Senior Engineering Manager, Game Systems

Location: Remote - eligible US locations

About the role and about you:

As Senior Engineering Manager, Game Systems, you'll lead a team of talented engineers responsible for ensuring Zwift customers have a smooth, stable game experience across all supported platforms, including iOS, Windows, Android, Mac, and Apple TV. You will work at the heart of our game platform, overseeing the technical direction and delivery of our game systems, application architecture, and player-facing experiences.

This role is ideal for engineering leaders with strong C++ fluency who can guide technical decisions, grow high-performing teams, and navigate ambiguity while delivering results. You'll be responsible for building and developing your team, setting technical direction, and ensuring your engineers are solving the right problems in the right ways. While your primary focus will be leadership, execution, and delivery, you should be comfortable contributing to our custom C++ game codebase as well.

If you're excited about leading teams through complex technical challenges, bridging real-world and virtual experiences, and shaping a product that inspires millions of users worldwide, we'd love to hear from you.

What you’ll do: 

• 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.

What we’re looking for: 

• 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.

Bonus points: 

• 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.

For All US Based Full-Time Positions:

The base salary for this position ranges between $149,500.00 to $238,500.00. The base salary will be based on a number of factors including the role offered, the individual's job-related knowledge, skills, qualifications, and geographic location. In addition to base salary, Zwift is proud to offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package for all eligible employees which also includes performance bonuses, equity, and a full range of medical, financial, and other perks and benefits.