Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions.
In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest-growing AI data business in history. We work directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data. We’ve grown from $0 to ~$1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month.
Why join Handshake now:
Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
Partner hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions
Work together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC founders
Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue
The Senior Engineering Manager of Growth Engineering at Handshake owns one of the most strategically important growth levers and platforms in the company — the systems that power how we acquire, activate, and retain users across the entire Handshake ecosystem.
This isn't a single-product role. You'll lead a platform that cuts across every surface of Handshake, serving as a foundational lever for company growth. You'll partner closely with Product, Data, and Marketing to define what the growth loop looks like at scale — and then build the infrastructure and product capabilities to make it real. You'll lead a growing team of engineers and are expected to up level and build leadership capacity as the team scales.
Location: San Francisco, CA. This is an in-office role, 5 days/week (no remote/hybrid).
What You'll Do
Lead and grow a high-performing Growth Engineering team — hire, develop, and retain strong engineers; build the leadership layer needed to scale
Own the full growth funnel — acquisition, activation, retention, and notification systems that move the needle on Handshake's core growth metrics
Build a scalable, extensible growth platform — modular infrastructure that enables rapid experimentation, personalization, and lifecycle targeting across the product
Drive architecture and technical strategy — design systems for reliability, performance, and speed-to-ship, balancing platform investments with high-impact product bets
Partner cross-functionally — work shoulder-to-shoulder with Product, Data Science, and Marketing to align on growth strategy and execution
Raise the engineering bar — champion strong fundamentals: observability, experimentation rigor, data integrity, and engineering quality at scale
Operate with ownership and velocity — set the standard for a team culture that moves fast, takes accountability, and delivers in ambiguous, high-stakes environments
What We're Looking For
Engineering leader + builder: 4+ years managing engineering teams, 5+ years of hands-on engineering experience
Growth or platform background: Experience owning systems that drive user acquisition, activation, or retention — or platform infrastructure that powers growth at scale
Strong people leadership: Track record of developing senior engineers; experience managing managers or equivalent scope is a strong plus
Execution in ambiguity: Able to align cross-functionally, build clarity from ambiguity, and deliver iteratively in fast-moving environments
Balanced product + systems mindset: Can translate business and growth goals into technical roadmaps, ship with urgency, and measure outcomes rigorously
Nice to Have
Experience building experimentation platforms, A/B testing infrastructure, or personalization systems
Background in lifecycle marketing infrastructure (notifications, email, push, in-app messaging)
Familiarity with growth analytics, funnel instrumentation, or event tracking at scale
Experience in two-sided marketplace or consumer/prosumer products
Perks
Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life.
The below benefits are for full-time US employees.
🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend
📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development
💻 Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days
🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses
Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.