Software Engineering Manager

Job description

At Halter, we know how much farmers care - for their animals and their pasture.

But the tools they rely on haven’t kept up, and we’re on a mission to change that.

Halter helps farmers make smarter decisions - fast.

We reckon good pasture management is the key to more productive and sustainable farms.

More grass.

Healthier soil.

Happier animals.

And more time back for the people doing the work.

We’re looking for a Software Engineering Manager who builds and elevates their team, drives strong technical solutions, and goes deep on hard, real-world problems.

This isn’t a pure delivery or people role - you’ll be in the work, shaping technical direction, collaborating closely with design and product, and helping your team do the best work of their careers - don’t worry, you’ll also be hands on!

You’ll be leading a team operating in one of our deepest domains - building the systems that help us understand land, pasture, and productivity at scale.

You’ll need to hold the technical bar high while creating the space for others to grow.

We’re solving problems that haven’t been solved before - and you’ll be crucial to helping to figure them out.

You’ll be responsible for both the growth and performance of your team, and the technical decisions they make.

It’s a role that demands absolute ownership - someone who can take a blurry problem, create clarity, and lead a team to nail it! This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who cares deeply about product, leads from the front, and leaves things loads better than they found them.

What you'll do:

• This role is backend-leaning - you’ll be working on systems that power how we model the farm.
  
  
• Lead a team of engineers - frontend and backend - supporting their growth, giving great feedback, and helping them focus on what matters.
  
  
• Own the technical direction and delivery of your team’s work - making sure it’s reliable, maintainable, and impactful.
  
  
• Help define the structure, shape, and scope of our work - and ensure it lands well with farmers and ranchers.
  
  
• Stay close to the technical details - across services, data, and system design - and bring a strong point of view.
  
  
• You'll be backing engineering-led initiatives and getting ahead of scale.
  
  
• You'll look for opportunities to use AI tools and systems to accelerate development, improve decision-making, or unlock entirely new ways of working.
  
  
• Get out on farm.
  
  Deep domain knowledge matters, and you’ll be expected to develop it.
  
  
• Contribute to the broader engineering culture and practices that make Halter a great place to build.
  
  

You'll be great if you:

• Have experience leading engineers directly, including performance, mentoring, and hiring.
  
  
• Think like a product engineer - you care about what we build and the impact it has.
  
  
• Can go deep technically - especially across backend services, systems design, and data pipelines.
  
  
• Know how to balance speed with quality, and can help your team make the right trade-offs.
  
  
• Understand how to shape and structure work without being overly prescriptive.
  
  
• Stay calm under pressure, have a low ego, and can rally a team through tough or complex work.
  
  
• You've worked in fast-moving startups, seen growth, tackled ambiguous problem spaces.
  
  
• Bonus, you’ve worked with hardware/real-world systems and understand the unique constraints of developing experiences for mobile.
  
  

Why Halter?

• Every so often a company comes along that disrupts and transforms an entire industry, leaving society in a better place, and Halter is doing just that.
  
  
• We have a genuine and shared connection to our mission and want to make a real difference in the world.
  
  
• Our product changes the lives of our farmers and ranchers, directly improving their livelihoods and their lifestyle.
  
  Your work matters.
  
  
• Dedicate yourself to solving real-world problems alongside an epic team in a high-growth culture.
  
  
• New ideas are highly encouraged, we’re able to move fast, and our impact is real.
  
  
• Healthy body, healthy mind.
  
  We’re partnered with Southern Cross Health Insurance to support your well-being.
  
  
• We offer 6 months of fully paid parental leave for primary caregivers, 4 weeks of fully paid secondary caregiver leave and many other parental benefits that support you and your family.
  
  
• Our personal growth is important.
  
  Halter offers an annual $1000 self-development budget to be used for anything that fuels personal growth.
  
  
• With Halter not being your standard 9-5, our time to recharge is important; we’re offered wellness leave and unlimited paid annual leave.
  
  
• We offer an inclusive and attractive remuneration package made up of salary, benefits and an employee stock ownership plan (shares).
  
  

$160,000 - $190,000 a year

About Halter

We’re on a mission to enable farmers and ranchers to run their most productive and sustainable operations.

Our customers are using Halter to break free from the time-intensive constraints of conventional farming.

Imagine watching 500 cattle stand up and walk calmly towards their next break, with not a human in sight?

No quad bikes, no dogs, no fences.

Just a group of cattle walking at their own pace.

People say it looks like magic..

It's changing lives and transforming an industry.

People join Halter to do meaningful work.

You’ll be solving challenging problems within a talented team and a culture built for high performance.

Our team out-think, out-work and out-care.

We’re committed to delivering real change in the world - this isn’t easy, and in truth, we love that it’s hard.

We’re backed to deliver on a mission that matters by Tier 1 investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, DCVC, Blackbird, Promus Ventures, Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck and Icehouse Ventures.

To find out more, visit our careers website, LinkedIn & Instagram.

Join our team

Halter is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace - where we can bring our full selves to work and do the best work of our lives.

Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the requirements, women and under-represented groups of candidates tend to only apply when they meet every requirement.

If you think you have what it takes but don’t necessarily tick every requirement on this job description, please still get in touch and apply.

We’d love to chat to see if you’ll be an epic fit!

If this opportunity sounds like you, please apply below by sending through your cover letter explaining why you’re excited about this role and working at Halter, along with your CV, and we’ll be in touch!

Please also feel free to check out the careers page for more information on working at Halter and don't forget to follow us on LinkedIn & Instagram.

Required Skill Profession

Software Architecture & Engineering