Engineering Manager, Cloud

Department: Engineering

Location: Chicago

Compensation: $134,443 – $310,000 • Multiple Ranges

Employment Type: FullTime

About the Team:

Grindr is an AI-native platform powering how millions of gay people connect globally. With 15M+ monthly users, 130B+ annual messages, and a team of fewer than 200, we move fast, stay lean, and tackle technical problems at a scale few companies ever see.

The Cloud Engineering team is responsible for building and operating the foundational infrastructure that powers Grindr’s global platform. This team owns core cloud services and tooling across AWS and Kubernetes, enabling product and backend teams to ship safely, reliably, and at scale. Reporting to the Head of Cloud Engineering, this role will manage a team of 4–6 individual contributors and play a key role in improving reliability, security, cost efficiency, and developer experience across the organization. The impact of this role is highly visible, directly influencing uptime, incident response, and Grindr’s ability to scale new features globally.

At Grindr, we operate in Grindr Mode. Moderately hardcore day to day, truly hardcore when it counts. It’s about doing great work without burning out. Outcomes over outputs. Smart, driven people who raise your bar, with room to live full lives.

This is a hybrid role based in our Chicago office and will require you to be in person Tuesdays and Thursdays.

About the Job:

• Lead, coach, and grow a team of 4–5 cloud engineers responsible for core infrastructure and platform services.

• Own the execution and delivery of cloud initiatives that improve reliability, scalability, security, and cost efficiency.

• Partner closely with product, backend, mobile, SRE, and security teams to ensure infrastructure enables, rather than blocks, product delivery.

• Contribute to technical direction and architectural decisions across AWS, Kubernetes, and supporting cloud services.

Role Requirements:

• Experience supporting high-traffic, consumer-facing applications.

• Familiarity with operation and performance management of databases and data stores such as PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, and Redis/ElastiCache.

• Exposure to modern CI/CD and infrastructure workflows (e.g., Atlantis, GitOps-style workflows).

• Experience supporting HIPAA- and PCI-compliant environments.

You May Thrive in this Role if You:

• Enjoy leading teams while staying close enough to the technology to guide strong technical decisions.

• Are motivated by improving developer experience and building platforms that help others move faster.

• Are comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment where priorities evolve and tradeoffs are required.

• Take ownership, value accountability, and believe great infrastructure is a force multiplier for product teams.

Benefits and Perks:

• Health, Dental & Vision Full premium coverage for you. Partial coverage for dependents.

• Family Formation Up to $200,000 in fertility and family-building support, covering IVF, surrogacy, egg freezing, and adoption.

• Retirement: 401(k) with 6% match and immediate vesting.

• Compensation: Industry-competitive compensation, company bonus, and equity for every employee.

• Gender-Affirming Care : Industry-leading gender-affirming offerings with up to 90% cost coverage, access to Included Health, monthly stipends for HRT, and more.

• Time Off & Rest Flexible vacation policy. Two company-wide rest weeks per year.

• Other Benefits: Monthly stipends for cell phone, internet, wellness, food, and commuting, breakfast/lunch

About Grindr:

Grindr is building the global gayborhood in your pocket. With more than 15 million monthly active users, Grindr has become a fundamental part of the gay community and is charting a path to make the world more free, equal, and just.

As a public company, were moving into the next chapter: becoming an AI-native organization thats redefining whats possible for our community. Were embedding AI into our product and operations, moving with startup speed while operating at scale.

Everything we do is rooted in impact for our users and outcomes for the business. This isnt social work, it’s impact through excellence. Business success is what gives us the power to serve our community and the seat at tables others cant reach. How we work is defined by Grindr Mode, our operating model thats moderately hardcore day-to-day and truly hardcore when it counts. We think like owners, drive real outcomes, create clarity through action, and push each other to go further than we thought possible.

We’re headquartered in West Hollywood with offices in the Bay Area, Chicago, and New York. Our work extends beyond the product through Grindr for Equality, our nonprofit thats partnered with 100+ community organizations globally to advance safety, health, and human rights for LGBTQ+ people worldwide.

Were profitable, growing, and building a team of smart, driven people who bring different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to the work. Want to build technology at a massive scale that serves millions? Come join us!

Grindr is an equal-opportunity employer.

To learn more about how we handle the personal data of applicants, visit our Employee and Candidate Privacy Policy.

Benefits and Perks:

• Health, Dental & Vision Full premium coverage for you. Partial coverage for dependents.

• Family Formation Up to $300,000 in fertility and family-building support, covering IVF, surrogacy, egg freezing, and adoption.

• Retirement: 401(k) with 6% match and immediate vesting.

• Compensation: Industry-competitive compensation, company bonus, and equity for every employee.

• Gender-Affirming Care : Industry-leading gender-affirming offerings with up to 90% cost coverage, access to Included Health, monthly stipends for HRT, and more.

• Time Off & Rest Flexible vacation policy. Two company-wide rest weeks per year.

• Other Benefits: Monthly stipends for cell phone, internet, wellness, food, and commuting, breakfast/lunch

About Grindr:

Grindr is building the Global Gayborhood in your Pocket. With more than 15 million monthly active users, Grindr has become a fundamental part of the gay community and is charting a path to make the world more free, equal, and just.

As a public company, were moving into the next chapter: becoming an AI-native organization thats redefining whats possible for our community. Were embedding AI into our product and operations, moving with startup speed while operating at scale.

Everything we do is rooted in impact for our users and outcomes for the business. This isnt social work, it’s impact through excellence. Business success is what gives us the power to serve our community and the seat at tables others cant reach. How we work is defined by Grindr Mode, our operating model thats moderately hardcore day-to-day and truly hardcore when it counts. We think like owners, drive real outcomes, create clarity through action, and push each other to go further than we thought possible.

We’re headquartered in West Hollywood with offices in the Bay Area, Chicago, and New York. Our work extends beyond the product through Grindr for Equality, our social impact initiative thats partnered with 100+ community organizations globally to advance safety, health, and human rights for LGBTQ+ people worldwide.

Were profitable, growing, and building a team of smart, driven people who bring different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to the work. Want to build technology at a massive scale that serves millions? Come join us!

Grindr is an equal-opportunity employer.

To learn more about how we handle the personal data of applicants, visit our Employee and Candidate Privacy Policy.