Platform Engineering Manager

The Mission: Platform as a Product Your mission is to bridge the gap between "infrastructure" and "developer success". You will transform our platform from a set of tools and processes into a cohesive internal product. You will lead a team of engineers through a period of growth and establish a "paved road" that allows our product teams to ship with zero friction. The Impact: Driving High-Velocity Delivery You aren't inheriting a fixed roadmap or team, you are shaping it! Working together with our Staff Engineer, you will define what good looks like and how to become a high performing team. You will oversee delivery timelines, scope and are not afraid of making highly impactful decisions. You don’t care about the ticket throughput, you care about work done. • Ambiguity: You are not afraid of working with ambiguous requirements and turning them into concrete deliverables. You are comfortable making trade-off decisions and understand that “perfect is the enemy of done”. • Team Evolution: You act as a coach and a talent magnet. You will be responsible for the growth, performance, and structure of the Platform unit, ensuring we have a vocal, collaborative, and high-performing culture through continuous learning. • Raise the Bar: You drive Platform excellence, may it be developer experience, infrastructure or SRE. Communication: You communicate regularly with the other Engineering Managers, manage their expectations and hold them accountable for delivery dependencies. The Profile: The Practical Strategist We are looking for a leader who builds high-performing teams. Whether your background is in Platform, Backend, or Data Engineering, you are someone who thrives on solving "the hard stuff", is motivated to educate themself and never leaves a job 80% finished. This is your chance to shape a Platform Domain from the ground up. • High Agency: You don't wait for permission to fix a glaring problem. You build the business case, get the buy-in, and get it done. • Execution-Focused: You have a track record of taking complex initiatives across the finish line. You understand that "80% done" is often where the most critical technical debt lives, and you have the discipline to drive projects to true 100% completion. • Strong opinions, weakly held: You have strong opinions on how things should be done, but you are Okay to disagree and commit in order to move forward. About Blacklane Our mission is simple but powerful: to become the world’s leading premium, global chauffeur service. Operating in 50+ countries, we reimagine chauffeur-driven rides by prioritizing reliability, innovation, and first-class service at every step. Blacklane is also at the forefront of sustainable mobility efforts, continuously working to reduce our operational impact on the planet. Our Company Culture & Values Blacklane has grown from a two-person startup in Berlin to a global team of over 300 people representing 54+ nationalities. Our culture is powered by our commitment to three core values: Care, Drive and Excellence. • Care - We are invested in each other's well-being and professional growth. • Drive - We act with pace and determination. We are ambitious, committed to a growth mindset, and champion ownership and delivery. • Excellence - We understand our customers so we can exceed expectations. We support our people through initiatives like Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), mentorship programs that bring our values to life. We welcome—and actively support—employees to create or join the communities that are important to them. Why join us in a Blacklane on the fast lane? 💙100% employer-paid health insurance for you and your dependents 🌴 28 vacation days per year, increasing with tenure 🍽️ 60€ / month Glovo budget for meals 💪 Your Mental and Physical Health → No compromise with Nilo and Wellhub 🏡 Monthly home office allowance to support remote work setup 🎓 Continuous learning through LinkedIn learning and L&D budget 🏢 Weekly co‑working space access in Barcelona 🚀 Fair pay and benefits tailored to local markets 🏆 Long-term incentive scheme 🚘 Mystery Rides: Quarterly Voucher to enjoy personal trips around the world with Blacklane and experience our service from a guest’s perspective. At Blacklane, we believe transparency builds trust. Selected candidates will receive salary information for this role before the interview stage, as part of our commitment to fair rewards and a clear, respectful candidate experience. Do you have any questions or want to know more about our way of working? Feel free to contact us. We’re happy to connect! We place great value on equal opportunities. Therefore, we welcome everyone to apply! Blacklane will never ask you to pay money towards any job application. Do not make payment to anyone pretending to be from Blacklane during your recruitment process. If you suspect any scam-relevant activity, please talk to us as soon as possible. We're here to take care of you throughout the recruitment process.