Carson is transforming the way apartment buildings operate. We partner with owners and operators to replace outdated, fragmented systems with a single, modern platform that actually works in the real world. We’ve deployed our technology across hundreds of buildings — and we’re only getting started.
As we enter our next phase of private equity-backed growth, we’re looking for someone entrepreneurial, hungry to build, and eager to dive deep into the PropTech space. This is a hands-on role for someone who thrives on challenges, moves fast, and wants to make an outsized impact alongside a small, high-performing team that’s reshaping the multifamily industry.
Role Overview
The Director of Software Engineering serves as the technical leader for Carson’s multi-tenant SaaS platform that powers physical access control and building operations across residential real estate portfolios. This role owns platform architecture, engineering execution, security posture, vendor integrations, and technical strategy while operating as a core member of the executive leadership team.
The Director partners closely with Product, Operations, and Executive stakeholders to translate business objectives into scalable, secure, and reliable systems spanning backend services, web applications, mobile platforms, cloud infrastructure, and hardware integrations.
We're looking for a technical leader who can still get their hands dirty. You've managed distributed teams and know that protecting your team's time and morale is just as important as shipping features. You're excited by PropTech—the idea that your code impacts how people access their homes, receive deliveries, and interact with their buildings. And you're ready to lead a team that makes that happen every single day.
Key Responsibilities
- Engineering Leadership & Strategy
- Define and execute long-term technical strategy and architectural direction for Carson’s platform.
- Serve as the sole technical leader within the company and a core participant in executive decision-making.
- Partner with Product and Operations leadership to shape roadmaps, quarterly priorities, and delivery plans.
- Ensure engineering readiness for acquisitions, audits, and strategic partnerships.
- Platform Ownership
- Own the design, development, and reliability of Carson’s multi-tenant SaaS platform across API, web, iOS, and Android applications.
- Establish standards for system scalability, resiliency, observability, and uptime.
- Govern technical architecture for mission-critical access-control and building-automation workflows.
- Security, Risk & Compliance
- Own Carson’s security posture, incident-response frameworks, and long-term risk mitigation programs.
- Direct credential management, secrets rotation, vulnerability remediation, and infrastructure hardening practices.
- Establish processes for vendor security reviews, certification programs, and compliance readiness.
- Implement logging, monitoring, and audit controls across production systems.
- Vendor Integrations & Ecosystem
- Own Carson’s third-party integration strategy across access-control providers, telecom platforms, and infrastructure services.
- Define authentication models, SSO approaches, and API governance for external partners.
- Lead vendor onboarding, certification processes, and rollout coordination with property operations teams.
- Serve as executive technical point of contact for strategic technology partners.
- Engineering Operations & Team Leadership
- Build, manage, and mentor distributed engineering teams across multiple time zones.
- Establish engineering processes including sprint planning, backlog management, QA standards, release management, and incident escalation.
- Define documentation practices, PRD collaboration models, and cross-team delivery rituals.
- Own hiring plans, team structure, performance management, and career development for engineers.
- Product Delivery & Execution
- Translate business needs into technical initiatives and engineering epics.
- Partner with Product Management to refine requirements, UX flows, and acceptance criteria.
- Ensure predictable delivery across multiple product areas including device telemetry, dashboards, permission models, and amenity systems.
- Balance new feature development with technical-debt reduction and platform modernization.
- Infrastructure & Cloud
- Own cloud architecture, deployment pipelines, environment management, and disaster-recovery strategies.
- Direct reliability engineering, monitoring systems, and cost-management practices.
- Drive modernization of legacy systems and long-term platform scalability.
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Act as the primary technical escalation point for Operations, Sales, Customer Success, and Executive teams.
- Communicate technical tradeoffs and system risks in business terms to non-technical stakeholders.
- Lead incident communications and recovery coordination across departments.
Scope & Authority
- Executive ownership of Carson’s engineering function and technical direction.
- The final decision-maker on platform architecture, vendor integrations, and security strategy.
- Accountable for reliability and safety of a physical-access-control system used in live residential environments.
- Responsible for delivery across backend services, mobile apps, cloud systems, and hardware ecosystems.
Qualifications & Expertise
- Senior leadership experience in SaaS or platform engineering.
- Expertise in distributed systems, cloud infrastructure (AWS), and multi-tenant architectures.
- Strong background in security operations, authentication systems, and compliance programs.
- Experience integrating third-party vendors and hardware platforms.
- Proven ability to build and scale engineering teams.
- Strong cross-functional communication and executive-level stakeholder management skills.
Why You’ll Love Working at Carson
- Join a tight-knit, inclusive team that’s smart, grounded, and genuinely excited to hear your ideas (and act on them)
- A hands-on learning experience where you’ll gain deep exposure to software, hardware, and next-gen security solutions shaping the real estate industry
- Build real relationships with influential leaders across multifamily real estate and security
- Meaningful equity — you’re helping build this, not just working here
- Unlimited PTO (we trust adults to manage their time)
- Enjoy a hybrid work setup with in-office time at our Union Square office, in the heart of NYC
- Commuter benefits to make getting to the office easier
- 401(k) matching
Compensation Range
Carson is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
To apply, please email careers@carson.live with your resume/CV
