Engineering Manager, Query Engine

About Ditto

Ditto is redefining how data moves at the edge. Our mission is to make it seamless for developers to build resilient, real-time applications, regardless of network conditions. Whether you're in a stadium, airplane, or remote military base, Ditto's peer-to-peer sync engine ensures devices stay connected and data stays consistent, even without internet. With more than $145 million in funding and trusted by organizations like Chick-fil-A, Delta Airlines, and the U.S. military, Ditto powers mission-critical experiences across aviation, retail, travel, hospitality, defense, and more. As a globally distributed, fast-growing startup, we’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the wide range of perspectives needed to solve the world’s hardest connectivity problems.

About the Position

Your role is to lead our team of query engineers. The Query Engine team at Ditto is responsible for building the primary surface for our customers to interact with their data and the Ditto system: the Ditto Query Language (DQL). We use DQL extensively throughout both the cloud database and on-device SDKs, and query engineers work closely with many other teams to integrate with their systems. This team owns a core technology that spans the entire Ditto product.

Ditto is rapidly growing. Today, while the team is small, there is an opportunity for hands-on contributions, but your role should be considered a pure people management role in the near future. As a specialist team this group is laser-focused on enabling customers to get the most out of Ditto while providing a familiar, SQL-like experience. You will work closely with product managers, designers, and other teams to shape the future of our technology and the services that underpin it.

As the Engineering Manager, You Will:

• Lead, Mentor, and Grow: Guide and grow a team of 5–8 skilled and globally distributed engineers, supporting their technical success, career development, and personal growth. Provide mentorship and coaching to help team members achieve their full potential.
• Deliver Excellence: Plan and deliver high-quality solutions that meet business and technical goals, focusing on query performance, reliability, and developer experience.
• Contribute to Architecture: Be an active participant in the design and implementation of query optimization strategies, execution plans, and indexing mechanisms that work efficiently in distributed edge environments.
• Optimize Query Performance: Drive initiatives to improve query execution speed, reduce memory footprint, and enhance the efficiency of our custom query language and execution engine.
• Shape the Roadmap: Collaborate with product managers and stakeholders to build the team's roadmap, incorporating input from customers, engineers, and researchers.
• Cross-team Collaboration: Work closely with the Database, Core Library, Data Sync, and SDK teams to ensure seamless integration of query capabilities across the entire Ditto platform.
• Foster Culture: Set an example by cultivating a culture of trust, collaboration, and continual improvement aligned with Ditto's core values.

What You’ll Need:

• Management Experience: 3+ years managing software engineering teams, including responsibilities like hiring, performance management, and career development.
• Technical Expertise: 5+ years of technical leadership experience with a strong background in platform and database technologies, distributed systems, and similar domains.
• Systems Programming: Strong experience with systems programming languages, preferably Rust or C++, and understanding of performance optimization at the systems level.
• Distributed Systems Experience: Understanding of distributed systems concepts including consistency models, replication strategies, and the challenges of operating in eventually consistent environments.
• Project Management Excellence: Strong project management skills including stakeholder management, resource allocation and scheduling, risk identifi