Staff Manager

About Leapfrog

Leapfrog is on a mission to be a role model technology company. Since 2010, we have relentlessly worked on crafting better digital products with our team of superior engineers. We’re a full-stack company specializing in SaaS products and have served over 100 clients with our mastery of emerging technologies.

We’re thinkers and doers, creatives and coders, makers and builders— but most importantly, we are trusted partners with world-class engineers. Hundreds of companies in Boston, Seattle, Silicon Valley, and San Francisco choose us to gain speed, agility, quality, and stability, giving them an edge over their competitors.

About the role
As the Manager of Staff Management, you will lead the strategic staffing initiatives for our engineering teams. You'll oversee the entire staffing lifecycle, from forecasting future skill needs to nurturing individual growth. Your recruitment expertise and understanding of workforce analysis will drive our staffing strategies in alignment with organizational goals. Collaborating with department leads and talent acquisition teams, you'll raise hiring standards and optimize recruitment processes. This role demands strong leadership, interpersonal skills, and the ability to inspire continuous improvement.

• Engineer Mentorship & Career Growth:

  • Be the primary manager and mentor for a team of engineers, conducting regular one-on-one meetings to discuss progress, challenges, and career aspirations.

  • Create and manage personalized growth plans using our Engineering Competency Matrix to provide clear, actionable steps for promotion and skill development.

  • Identify upskilling needs and partner with our L&D team to connect engineers with the right training, courses, or project opportunities.

• Compensation & Performance Management:

  • Lead performance review cycles for your engineers, delivering constructive feedback that helps them improve.

  • Manage compensation and salary negotiations for new hires and during internal review periods, ensuring fair and competitive pay.

  • Proactively address and resolve interpersonal conflicts or performance issues on the team with empathy and clarity.

• Resource & Project Alignment:

  • Understand your engineers' skills and interests to align them with projects where they can have the most impact and grow.

  • Manage team capacity and work with project leads to ensure workloads are balanced and sustainable.

• Hiring & Team Planning:

  • Partner with recruiting to hire new engineers for the team, ensuring we maintain a high standard for talent.

  • Provide input on future skill needs based on your understanding of the team's current capabilities and the company's goals.

• Champion engineering-wide improvements

  • You will be encouraged to lead or contribute to initiatives that enhance our engineering culture, such as improving the onboarding process, refining our career matrix, or organizing mentorship programs.

• Proven experience as a direct people manager for software engineers in a tech environment.

• A solid understanding of modern software development practices and technology stacks (e.g., cloud platforms, backend/frontend languages, databases).

• Hands-on experience with performance reviews and leading salary/compensation negotiations is a must.

• A genuine passion for developing and mentoring people. You find satisfaction in helping others succeed.

• Deep familiarity with career development frameworks or competency matrices for technical roles.

• Excellent communication and negotiation skills, with the ability to have direct, supportive, and sometimes tough conversations.

• Experience in workforce planning and resource management for technical teams.

• (Preferred) A technical background as a software engineer, technical project manager or similar role earlier in your career.