Engineering Manager - Database Platform

Overview

We are seeking an experienced and visionary Engineering Manager to lead and manage our evolving Database Platform team. This team is undergoing a fundamental transformation from a traditional DBA‑style support function into a product‑oriented platform team focused on automation, scalability, integration, and developer enablement.

N26 has reimagined banking for today’s digital world. Technology and design empower everything we do and it’s how we are building the global banking platform the world loves to use.

We’ve eliminated physical branches, paperwork, and hidden fees for an elegant digital experience and supreme savings. Giving people the power to live and bank their way is what gets us out of bed in the morning and inspires the work that we do.

We are headquartered in Berlin with offices in multiple cities across Europe, including Vienna and Barcelona, and a 1,500‑strong team of more than 80 nationalities.

Responsibilities

• As Engineering Manager, you will play a pivotal role in accelerating this transition, guiding the team through a challenging but high‑potential journey.
• You will be responsible for shaping and executing long‑term technical and organizational strategies that enable decentralization and scalability of database ownership across the company.
• Your leadership will be key to transforming a historically operational team into a high‑impact, autonomous group of engineers who deliver reliable and compliant infrastructure as code, empower development teams, and contribute to the broader platform ecosystem.
• Join us as we redefine what it means to be a database team: from reactive operations to platform enablers.
• Build and grow a high‑performing, cross‑functional team capable of owning complex platform deliveries with minimal supervision.
• Shape the team’s culture by promoting initiative, critical thinking, technical leadership, and shared responsibility.
• Coach and develop engineers to grow their platform, infrastructure, and DevOps skillsets, while raising expectations on ownership and delivery.
• Take a proactive role in performance management, ensuring the team continuously evolves towards autonomy, maturity, and impact.
• Act as a key liaison between Engineering, Product, Security, Compliance, and other stakeholders to represent the team’s roadmap and priorities.
• Define and drive the strategic transition of the team from a centralized DBA service to a modern, product‑oriented platform function.
• Enable development teams to safely and autonomously own their database responsibilities through tooling, guardrails, education, and integration.
• Establish a long‑term roadmap that aligns with product needs, technical feasibility, and sustainable team development.

What You Need to Be Successful

Background

• Proven experience leading high‑impact engineering teams in a Platform, Infrastructure, SRE, or DevOps context, ideally within regulated, complex technical environments.
• Strong track record in transforming teams, developing both skills and mindset to support long‑term strategic goals.

Skills

• Strong leadership in people and performance management, with experience coaching engineers and influencing team culture.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills; able to create alignment across engineering, product, and business.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate long‑term vision into clear plans and team evolution.
• Solid knowledge of cloud and database technologies and the challenges of managing data infrastructure at scale.
• Familiarity with platform engineering principles and practices, including automation, observability, IaC, and secure‑by‑default design.
• Full professional proficiency in English.

Traits

• You lead with clarity and purpose, bringing structure and momentum to complex transformations.
• You are proactive, decisive, and comfortable making hard calls when needed.
• You empower individuals and teams, holding high standards while creating a supportive environment.
• You have a strong sense of accountability and inspire it in others.
• You value long‑term sustainability over short‑term fixes, and seek scalable, systemic solutions.

Benefits

• Accelerate your career growth by joining one of Europe’s most talked‑about disruptors.
• Employee benefits that range from a competitive personal development budget, work‑from‑home budget, discounts to fitness & wellness memberships, language apps, and public transportation.
• Come together with your team in the office for a dedicated day of teamwork each week, plus another day of your choice, and enjoy the flexibility of remote work the rest of the time. Some roles may require additional in‑office presence.
• As an N26 employee you will have access to a Premium subscription on your personal N26 bank account, as well as subscriptions for friends and family members.
• Additional day of annual leave for each year of service.
• A high degree of autonomy and access to cutting‑edge technology.