Senior Engineering Manager, Game Systems

Zwift is a company focused on delivering an engaging game experience for fitness enthusiasts. As a Senior Engineering Manager for Game Systems, you will lead a team of engineers to ensure a smooth gaming experience across various platforms while overseeing technical direction and application architecture.

Responsibilities:

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of engineers working on Zwift's core game systems, fostering a healthy team culture and high engineering standards
• Partner with our Recruiting team to source, interview, and hire engineers as the team scales from 3 to 5+ members
• Set technical direction for game systems across all Zwift platforms, balancing short-term delivery with long-term architectural health
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners, including game engineers, backend engineers, product managers, and UX designers, to define roadmaps, align priorities, and deliver high-quality features
• Drive engineering and operational excellence through investment in testing, instrumentation, CI/CD, and developer tooling
• Manage competing priorities and ambiguity, proactively surfacing decisions and tradeoffs to leadership and stakeholders
• Contribute technically through code reviews, design discussions, architectural guidance, and hands-on development when appropriate
• Identify and mitigate risks, resolve cross-team dependencies, and ensure reliable delivery against a 6-12 month planning horizon
• Champion continuous improvement across your team and neighboring teams, identifying bottlenecks and driving solutions

Requirements:

• 8+ years of relevant software engineering experience, with strong fluency in C++ and systems-level development
• 3+ years of experience managing software engineers, including hiring, performance management, and career development
• Strong technical foundation in game systems, 3D environments, or real-time applications, with the ability to guide architectural decisions and evaluate trade-offs
• Experience delivering production-quality software across multiple platforms, with a strong understanding of performance optimization, memory management, and cross-platform challenges
• Proven ability to build and grow healthy, high-performing engineering teams
• Comfortable operating in ambiguous problem spaces, partnering with product and leadership to define success and drive alignment
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate technical concepts for diverse audiences and resolve conflict constructively
• Familiarity with modern development practices including CI/CD, automated testing, and version control workflows
• Experience working on game engines (Unity, Unreal, or custom-built) and their integration with native platforms
• Background in multiplayer systems and latency-sensitive applications
• Experience building systems that bridge physical and digital experiences: fitness tech, spatial computing, sensor integration, or similar domains
• Familiarity with mobile platform development, including iOS and Android native layers
• Interest in building products that support our engaged Zwift Community of cyclists, runners, and fitness enthusiasts