Engineering Manager – Next Generation Ordering & Coffeehouse Platform

Job Summary:

As an Engineering Manager, you will lead teams responsible for the mission‑critical platform capabilities that power Starbucks retail experiences across thousands of stores. Your charter spans cloud services, edge computing, distributed systems, observability, and next‑generation Point of Sale (POS). You will help shape the vision and delivery of platforms that support millions of daily transactions and enable seamless, reliable in‑store experiences.

This role requires a blend of strong technical leadership, cross‑functional collaboration, and the ability to operate at scale. You will partner closely with Product, Security, SRE, Retail Operations, and senior technology leadership to translate business needs into scalable technical solutions.

What You’ll Do:

• Platform Strategy & Architecture
• Define the technical strategy for store edge and cloud platform services supporting 12k+ retail locations while shaping the technology vision and roadmap for next generation POS, ordering, and Coffeehouse platform systems.
• Lead architectural decisions across edge compute, data sync, messaging, observability, and cloud‑native distributed systems.
• Evaluate and drive adoption of technologies such as distributed data sync, messaging systems, and edge orchestration.

Delivery & Execution:

• Lead engineering teams delivering platform capabilities and API services for POS and in-store applications.
• Drive multi‑quarter initiatives with clear milestones covering build, deployment, rollout, and operational readiness.
• Author and advocate for Request for Comments (RFC) documents to guide architecture decisions and cross‑organization visibility.

Operational Excellence

• Ensure high availability, security, resilience, and performance across cloud and edge platforms and services using DevOps, SRE, and CI/CD best practices.
• Ensure system health, availability, and incident response across large scale edge fleets.
• Drive improvements in observability, monitoring, and distributed system visibility.
• Lead root‑cause analysis and implement long‑term corrective actions for systemic reliability issues.
• Automate provisioning, updates, configuration, and fleet‑wide rollout workflows.
• Drive cost modeling, capacity planning, architecture reviews, threat modeling, and agile delivery.

People & Leadership:

• Hire, coach, and mentor engineers, senior engineers, and technical leads to build high‑performing teams.
• Foster a culture of innovation, ownership, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Communicate platform strategy, decisions, and program outcomes to Director/VP‑level stakeholders.
• Build strong partnerships with internal teams—including Product, Security, Finance, SRE, and Retail Operations—to ensure successful delivery and adoption.
• Create an inclusive environment that attracts and retains top talent

Technology Domains

• Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS (EC2, EKS, VPC, IAM, CloudWatch, S3), Terraform/CloudFormation, CI/CD (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Argo CD)
• Edge Compute & Retail Systems: Kubernetes/k3s, edge fleet management, Linux/Android POS systems, device & policy management
• Data & Messaging: Distributed data sync, Kafka/MQTT/SNS/SQS
• Services: REST/gRPC APIs, GraphQL, config & secrets management, AuthN/AuthZ (OIDC, certificates)
• Observability & Reliability: Datadog, OpenTelemetry
• Retail Payments & POS: Next‑generation POS systems, retail payment workflows, edge services
• Programming Stack: Golang, TypeScript, React Native

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years in software engineering, with 3+ years managing engineering teams.
• Proven experience delivering distributed systems, cloud platforms, or edge/retail systems at scale.
• Experience leading multi‑team, multi‑program engineering efforts.
• Strong communication skills across technical and executive stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of operational reliability, DevOps, SRE, and CI/CD practices.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in Retail, POS, or edge compute ecosystems.
• Strong background in Kubernetes, cloud‑native architecture, or fleet‑scale device management.
• Familiarity with distributed data sync or offline‑first architecture.
• Hands‑on experience with Golang, GraphQL, and REST

As a Starbucks partner, you (and your family) will have access to medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, and other voluntary insurance benefits. Partners have access to short-term and long-term disability, paid parental leave, family expansion reimbursement, paid vacation from date of hire, sick time (accrued at 1 hour for every 25 hours worked), eight paid holidays, and two personal days per year. Starbucks also offers eligible partners participation in a 401(k) retirement plan with employer match, a discounted company stock program (S.I.P.), Starbucks equity program (Bean Stock), incentivized emergency savings, and financial well-being tools. Additionally, Starbucks offers 100% upfront tuition coverage for a first-time bachelor’s degree through Arizona State University’s online program via the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, student loan management resources, and access to other educational opportunities. You will also have access to backup care and DACA reimbursement. Starbucks will comply with any applicable state and local laws regarding employee leave benefits, including, but not limited to providing time off pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, and in accordance with its plans and policies. This list is subject to change depending on collective bargaining in locations where partners have a certified bargaining representative. For additional information regarding partner perks and more detailed information about benefits, go to starbucksbenefits.com.

If you are working in CA, CO, IL, LA, ME, MA, NE, ND or RI, you will accrue vacation up to a maximum of 120 hours (190 in CA) for roles below director and 200 hours (316 in CA) for roles at director or above. For roles in other states, you will be granted vacation time starting at 120 hours annually for roles below director and 200 hours annually for roles director and above.

The actual base pay offered to the successful candidate will be based on multiple factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge/skills, experience, geographical location, and internal equity. At Starbucks, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at the high end of the range for their role, and compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.

If you live in the greater Seattle area, we offer a flexible workplace that allows for hybrid work. Partners can work remotely up to two days per week.

Join us and inspire with every cup. Apply today!

Starbucks Coffee Company is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with all federal, state and local ordinances.

Starbucks Coffee Company is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at applicantaccommodation@starbucks.com or 1(888) 611-2258.