At Down, we’re not your typical dating app - we’re unapologetically real, a little cheeky, and all about empowering people to connect on their terms. With over 17 million users worldwide and ranked among the Top 10 most-downloaded dating apps in the U.S. last year, we’re making love (and everything in between) more transparent, more fun, and less awkward.
We're a lean, passionate 30-people team building something that actually helps people feel seen and understood - and now we’re looking for a Head of Engineering to help us scale, experiment boldly, and bring smoother love stories to life.
In your first months, your primary focus won't just be shipping code - it will be running the team and engineering the 'machine' that builds the product.
You will have direct ownership over our high-level architecture, experimentation systems, and data flow. While we use Ruby on Rails, we value your ability to scale systems and lead people over specific language syntax.
We need a Lead who can ensure our backend is a competitive advantage, not a bottleneck.
Expect a 50/50 split between leadership (planning, architecture, people management) and hands-on work (coding, code reviews, debugging).
You'll have a free hand on day-to-day technical decisions. The only things that go through the co-founders are quarterly planning and major technical changes - the kind that take weeks of work and shift direction. Everything else is yours to call.