Lead Software Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Tech Lead Manager (ActiveAccount)

Reports To : Head of Engineering

Location : Philomath, Oregon (Onsite)

Company Overview

Active911 is a fast-growing SaaS company dedicated to helping heroes save lives by providing innovative software that empowers over 500,000 first responders worldwide. Our emergency notification, routing, and communication tools enable firefighters, EMTs, law enforcement, and others to respond faster and make informed decisions in critical moments. Based in Philomath, Oregon, our team is continually pushing public safety technology forward, fueled by a collaborative, mission-driven culture. Join us to make a real impact in a lean tech company where your work directly supports first responders and their communities.

Job Summary

The Tech Lead Manager for Active911's ActiveAccount team leads the development of intuitive, reliable software for customer account management, streamlined purchase flows, and robust subscription systems, empowering first responders to focus on saving lives. Reporting to the Head of Engineering, you will guide a team of engineers and QA analysts, architecting scalable, cloud-native solutions on AWS and ensuring system reliability through robust monitoring and CI / CD practices. As a technical leader, you'll write and review clean code, mentor team members, and drive strategic initiatives that balance customer value, tech debt, and long-term scalability. Your leadership will align technical execution with Active911's mission of operational excellence, delivering high-impact solutions that support first responders worldwide.

Responsibilities

Product Delivery : Lead the team in delivering valuable features and improvements with minimal bottlenecks. Measure success by on-time delivery of roadmap commitments, a consistent flow of completed work, and technical solutions that align with long-term scalability and maintainability goals. Ensure smooth progression of work through the software development lifecycle (SDLC), with minimal sub-defects and limited regressions introduced in production.

Team Development & Engagement : Mentor and grow engineers and QA team members by providing clear feedback, technical coaching, and stretch opportunities. Build an inclusive and supportive team culture that encourages open communication, mutual respect, and a shared sense of ownership. Team engagement and retention are indicators of success.

Code Quality and Technical Standards : Foster a culture of engineering excellence by upholding high standards for code quality, automated testing, and system design. Encourage best practices through code reviews, pairing, and knowledge sharing. Success is reflected in a stable codebase, a healthy pull request lifecycle, and minimal rework.

System Reliability & Performance : Ensure the services your team owns are highly available, performant, and maintainable through resilient architecture, effective monitoring, and proactive incident management. This includes driving root-cause resolution and continuous improvement efforts after outages or degradations.

Cross-functional Collaboration : Partner effectively with Product, Design, QA, and other stakeholders to scope, plan, and prioritize work. Communicate technical tradeoffs clearly and advocate for engineering needs while aligning with business goals. Success is reflected in well-aligned goals, minimal scope churn, and shared accountability.

Operational Excellence & Engineering Efficiency : Continuously improve development workflows, CI / CD pipelines, observability tooling, and incident response processes. Promote automation and testing strategies that improve confidence and speed. Measure impact through reduced lead time for change, fewer failed deployments, and faster recovery from issues.

Qualifications

Education : Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, related field, or equivalent experience.

Experience :

5+ years of software development experience in building scalable, high-performance systems, preferably in a SaaS environment.

2+ years in a technical leadership or management role, guiding teams of engineers and / or QA analysts preferred.

Proven track record of delivering complex software projects on time and within quality standards.

Knowledge of agile methodologies (e.g., Scrum, Kanban) and OKR-based goal setting.

Technical Expertise :

Strong experience with web applications, RESTful APIs, Domain Driven Design, and microservices architectures.

Proficiency in database technologies (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, Cassandra) and cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud).

Familiarity with CI / CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and monitoring tools (e.g., Datadog, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI / CD).

Experience in designing event-driven services with tools like AWS SNS / SQS, Kinesis, or Kafka (ordering, retries, idempotency).

Deep knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) with tools like Terraform and CloudFormation to provision and manage cloud resources.

Applied security-first engineering (e.g., least-privilege IAM, KMS, WAF, secret management) and led SOC 2 / CJIS / HIPAA readiness.

Leadership and Management :

Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop technical talent, fostering a high-performing, inclusive team culture.

Strong problem-solving skills with a proactive approach to resolving technical and team challenges.

Excellent communication skills, capable of articulating technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and aligning cross-functional teams.

Passion for Active911's mission to support first responders, with an understanding of the importance of reliability in mission-critical software.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in SaaS platforms focused on subscription management, billing, or customer account systems.

Familiarity with public safety or emergency response technology.

Preferred experience as a first responder (e.g., Fire, EMS, Law Enforcement, or Search and Rescue services) or experience in developing SaaS for use in public safety, emergency response, or mission-critical applications.

Physical and Other Requirements

Ability to sit or stand for extended periods of time.

Comfortable working in an office setting.

Availability for on-call duties in the case of an outage that may include some evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Willingness to travel up to 10% annually.

Benefits

Salary Range : $130,000 - $175,000 annually

Status : Exempt

At Active911, we take pride in offering a comprehensive benefits package that supports the well-being and success of our team. We provide full medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees, with family coverage available with 50% company-paid. Our generous vacation and sick leave policies ensure you have the time you need for rest, recovery, and personal matters. We offer up to 20% remote work as well as extended remote work options for travel or other needs with manager approval. To support your financial future, we contribute 3% to your 401(k) retirement plan. We also offer unique programs like our Gym Membership Reimbursement, a Volunteer First Responder Bonus, and a $5,000 First-Time Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance Program, because we believe in investing in every aspect of your life.

Active911 is an equal opportunity, at-will employer, which complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.