Distinguished Engineer, Product Engineering

Planet Fitness•Boston, MA

3h•$190,000 - $225,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Founded in 1992 in Dover, NH, Planet Fitness is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers in the United States by number of members and locations. We have over 2,700+ stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, Spain, and Australia. 90% of Planet Fitness stores are owned and operated by independent franchisees. At Planet Fitness, our unique mission has always been to enhance people’s lives by providing a high-quality fitness experience in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment. And we’re proud of the amazing Planet Fitness team that supports our clubs and team members. They are comprised of dynamic, dedicated, and talented individuals who represent our values of integrity, transparency, passion, respect, and excellence (while having fun!) in everything they do. Joining the PF family means being part of a company that cares about bettering the health and wellbeing of our communities. It means being a part of a supportive, engaging workforce with an inclusive culture that values diversity and creates an environment where everyone can feel they belong. It means encouraging professional growth and development. It means making true, lasting connections with your co-workers with celebrations, team building activities and engaging corporate events! It means creating a positive impact in our local communities through our Judgement Free Generation® philanthropic initiative. It means being part of a brand that you can be proud of! For the past 30 years, we’ve helped millions of people in their fitness journey and revolutionized the industry along the way. And we’re just getting started! Overview The Distinguished Engineer, Product Engineering leads the architecture, design, development, and delivery activities of multiple cross-functional engineering workstreams. Through a mix of strategic technical vision and cross-workstream leadership and coordination, the Distinguished Engineer drives the technical direction of multiple concurrent strategic initiatives. The Distinguished Engineer partners closely with Product and Design leaders to identify innovative solutions to user and business challenges using leading technology and delivery practices and domain expertise. They also work closely with Data, Security, Infrastructure, and Tech Operations leaders to reimagine methodologies and ways of working. As a senior member of a growing team, the Distinguished Engineer plays a crucial role in shaping and defining the team's culture through indirect delivery leadership and direct people management. They thrive in a fast-paced environment where teamwork, technical excellence, business understanding, and cross-functional collaboration are paramount. This role follows a hybrid schedule and requires regular, in-person work at our Boston, MA or Hampton, NH office. Our hybrid model is M/T/W in office and TH/F are optional work-from-home. Candidates must reside within commuting distance of one of these locations. Fully remote work is not available for this role.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a related field (Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Management Information Systems, etc.) or equivalent work experience
15+ years of software engineering experience and 5+ years of experience leading multiple cross-functional delivery teams
Significant breadth and depth of experience in the architecture, development, implementation, and testing of software products and services. This includes a proven track record of leading development leaders through strategic project phases and collaborating across multiple functional and technical teams to deliver an outcome
Expert experience using modern programming languages (Java, TypeScript, JavaScript, Python) and platforms (Spring, Node, Remix, Flask) for full stack development OR languages (Kotlin, Swift) and UI frameworks (Jetpack Compose, SwiftUI) for mobile development.
Experience with CI/CD pipeline development and AI-powered engineering tooling is a strong plus
Deep knowledge and practical experience with cloud architecture on platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). You should be skilled in designing and building scalable, reliable, and secure cloud-native solutions.
Experience using Generative AI (GenAI) user-facing software products or applications is also highly desirable
Expert in relational database design, non-relational database design, and enterprise integration patterns
Expert understanding of RESTful service design and be skilled in designing and building synchronous and asynchronous interfaces.
Experience with GraphQL is also helpful but not required
Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to tackle ambiguous problems and make data-driven decisions
Extremely detail-oriented, efficient, and organized with an exceptional ability to establish priorities and objectives
Exceptional presentation and communication skills along with the ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the organization, including executives
Able to establish and maintain effective, collaborative work relationships with diverse individuals, internally and externally
Creative, progressive, thought leadership with the ability to influence at all levels of the organization
Excellent leadership skills including the ability to build teams, motivate, guide, and mentor
Possess a results-driven entrepreneurial mindset, demonstrating initiative and creativity
Demonstrated strategic thinking, creative problem-solving, and organizational leadership skills
Exhibits comfort, ease, and flexibility working in an extremely fast-paced ever-changing, deadline-driven environment
Cooperative team player with an upbeat, positive, “can-do” attitude!

Nice To Haves

Experience with CI/CD pipeline development and AI-powered engineering tooling is a strong plus
Experience using Generative AI (GenAI) user-facing software products or applications is also highly desirable
Experience with GraphQL is also helpful but not required

Responsibilities

The Distinguished Engineer is the Technical Lead for multiple delivery Workstreams and Pods.
They set the technical direction for a specific business or functional area, ensuring architectural coherence across both.
They also coach Workstream and Pod Tech Leads while partnering with workstream Product, Design, and Program leaders.
Drives multiple critical initiatives concurrently, providing technical expertise and oversight of architecture, design, delivery across multiple teams.
Defines repeatable approaches for writing, validating, and shipping high-quality software in new and innovative ways.
Drives adoption of modern engineering practices, including CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, observability, and cloud-native patterns.
Brings AI to development and delivery activities, establishing new patterns of engagement across cross-functional teams.
Develops and reviews delivery plans that take advantage of cutting-edge technologies to deliver solutions that exceed expectations.
Launches new capabilities rapidly while managing risk continuously from inception through operations, focusing heavily on Strategic Planning and Discovery to validate prior to full-scale delivery.
Partners with Product and Design leaders to explore solutions that amaze users and drive business outcomes, driving any related partnerships.
Strongly advocates for customer-centric thinking while balancing technical feasibility and business priorities.
Coaches team on anticipating and mitigating risks early in the development cycle, ensuring scalable and resilient solutions.
Works across engineering, infrastructure, data, and security leaders to rethink methodologies, platforms, and delivery practices.
Defines and articulates the long-term technical vision and strategy across multiple workstreams.
Serves as a trusted technical advisor and decision-maker for complex architectural and design decisions.
Provides hands-on mentorship and guidance to the engineering team leaders, fostering skill growth, innovation, and effectiveness.
Acts as a technical ambassador, representing engineering to executive leadership and external stakeholders.
Defines and champions best practices in system design, development, testing, and deployment, including AI-powered engineering capabilities.
Cultivates a high-performance engineering culture based on trust, collaboration, inclusivity, and accountability.
Mentors and grows the next generation of technical leaders within the organization.
Promotes a culture of continuous learning, experimentation, and technical excellence.
Serves as a role model for engineering values, instilling ownership, craftsmanship, and pride in delivery.