Engineering Manager SRE & DevOps at StackAdapt in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
Role Level & Market Position: This is a first- or second-line Engineering Manager role focused on platform reliability and DevOps/SRE domains — a high-demand niche. StackAdapt's scale (465B optimizations/second) means you'll be managing real infrastructure complexity, not toy systems. EM roles with SRE/infrastructure depth at growth-stage ad-tech companies typically command CAD 160K–210K (or USD 130K–175K for US equivalents) — competitive but unconfirmed here.
Skills You'll Develop:
- People leadership in a high-stakes operational context (incident command, team health)
- Strategic infrastructure planning at scale (AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform at enterprise load)
- Cross-functional stakeholder management in a fast-moving ad-tech environment
Green Flags:
- Explicit focus on engineer well-being — "not burning out" is a stated success metric, which is rare and encouraging
- StackAdapt is a recognized Great Place to Work (Canada, 2026) with strong G2 ratings
- Personal development and certification coverage signal investment in team growth
- Mental health program included from day one — signals mature HR culture
Watch For: The role is explicitly not an IC role — if you're a senior engineer wanting to keep hands-on coding, this is a management track. Also, incident accountability is central; be prepared for an on-call management expectation even if engineers handle the technical response.
Career Trajectory: This EM role is a strong stepping stone toward Director of Engineering or VP of Infrastructure at a scaling SaaS/ad-tech company.
StackAdapt is the leading technology company that empowers marketers to reach, engage, and convert audiences with precision. With 465 billion automated optimizations per second, the AI-powered StackAdapt Marketing Platform seamlessly connects brand and performance marketing to drive measurable results across the entire customer journey. The most forward-thinking marketers choose StackAdapt to orchestrate high-impact campaigns across programmatic advertising and marketing channels.
We are hiring an Engineering Manager to lead our EngOps Applications team. This role is accountable for team delivery, operational health, and execution of infrastructure work supporting critical production systems.
A strong technical background is required to guide decisions and support the team, but success comes from prioritization, clarity, and people leadership — not individual contribution.
What you will do:
- Lead, coach, and support a team of engineers
- Own planning and delivery, ensuring priorities are clear and commitments are met
- Be accountable for system reliability, incident response practices, and follow-up
- Provide technical oversight by reviewing designs and guiding trade-offs
- Ensure documentation, runbooks, and operational standards are maintained
- Act as the primary point of accountability when working with partner teams
What we're looking for:
- Experience managing engineers in a people leadership role
- Background in Infrastructure, DevOps, or Site Reliability Engineering
- Experience operating production systems in AWS
- Strong understanding of Linux, Kubernetes, and containerized systems
- Experience with infrastructure as code (Terraform required)
- Comfortable leading teams through incidents and operational challenges
What success looks like:
- The team delivers reliably with clear ownership and priorities
- Incidents lead to measurable improvements over time
- Engineers are supported, growing, and not burning out
- Infrastructure work enables the broader organization effectively
StackAdapters Enjoy:
- Highly competitive salary
- Retirement / 401K / Pension Savings globally
- Competitive paid time off packages including birthdays off!
- Access to a comprehensive mental health care program
- Health benefits from day one of employment
- Work from home reimbursements
- Optional global WeWork membership for those who want a change from their home office, and hubs in London and Toronto
- Robust training and onboarding program
- Coverage and support of personal development initiatives (conferences, courses, books, etc.)
- Access to StackAdapt programmatic courses and certifications to support continuous learning
- An awesome parental leave program
- A friendly, welcoming, and supportive culture
- Social and team events!
Please note: Benefits and perks may vary depending on your country of employment and the nature of your engagement. In locations where StackAdapt does not have a legal entity, employment and benefits are administered in accordance with local regulations and partner policies.
StackAdapt is a diverse and inclusive team of collaborative, hardworking individuals trying to make a dent in the universe. No matter who you are, where you are from, who you love, follow in faith, disability (or superpower) status, ethnicity, or the gender you identify with (if you're comfortable, let us know your pronouns), you are welcome at StackAdapt. If you have any requests or requirements to support you throughout any part of the interview process, please let our Talent team know.
We use artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline the resume reviews of candidates and assess their fit based on the criteria outlined in the job posting. We do not use AI to make any final hiring or interview decisions.
About StackAdapt
We've been recognized for our diverse and supportive workplace, high performing campaigns, award-winning customer service, and innovation. We've been awarded:
- G2 Top Software for 2026
- 2026 Best Workplaces™ for Young Talent and in Canada by Great Place to Work®
- #1 DSP on G2 and leader in a number of categories including Cross-Channel Advertising
To learn more about our privacy practices, please see our Privacy Policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
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