Software Engineering Manager - Web Interfaces

Company

Founded in 2020, Ribbit builds and operates autonomous airplanes. We develop technology that enables uncrewed gate-to-gate operations, having completed hundreds of autonomous flight hours on different aircraft, flown 10K+ hours in simulation, and secured flight authorities for remotely and optionally piloted flight. From defending sovereignty to delivering food and medical supplies, we are a trusted partner that businesses and governments rely on to test, operate, and deploy affordable autonomous aircraft. You can check out our videos here.

We believe that technology should be developed for and with the customer. In 2023, we signed our first federal contract with the Government of Canada, during which we performed Canada’s first autonomous gate-to-gate flight between two airports. Since then, we have won several additional contracts, including contracts with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Department of National Defence (DND) spanning platform, mission, and collaborative autonomy. We pride ourselves on knowing the customer better than themselves, serving them better than anyone else, and ensuring they succeed in a world with everyone else.

This year alone, we performed the world's first demonstration of collaborative teaming between an autonomous airplane and an autonomous helicopter. We also deployed Canada's first optionally piloted aircraft with a military callsign. We are now building novel autonomous aircraft for DND and Canada's allies, aligning our immediate defence clients with a backlog of interest across northern wholesalers, public safety agencies, freight forwarders, and humanitarian organizations. Autonomy is reshaping the way we move, understand, and protect the world.

Our team has years of experience with piloting, commercial drone operations, and autonomous mobile robotics—we're concentrating the world's best software, robotics, and aeronautical expertise to pursue our mission of making air transportation accessible to everyone. If you’re up for the challenge, we want to hear from you.

Position Overview

The Autonomy team builds the software that flies the aircraft, whereas the new Web Interfaces team builds software that lets operators tell the aircraft where to go, see what they are doing, and step in when it matters. As manager of the interfaces team, you will build the team from the ground up: hiring the engineers, setting the direction for the web GUI and the services behind it, and writing code alongside the team while it is small.

In this role, you will:

• Hire and grow the team, defining which roles come first and running the loop, then owning onboarding, one-on-ones, feedback, and career growth
• Write code. Early on you will prototype new functionality, own the ambiguous work, and set the patterns others build on, with the balance shifting toward leadership as the team grows
• Set the technical direction for the Interfaces stack, including system architecture, the roadmap for the GUI and the services behind it, and set the bar for quality, review processes, and documentation
• Coordinate the team to deliver high-quality software: scope the work, sequence it against flight-testing and customer commitments, and communicate progress, risk, and trade-offs honestly
• Partner with the autonomy, flight-testing, hardware, and product teams to align interfaces, schedules, and priorities
• Participate in field testing during flight trials, demonstrations, and pilot projects alongside the deployment team, taking what you learn and using it to inform the Interfaces roadmap

You will have achieved success in the first year when:

• The architecture, conventions, tooling, and review practice foundations are set while they are still cheap to change
• Onboarded engineers achieve productivity quickly, with a clear understanding of the system and the standards
• Deliverables are reliably met such that other teams and leadership can plan around them
• Quality has risen, through test strategies, CI/CD, and a sensible approach to technical debt
• The software holds up in production under real flight operations

Other Details:

• No. of Positions: 1
• Duration: Permanent Full-Time, starting December 2026
• Compensation: 189,000 to 203,000 (includes base salary + equity + bonus)
• This is a remote role that involves some on-site presence to support field tests—you must be in the Greater Toronto Area/Hamilton/Kitchener/Waterloo or willing to relocate
• Competitive and comprehensive compensation (e.g. 3 weeks of vacation upon joining, comprehensive health and wellness plans)
• You must be eligible to hold a Government of Canada security clearance at the Reliability or Secret level, and pass security assessment for the Controlled Goods Program

Qualifications

As the ideal candidate, you meet the following requirements:

• Experience managing software engineers, including hiring, providing feedback, and performance reviews
• Proficiency in software engineering: you have shipped production web software as a senior engineer and want to continue writing and reviewing code
• Experience working as an engineer on an early-stage team or product, where architecture, processes, and hiring was initiated rather than inherited
• A track record of delivering against external commitments, such as customer deployments, field trials, or certification milestones
• Experience with real-time or data-intensive systems alongside a working understanding of the trade-offs they involve
• Experience working alongside various teams including hardware, testing, or deployment, where software schedules depend on physical systems and flight windows
• Willingness to give direct feedback and address problems early
• Clear and concise writing for both technical and non-technical audiences alike

Preferred and bonus qualifications include experience with:

• Aviation, robotics, defence, AVs, or another domain where software failure has physical consequences
• Hands-on experience with React and TypeScript, cloud infrastructure, and CI/CD
• Real-time GUIs for data-intensive applications, such as geospatial/GIS tools or ground control stations
• Growing a small engineering team into a larger team
• Security and compliance standards (e.g. SOC 2/ISO 27001)

You also possess the soft skills to work in a high-stakes, tight-knit company, such as:

• Openness to give and receive feedback
• Adaptability when priorities move
• Self-awareness about your own strengths and gaps
• Taking initiative with minimal guidance

Thank you for exploring opportunities at Ribbit! We look forward to speaking with you.

Note: the Careers page is under maintenance; actual details and interview process may differ slightly

Note: We read everything that comes our way. Let your outstanding résumé (cover letter and design portfolio encouraged but optional) do the talking. For important questions or comments, contact us at [email protected].