If you’re an experienced Rails engineer searching for a high-ownership, high-impact remote engineering leadership role, Circle is hiring a Lead Engineer (Rails/React) to help scale the core engine that powers millions of users across creator communities worldwide. This is one of the most influential roles in the company’s technical organization — ideal for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments and wants their work to matter at scale.
About Circle (Full Company Overview)
Circle is a global, all-in-one platform that empowers creators, educators, coaches, and businesses to build thriving online communities — combining discussions, livestreams, events, chat, courses, and payments under their own brand.
Key Facts About Circle
- Fully remote team of 200+ people across 30+ countries
- Async-first culture with heavy emphasis on autonomy, documentation, and high output
- No hour-tracking — performance and outcomes matter more than time spent
- Twice-yearly international company retreats in destinations like Turkey, Italy, Portugal, Mexico, Thailand, Colombia, and more
- U.S.-benchmarked pay globally, ensuring competitive compensation no matter your location
Circle attracts people who want freedom paired with accountability, not a slow, bureaucratic environment.
Role Overview: Lead Engineer (Rails/React)
Circle’s CMS engineering team owns the most user-facing areas of the product:
Discussions, Courses, Home Feed, Digests, Search, and the new Website Builder.
The company is building a powerful, next-generation website builder used by millions of people across thousands of communities. This role is responsible for scaling the backend systems behind it and shaping the technical direction of one of Circle’s most strategic product areas.
This isn’t a maintenance role — it’s a high-leverage, architecture-heavy leadership role with direct influence over what gets built and how it gets built.
What You’ll Do (Core Responsibilities)
Backend & Architecture Leadership
- Lead the development of high-scale backend systems powering the website builder
- Own end-to-end technical execution — planning → development → delivery
- Ship high-quality, thoughtful code while balancing speed with long-term stability
- Implement performance optimizations where even milliseconds matter
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner closely with founders, designers, product, and engineering leadership
- Engage stakeholders to align on priorities and technical direction
- Influence product architecture, roadmap decisions, and foundational design choices
Team Leadership
- Mentor, develop, and support a globally distributed engineering team
- Lead with clarity in an async-first environment
- Set engineering standards and lead code quality initiatives
Product Experimentation & Data
- Design and evaluate A/B tests
- Use data to validate changes and inform product improvements
What You Need to Succeed (Requirements)
Core Technical Requirements
- 8+ years full-stack or backend-heavy experience
- Deep expertise with Ruby on Rails, Sidekiq, Kafka, Postgres
- Proven ability to build high-performance, scalable applications
- Strong architectural instincts and the ability to make long-term trade-offs
Leadership & Communication
- 3+ years leading or mentoring engineers
- Clear, confident communication across technical and non-technical groups
- Ability to drive execution independently without micromanagement
Work Style Fit
- C2 English proficiency
- Thrives in remote, async environments
- High-ownership mindset; proactive problem-solver
- Strong alignment with Circle’s values
Bonus Points
- Prior work with founders or product leads on early product strategy
- Familiarity with React (not required, but helpful)
- Experience building CMS / page builders
- Using AI tools to improve development workflows
- Founder or entrepreneurial background
Compensation & Benefits
Salary Range:
$160,000 – $170,000 USD per year
Additional compensation:
- Startup equity
- Annual compensation review
- Bonus potential for applicable roles
Benefits
- Fully remote — work from anywhere
- 35 days PTO per year
- Paid sabbatical after 5 years
- 100% covered medical insurance for you + family (or reimbursement where applicable)
- Parental leave
- Home office stipend
- Annual learning & development stipend
- Two fully paid company retreats each year
Circle uses U.S. compensation benchmarks globally — a significant competitive advantage for international applicants.
Work Environment & Culture (What You’re Really Signing Up For)
Circle isn’t a traditional corporate environment. Expect:
- High autonomy
- High expectations
- Clear documentation
- Minimal meetings
- Fast iteration cycles
- Strategic decision-making with meaningful ownership
If you want slow processes, tight supervision, or repetitive work, this isn’t the role for you.
If you want impact, speed, influence, and autonomy, you’ll fit perfectly.
Career Growth Opportunities
Your career trajectory here could include:
- Leading larger engineering groups
- Owning additional product areas
- Advancing into architecture leadership roles
- Increasing influence over company-wide technical decisions
Circle rewards people who take initiative, deliver great work, and help raise the bar.
Application Process (What to Expect)
- Online application review
- Recruiter or talent team call
- Technical interviews
- Practical or code-focused assessment
- Final conversations with engineering leadership
- Offer
Accommodations are available throughout the process.
Apply Now
Apply Now — Lead Engineer (Rails/React) at Circle
Official Links
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Circle actively hires across underserved regions and backgrounds, offering U.S.-benchmarked compensation globally. Their mission is to help exceptional people around the world do the best work of their lives — regardless of location, identity, or background.
They are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate based on any protected characteristic.
Candidate Data & Privacy Compliance
Circle complies with GDPR and CCPA regarding applicant data.
They collect your:
- Contact info
- Employment history
- Education details
- References
- Any information you share voluntarily
Data is used solely for evaluating your application and communicating during the hiring process. You can request access or deletion of your data per GDPR/CCPA guidelines.