• Strategy Articulation: Be prepared to discuss your approach to setting technical vision, balancing short-term needs with long-term goals, and driving adoption of new technologies or processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for an Engineering Manager II role is rigorous, testing both technical depth and leadership capabilities. A strong portfolio that clearly articulates impact and strategic contributions will be crucial.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Front-end Frameworks: React (primary), potentially others like Vue.js or Angular in the broader ecosystem.

• Languages: JavaScript, TypeScript (highly emphasized).

• Build Tools: Webpack, ESBuild, Bun, Vite.

• Testing Frameworks: Jest, React Testing Library, Cypress.

• Version Control: Git, GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Performance Monitoring: Tools like Datadog, New Relic, or custom solutions for tracking front-end performance and build metrics.

• CI/CD Platforms: Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, CircleCI.

• Dashboarding: Tools for visualizing key metrics (e.g., Grafana, Tableau, Looker).

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly consumer-facing CRM, internal tools for managing developer workflows, project tracking (e.g., Jira), and communication (e.g., Slack, Teams).

• Cloud Infrastructure: AWS (services like S3, Cloudfront, EC2, Lambda), potentially GCP or Azure.

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Terraform, CloudFormation.

• Containerization: Docker, Kubernetes (potentially).

• Backend Services: Node.js for supporting front-end infrastructure or lightweight APIs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack is modern and focused on cutting-edge front-end development and cloud-native infrastructure. Proficiency with TypeScript, modern build tools, and AWS is critical. Experience with AI tooling integration is a significant plus.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Ownership: Act like owners, taking responsibility for the platform's success and proactively addressing issues.

• Growth Mindset: Choose growth over comfort, embracing learning opportunities and continuous improvement in skills and processes.

• Transparency: Communicate with openness and honesty, sharing information and providing clear rationale for decisions.

• Bias Toward Action: Prioritize execution and problem-solving, moving forward with solutions rather than dwelling on problems.

• Solutions-Oriented: Bring well-thought-out solutions to challenges encountered.

• Resilience & Collaboration: Thrive in a resilient, collaborative, and high-performing culture, learning from setbacks and celebrating wins together.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Actively partner with product engineering, design, and product management to ensure the UI framework meets diverse needs and drives business outcomes.

• Process Feedback: Foster a culture where feedback on processes, tooling, and the framework itself is welcomed, discussed openly, and acted upon.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encourage sharing of best practices, technical insights, and learnings across the team and with consuming engineering teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: Ridgeline's stated values are critical for success in this role. An Engineering Manager must embody these principles, fostering a team environment that is both high-performing and supportive, with a strong emphasis on collaboration and continuous improvement.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Platform Needs: Effectively balancing the long-term strategic investments in the UI framework with the immediate, often urgent, needs of product engineering teams.

• Driving Adoption: Ensuring that the developed framework, tools, and services are widely adopted and effectively used by all product engineers.

• Scaling Infrastructure: Managing the growth of the UI platform and its supporting infrastructure to meet increasing demands as the company scales.

• Integrating AI: Navigating the evolving landscape of AI-assisted development and successfully integrating AI tools and workflows into the existing platform and team practices.

• Talent Acquisition & Retention: Attracting and retaining top engineering talent in a competitive market, especially for specialized platform roles.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI in Development: Gain deep expertise in how AI is transforming front-end development and platform engineering.

• FinTech Domain: Develop a sophisticated understanding of the investment management industry and its unique technological challenges.

• Platform Strategy: Expand strategic thinking and leadership capabilities by influencing the direction of core engineering platforms.

• Mentorship: Benefit from mentorship by senior leaders within Ridgeline and potentially gain exposure to founders with deep industry experience.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant challenges related to scaling, adoption, and the integration of new technologies like AI, offering substantial opportunities for professional growth and impact.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your approach to setting technical strategy for a platform engineering team. How do you balance long-term vision with short-term product needs?"

  • Preparation: Prepare a framework for strategic planning, including stakeholder alignment, technical roadmap creation, and prioritization methodologies. Use examples where you've successfully navigated these trade-offs.

• "How do you foster a culture of ownership and accountability within your engineering team?"

  • Preparation: Discuss specific practices you use for delegation, setting clear expectations, providing feedback, and empowering team members. Highlight how you build trust and encourage proactive problem-solving.

• "Walk me through a time you had to influence a cross-functional team or senior stakeholders to adopt a new technology or architectural change. What was your strategy, and what was the outcome?"

  • Preparation: Prepare a STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) answer. Focus on your communication, negotiation, and data-driven persuasion skills.

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What attracts you to Ridgeline and this specific role? How do you see yourself contributing to our culture?"

  • Preparation: Research Ridgeline's mission, values, and recent achievements. Connect your experience and aspirations to their stated goals and culture.

• "How do you ensure your team maintains high operational excellence for critical systems like a UI framework?"

  • Preparation: Discuss your strategies for observability, incident response, performance monitoring, and proactive maintenance. Mention specific tools or processes you've implemented.

• "Given our focus on AI-assisted development, what are your initial thoughts on how a UI framework team can best enable AI agents?"

  • Preparation: Think about how clean APIs, well-documented code, standardized structures, and efficient build processes can facilitate AI interactions.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your portfolio around key projects, clearly outlining the problem, your role/team's solution, the technologies used, and the measurable impact (metrics are key!).

• Focus on Leadership: For each project, emphasize your leadership contributions, strategic decisions, and team management aspects, not just individual technical work.

• Tell a Story: Frame your experience as a narrative of growth, problem-solving, and impact. Explain the "why" behind your decisions.

• Tailor to Ridgeline: Highlight experiences most relevant to UI frameworks, platform engineering, developer productivity, and scaling. Discuss how your experience aligns with Ridgeline's FinTech focus and culture.

• Prepare for Q&A: Be ready to dive deeper into any aspect of your portfolio, discussing trade-offs, challenges, and alternative approaches.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating leadership, strategic thinking, technical depth in front-end and platform engineering, and a strong cultural fit with Ridgeline's values. Quantifiable achievements and clear articulation of impact are paramount.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Engineering Manager II, UI Framework position:

• Submit your application through the provided Greenhouse link.

• Curate Your Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight your 8+ years of software engineering experience, with a strong emphasis on your 2+ years in management or technical leadership roles. Ensure it clearly showcases experience with front-end architectures, build tooling, CI/CD, and team leadership.

• Prepare Your Portfolio: Gather specific examples of projects where you led teams, defined technical strategy, improved developer productivity, or drove operational excellence. Quantify the impact of your work with metrics. Be ready to present 2-3 key projects during the interview process.

• Practice Your Answers: Prepare for common behavioral questions related to leadership, team management, conflict resolution, and strategic decision-making. Review potential technical and system design questions relevant to UI frameworks and platform engineering.

• Research Ridgeline: Thoroughly understand Ridgeline's mission, products, culture, and recent achievements. Identify how your skills and experience align with their needs and values, particularly their FinTech focus and commitment to innovation.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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