Senior Engineering Manager, Media Foundation

Airbnb

20h•$248,000 - $310,000•Remote

About The Position

The Media Foundation team builds the core platforms and infrastructure that power photo and video capture, upload, processing, storage, and delivery across Airbnb's products, at a massive global scale. We partner closely with Product, Design, Data Science, Trust, and Infrastructure teams to ensure every image and video guests and Hosts see is fast, high-quality, and reliable, from the moment a Host uploads a photo to the moment a Guest views it in search results. As the Senior Engineering Manager for Media Foundation, you will lead a team of engineers to build and operate Airbnb's media infrastructure, the foundation powering every photo, video, and document that users interact with on the platform. Capabilities include uploads, AI/ML transformations, distribution, and presentation within the product. You will shape the team’s vision and help steer the organization towards our larger goals. This includes day-to-day operations, technical deep dives, community engagement with internal engineering teams, and strategic planning. As the technical and organizational leader for Media Foundation, you own the reliability, scalability, and evolution of the systems that power every media interaction on the Airbnb platform from the moment a host uploads a photo to the instant a guest streams a listing video. Your experience in both media technology and people management will be essential to the maintenance, modernization, and innovation of Airbnb's media platform. You set the bar for engineering excellence, define what great looks like for your team, and create an environment where engineers grow, do their best work, and are proud of what they ship.

Requirements

12+ years of industry experience, with a minimum of 6+ years in engineering management, including managing other managers or senior technical leads.
Bachelor's and/or Master's degree, preferably in CS, or equivalent experience.
Deep expertise in large-scale distributed systems, with a track record of setting technical strategy and architecture across multiple teams; media/content infrastructure experience (ingestion, processing, storage, CDN delivery) is a strong plus.
Strong product instinct and communication skills, with proven experience influencing senior cross-functional and cross-organizational partners to deliver high-quality, user-facing platform capabilities.
Track record of leading and shipping large, cross-team initiatives with significant business impact, and building a culture of operational excellence, quality, and reliability.
Sound judgment balancing short-term business needs with long-term technical and organizational health, with a flexible leadership style suited to varying team maturity.
Demonstrated ability to identify, retain, grow, and acquire critical engineering and management talent, with a strong commitment to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within teams.

Nice To Haves

media/content infrastructure experience (ingestion, processing, storage, CDN delivery) is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

Set technical strategy and architecture for media infrastructure across multiple teams, aligning investment with product and business priorities.
Lead, coach, and grow other managers and senior technical leads, and create an environment where engineers can do their best work.
Partner with Product, Design, Trust, and other infrastructure orgs to shape a resilient, scalable media platform roadmap.
Champion engineering excellence and operational rigor, and resolve systemic technical debt affecting reliability, performance, or velocity.
Retain, grow, and hire a diverse team of high-performing engineers and managers to execute an ambitious media platform vision.