---
title: 'Director, Engineering Operations & Strategy at Metropolis'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-engineering-operations-strategy-metropolis-los-angeles-rr513rxwr4sf'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-21'
---

# Director, Engineering Operations & Strategy at Metropolis

- **Company:** Metropolis
- **Location:** Los Angeles, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-10-20
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-21
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/metropolis/jobs/8036057003

## Job description

## Who we are

The real world is the next frontier, and at Metropolis, we are creating the artificial intelligence to make it responsive. We are pioneering the Recognition Economy — a future where mundane repetition disappears and being known unlocks access, comfort, and belonging everywhere you go. From transforming parking into a seamless drive-in, drive-out experience for millions of Members to expanding our intelligence layer across retail and hospitality, we are building a world that feels instinctive and magical. The future isn’t coming; it’s here, and we need builders, innovators, and problem solvers to help us create it.

## Who you are

Metropolis is seeking a Director, Engineering Operations & Strategy to own technology strategy, operational leadership, and strategic problem-solving across our engineering organization. In this role, you will lead with high autonomy, managing a multi-million dollar engineering budget, cutting through deeply complex problems, exhibiting exceptional leadership without authority, and defining simple, scalable solutions to challenging problems at a hyper growth company. You will partner directly with senior leadership to execute M&A due diligence, streamline shared technical processes, and navigate high-stakes operational challenges. The ideal candidate thrives in uncertainty, takes full ownership of outcomes, and brings a unique blend of hands-on technical grounding and high-intensity strategic experience.

## What you'll do

- Own shared processes across the engineering department, including hiring workflows, onboarding, and training, to keep practices consistent as the org scales.
- Cut through deeply complex, multifaceted operational challenges to deliver simple, actionable solutions without waiting for top-down instruction
- Direct and manage a $50M a $100million+ P&L budget, coordinating resources to align with high-level corporate objectives
- Own hardware and service forecasting for critical vendors (AWS, Twilio, and similar), maintaining ongoing visibility into spend trends and flagging risks or opportunities before they become urgent.
- Own emerging strategic decisions for the engineering organization — M&A due diligence, major vendor migrations, and similar high-stakes calls — in close partnership with senior executives.
- Build alignment at the highest levels of leadership, navigating the nuances of multi-stakeholder decisions on multifaceted or high-risk initiatives
- Keep teams unblocked and moving forward rapidly, demonstrating comfort acting with incomplete information as long as directionally correct
- Leverage curiosity and formal methodologies to break down cross-functional silos, challenge status-quo assumptions, and drive cross-team alignment
- Forecast operational trends and deliver strategic recommendations that favor proactive disruption over routine maintenance
- Own all vendor management across the engineering organization, from contract negotiation and renewals to performance accountability and day-to-day vendor relationships.

## What we're looking for

- 6+ years in high-intensity, rigorous environments 2+ years of hands-on working engineering experience in software or similar engineering roles
- A demonstrated history of working relentlessly to get hard things done: someone who runs through walls rather than around them. This intensity often comes from backgrounds like top-tier management consulting, investment banking, or strategic finance, but we care about the trait itself, not the pedigree: what matters is a track record of outworking a problem because you genuinely care about the outcome.
- Proven experience leading a strategic function with significant autonomy, managing resources, and taking full ownership of organizational outcomes
- Exceptional ability to build trust with technical teams and influence without authority
- Experience owning meaningful budget or resource decisions within a high-growth or complex organization, with a bias toward action over waiting for perfect information.
- Track record of operating effectively in fast-moving, high-ambiguity environments, making sound decisions without complete data
- Exceptional ability to synthesize complex operational or technical concepts into clear rationale for senior and C-level stakeholders
- Skilled at translating high-level business goals into concrete plans of execution that account for broad organizational impact
- Proven excellence at leveraging AI tools and frameworks to optimize technology operations, technical evaluations, and cross-functional workflows

While not required, these are a plus:

- MBA from a top-tier business program
- Engineering degree
- Experience in high-growth technology scale-ups or pre-IPO environments
- Direct involvement in M&A tech due diligence, corporate restructuring, or integration strategy
- Experience with modern engineering workflows, cloud platforms (AWS), or AI tooling

-

4 Days in Office: Metropolis values in-person collaboration to drive innovation, strengthen culture, and enhance the Member experience. Our corporate team members hold to our office-first model, which requires employees to be on-site at least four days a week, fostering organic interactions that spark creativity and connection.

When you join Metropolis, you’ll join a team of world-class product leaders and engineers, building an ecosystem of technologies at the intersection of parking, mobility, and real estate. Our goal is to build an inclusive culture where everyone has a voice and the best idea wins. You will play a key role in building and maintaining this culture as our organization grows. The anticipated base salary for this position is $220,000 USD to $260,000 USD annually. The actual base pay offered is determined by a number of variables, including, as appropriate, the applicant's qualifications for the position, years of relevant experience, distinctive skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location of residence and/or place of employment. Base pay is one component of Metropolis’s total compensation package, which usually includes: healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, a lucrative stock option plan, bonus plans, and more. #LI-LR1 #LI-Onsite Metropolis may utilize an automated employment decision tool (AEDT) to assess or evaluate your candidacy for employment or promotion. AEDTs are used to assist in assessing a candidate’s application relative to the required job qualifications and responsibilities listed in the job posting.

As part of this process, Metropolis retains data relevant to your candidacy, including personal information, for a period that is reasonably necessary for the use of the tool. If you are hired for the position, your data may become part of your employee records.

Metropolis Technologies is an equal opportunity employer. We make all hiring decisions based on merit, qualifications, and business needs — without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law.

We are committed to providing a welcoming, accessible hiring experience. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or interview process, please reach out to us at recruiting@metropolis.io.

## About Metropolis

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Metropolis is an artificial intelligence company that uses computer vision to create checkout-free, frictionless payment and access experiences for physical infrastructure, primarily parking.
- **Entity Type**: Private (raised $1.8B in 2023-2024, plus $1.6B in debt financing in 2025)
- **Headquarters**: Santa Monica, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2017
- **Founders**: Founding team established the company in 2017 (individual founder names not prominently featured in primary company materials)

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Smart Mobility, Computer Vision AI, Parking Infrastructure, Real-World Technology
- Target customers: B2B (real estate operators, parking lot owners, property managers), B2C (drivers who park at Metropolis-enabled locations)
- Mission or purpose statement: "We're reimagining how we live our lives by developing artificial intelligence for the real world, creating an intelligence layer that powers frictionless, precognitive, personalized experiences everywhere."

## Products & Services
- **Metropolis Recognition Platform**: An AI-driven, computer vision-based platform that enables checkout-free, drive-in/drive-out parking. The technology recognizes vehicles and members automatically, eliminating the need for tickets, kiosks, or app interaction at entry and exit.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding – $1.8B raised (Series B and later financing in 2023-2024), plus $1.6B in financing in 2025. This was cited as the third-largest AI fundraise in 2023 and the largest venture-backed M&A deal of the year.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not explicitly listed in provided materials, but the scale of fundraising and the take-private acquisition of SP+ indicates backing from major institutional investors.
- **Growth Signals**:
    - Became the largest parking network in North America following the take-private acquisition of SP+ in 2024, with over 4,500 locations.
    - Over 1 million new members added every month.
    - Saved members 212+ million minutes through frictionless parking.
    - Reaches more than 50 million customers.
    - Named to Forbes' list of America's Best Startup Employers.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary Computer Vision Technology**: The company’s primary moat is its industry-leading AI that enables checkout-free, recognition-based access without requiring users to scan, tap, or use an app.
- **Scale as the Largest Parking Operator**: Through the SP+ acquisition, Metropolis now operates the largest parking network in North America, creating an unmatched physical footprint and data advantage.
- **Data Network Effect**: Each parking transaction feeds the AI model, making the platform smarter and more responsive over time across thousands of locations.

## Strategic Focus
- **Expanding the "Recognition Economy"**: Metropolis is focused on building a platform that goes beyond parking to make all real-world infrastructure responsive, personalized, and frictionless.
- **AI-Driven Infrastructure**: The company is developing an "intelligence layer" for physical spaces, aiming to eliminate repetitive, analog tasks in everyday life (e.g., payments, access control).
- **Growth Through M&A**: The acquisition of SP+ was a landmark deal that instantly scaled the network, and the company continues to seek integration and expansion opportunities.

## Why Work Here
- **Office-First Culture**: Metropolis values in-person collaboration. Corporate team members are required to be on-site at least four days a week. Offices are located in Santa Monica (HQ), Austin, Chicago, Nashville, New York, Seattle, and Chennai, India.
- **Best-in-Class Benefits**: The company offers a generous PTO package, paid holidays (with double pay for those working), parental leave, a 4% 401(k) match, subsidized health insurance, wellness benefits, short- and long-term disability coverage, and life insurance.
- **Compensation**: Stock option plan and bonus plans are available for all employees. Example base salary for a Senior Data Engineer in Seattle is listed at $160,000/year (actual base salary is determined by role, experience, and location).
- **Culture**: Three core values drive the company: We are leaders, We are innovators, and We are owners. The culture emphasizes agility, iteration, ownership, and challenging each other with respect.
- **Scale & Impact**: Employees work on a platform used by 50 million people, with massive real-world infrastructure and an AI-first approach. The company is growing rapidly and is described as "product-led" and "transformational."
- **Open Roles**: As of mid-2026, the company has 130 open positions, with significant hiring in Engineering (Cloud Infrastructure, Machine Learning, Software Engineering) and Data Engineering.

## Sources
1. [metropolis.io (Homepage)](https://www.metropolis.io/)
2. [metropolis.io (About/Company)](https://www.metropolis.io/about)
3. [metropolis.io (Careers)](https://www.metropolis.io/careers)
4. [Greenhouse (Metropolis Jobs)](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/metropolis)
5. [Built In (Metropolis Technologies)](https://builtin.com/company/metropolis-technologies)

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