--- title: 'Engineering Leader, Platform Engineering at ClassDojo' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-leader-platform-engineering-classdojo-remote-x1h4q6515yz8' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-30' --- # Engineering Leader, Platform Engineering at ClassDojo - **Company:** ClassDojo - **Location:** Remote - **Compensation:** $204k–$280k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** remote - **Posted:** 2026-06-29 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-30 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/ClassDojo/9fd92594-833a-4b70-9c65-897b9042ed0c/application **Skills:** Platform Engineering, Infrastructure, Data Engineering, Developer Experience, AI Tooling, LLM-based tools, Infrastructure platforms, Data platforms, Developer platforms, AI-native workflows > Lead the Platform Engineering organization, managing engineering managers and driving infrastructure, data, developer experience, and AI tooling. Own the technical roadmap, build-vs-buy decisions, and platform practices while mentoring managers and collaborating with cross-functional teams. ## Job description ClassDojo's goal is to give every child on Earth an education they love. We started by building a communication network that connects teachers, children, and families. Today, ClassDojo is used in the vast majority of U.S. schools and reaches tens of millions of children and families globally. We're now expanding beyond communication into building the best possible learning experiences for kids everywhere. We're a small, high-talent-density team with experience from leading technology companies. We value ownership, speed, and thoughtful decision-making, and we aim to create an environment where people can do the best work of their careers. We're hiring an Engineering Leader to own ClassDojo's Platform engineering org end-to-end for infrastructure, data, developer experience, and AI tooling. As the Engineering Lead for Platform, you'll manage the engineering managers across these teams as well as perform the EM role for teams when needed. You’ll work with our product engineering areas as your customers, set platform engineering practices and quality, and make the build-vs-buy and architecture trade-offs that shape how every engineer at ClassDojo ships. This is a manager-of-managers role with real architectural and strategic ownership. You'll have 2 to 4 engineering managers reporting in, and your work multiplies across the entire engineering org. You will be expected to set direction, not just execute on it. ## What You'll Do Lead a multi-team Platform org - Own Platform's company-level objectives and the engineering plan that delivers them. - Translate company priorities and product-engineering needs into a platform roadmap, in a way that flows both up and down. - Be responsible for build-vs-buy and architecture-level trade-offs across infrastructure, data, developer experience, and AI tooling; own the technical roadmap and how it balances against the needs of your customers. - Represent Platform and collaborate with cross-functional leadership partners and in engineering-wide leadership conversations. Develop the engineering managers reporting to you - Coach EMs to a higher bar with clear feedback, growth plans, and direct support. - Drive AI-native development in line with ClassDojo’s engineering practices (flow-based delivery, vertical slicing, WIP discipline, Definition of Done, observability) - Address performance issues early and clearly; develop managers out of "fine" performance into great performance. - Be directive when our values, quality bar, or ways of working are at stake. Run platform towards the long term - Treat the product engineering areas as customers: understand their needs, measure adoption and satisfaction, and prioritize accordingly. - Build paved roads and golden paths that teams want to use; earn adoption rather than mandating it. - Take accountability for SLAs/SLOs and incident response across the platform surface. - Make tech-debt and reliability trade-offs on purpose, not by accident. Drive technical excellence across the platform - Support and drive architecture and systems design decisions across infrastructure, data, DevEx, and AI tooling; ensure systems are reliable, maintainable, and operationally ready. - Make build-vs-buy calls deliberately; avoid both not-invented-here and unmanaged sprawl. Partner cross-functionally - Co-own the platform roadmap and quality bar with the product engineering leads who depend on you. - Partner with Security, Ops, Data, and other functions as the platform requires. - Build pragmatic interim solutions that work today and migrate cleanly as platform capabilities mature. You Will Be a Match If You… - 2+ years managing managers, with direct reports who were themselves people managers. - 10+ years total in technical roles, with a strong individual-contributor era you can still draw on. - Have owned a platform, infrastructure, data, or developer-productivity area and delivered a measurable outcome (throughput, reliability, cost, or operational safety). - Have built or evolved platform engineering practices across multiple teams, not just within one, and earned adoption. - Have hired, developed, and managed engineering managers. - Comfortable making and defending build-vs-buy and architecture-level trade-offs across the platform surface; can still reason about code with taste. - Embrace Candor > Harmony: give the hard message early, comfortable with disagreement. - Use LLM-based tools daily and push your teams to adopt them. - Are an excellent written communicator; can articulate strategy and trade-offs clearly in writing. ## Nice to Have - Experience running infrastructure, data, DevEx, or AI platforms at meaningful scale. - Has built developer platforms that internal engineers genuinely adopted (paved roads, golden paths, internal developer platforms). - Has used AI-native workflows to materially change how a team designs, ships, and operates, and/or has built AI tooling/platform for other engineers (not just personal use). - Experience leading a remote-first, distributed engineering team. - Brings a network of high-quality platform/infrastructure engineering talent. [1] Some more context: (If you are on LinkedIn, you will not be able to access the hyperlinks below. Once you click apply, you will be directed to our career website (if you are not on there already) and will be able to access the hyperlinks) - [How ClassDojo Connects Parents, Students, and Teachers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XBnlzHpXTQ) - “[Whats New on ClassDojo 2023](https://youtu.be/O8Tora5T7O4)” - [TechCrunch Article: Second Act comes with First Profits](https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/26/classdojos-second-act-comes-with-first-profits/) Click [here](https://www.classdojo.com/press/) if you're interested in learning more about what we've been up to. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. In accordance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. We are happy to accommodate any disabilities or special needs. We are a distributed company, so we hire regardless of location, as long as you are willing to have significant hours overlap with one of the Americas time zones. ClassDojo takes a number of factors into consideration when determining compensation, including geographic location, experience, and skillset. Salary ranges (United States): - CA, WA, NY, NJ, CT states: $240,000 to $280,000 (USD) - All other states in the US: $204,000 to $238,000 (USD) #LI-Remote ## About ClassDojo ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: ClassDojo connects K-12 teachers, students, and families through a communication and engagement platform that supports social-emotional learning and classroom community building. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series D) - **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States - **Founded**: 2011 - **Founders**: Sam Chaudhary, Liam Don ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Educational Technology (EdTech), K-12 Communication & Engagement - **Target customers**: B2B (schools, districts, teachers) and B2C (families). Primary users are Pre-K through 8th grade teachers, students, and parents. - **Mission or purpose statement**: "Every kid on earth should get an education they love" and "The world’s best learning experiences will be available to everyone, regardless of zip code or income." [classdojo.com](https://www.classdojo.com/en-gb/about/) ## Products & Services - **ClassDojo Core Platform**: A free, mobile-first communication app for teachers, families, and kids. Features include: - **Messages**: Instant, auto-translated messaging (190+ languages) between teachers and families. - **Stories**: A private, secure feed for teachers to share photos, videos, and updates with families. - **Portfolios**: Digital student portfolios where kids can showcase their work and have a voice. - **Points & Big Ideas**: Tools for teachers to encourage social-emotional learning and positive behavior. - **Teacher Toolkit**: Attendance sheets, timers, and classroom management tools. - **Events**: A shared calendar with automatic reminders. - **ClassDojo for Districts**: A paid, district-wide offering launched to help district leaders build engaged school communities, featuring advanced privacy agreements and scalability. [prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/classdojo-for-districts-launches-inaugural-customer-advisory-board-302247988.html) - **Dojo Tutor**: An online tutoring service connecting students with independent contractors, currently hiring tutors. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/ClassDojo) ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (private company). - **Key Metric**: Total Funding: **$346.2M** across 9 rounds. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/classdojo) - **Annual Revenue**: Estimated at **$16.0M** (as of latest data). [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/classdojo) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Shasta Ventures (led Series A), Tencent (led Series D), Y Combinator (alum of ImagineK12 seed accelerator). [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/classdojo) - **Growth Signals**: - Used by **45+ million students and parents** in **95% of US schools** and **180+ countries**. [classdojo.com](https://www.classdojo.com/) - Headcount of **357 employees**, growing **+20% YoY**. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/classdojo) - **2 million+ reviews** on the platform. [classdojo.com](https://www.classdojo.com/) - Recent executive hires (2025) including a new CFO, CTO, and Chief Creative Officer. [prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/classdojo-names-three-new-executives-to-its-leadership-team-302348494.html) - Earned the **Common Sense Privacy Seal** for data protection in 2025. [prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/classdojo-earns-common-sense-privacy-seal-for-excellence-in-student-data-protection-302379838.html) - 24 active job postings as of mid-2025. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/classdojo) ## Competitive Advantages - **Massive Installed Base & Network Effects**: 95% of US schools (Pre-K through 8th grade) use ClassDojo, creating a powerful network effect where teachers, families, and students are already on the platform. This makes it extremely difficult for competitors to displace. - **Free Core Product**: The base platform is free for teachers forever, driving viral adoption without sales friction. Monetization comes from district-level paid offerings and tutoring. - **Deep Trust & Privacy Focus**: ClassDojo has invested heavily in privacy (earning the Common Sense Privacy Seal) and safety, which is critical for winning over school districts and parents. [classdojo.com](https://www.classdojo.com/en-gb/about/) - **Multi-Lingual & Global Reach**: Automatic translation into 190+ languages makes it uniquely suited for diverse, multilingual school communities. - **Y Combinator / ImagineK12 Heritage**: Strong startup pedigree with a focus on mission-driven, scalable product development. ## Strategic Focus - **District Expansion**: Growing the "ClassDojo for Districts" paid offering to move beyond individual teacher adoption and secure district-wide contracts. [prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/classdojo-unveils-first-ever-district-offering-to-help-district-leaders-build-engaged-school-communities-302079618.html) - **Monetization & Diversification**: Building revenue streams through **Dojo Tutoring** (1:1 online tutoring) and district-level SaaS, while keeping the core communication platform free. - **Product Innovation**: Expanding the platform's capabilities (e.g., Events, Portfolios, Teacher Toolkit) to become the central operating system for classroom communication. - **Global Reach**: Continuing to expand into international markets (already in 180+ countries) with localized features and partnerships. - **Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)**: Deepening the focus on student well-being and character development through Points, Big Ideas, and portfolios. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-Driven Impact**: The company's purpose ("Every kid on earth should get an education they love") is deeply embedded in the culture. Employees regularly cite helping teachers, families, and kids as a primary motivator. [classdojo.com](https://www.classdojo.com/en-gb/about/) - **Strong Engineering & Product Culture**: The company emphasizes principles like **"Failure Recovery > Failure Avoidance"**, **"Continuous Improvement > Continuous Production"**, **"Trust > Control"**, and **"Learning > Certainty"**. They value ownership and collaboration over specialization. [classdojo.com](https://www.classdojo.com/jobs/) - **Human-Centric Values**: The culture prizes **"Humanity > Heroism"** and **"Candor > Harmony"**, with a focus on minimizing interruptions, celebrating downtime, and avoiding micromanagement. [classdojo.com](https://www.classdojo.com/jobs/) - **Remote & Hybrid Flexibility**: While headquartered in San Francisco (with 4 US offices), the company operates in 24 countries and has a distributed workforce. Roles range from fully remote to hybrid/in-office. - **Growth Trajectory**: With 357 employees, 20% YoY headcount growth, and 24 open roles, this is a growth-stage company where employees can have significant ownership and impact. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/classdojo) - **Notable Perks**: Strong emphasis on "living well to work well," with a culture that values results over hours and encourages continuous learning and improvement. - **Talent Pool**: Employees come from top companies like Google, Meta, Airbnb, Khan Academy, and Outschool, indicating a high-caliber team. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/classdojo) ## Sources 1. [classdojo.com](https://www.classdojo.com/) 2. [classdojo.com](https://www.classdojo.com/jobs/) 3. [classdojo.com](https://www.classdojo.com/en-gb/about/) 4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/classdojo) 5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/ClassDojo) 6. [prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/classdojo-for-districts-launches-inaugural-customer-advisory-board-302247988.html) 7. [prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/classdojo-names-three-new-executives-to-its-leadership-team-302348494.html) 8. [prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/classdojo-earns-common-sense-privacy-seal-for-excellence-in-stud _…truncated._ ## Other roles at ClassDojo - [Head of Tutor Strategy & Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-tutor-strategy-operations-classdojo-remote-ab5mqj9w73q9) - [Growth Marketing Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/growth-marketing-lead-classdojo-remote-v9p31a78259g) - [Head of Legal](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-legal-classdojo-remote-2v13069nt551) - [Head of Accounting (Controller)](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-accounting-controller-classdojo-remote-n7dx88ap80m4) - [Senior Recruiting Partner (Contract)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-recruiting-partner-contract-classdojo-remote-8dyz6xsxsy99) - [IT Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/it-lead-classdojo-remote-9t3m4stb2a7t) - [Senior Software Engineer, Developer Experience & AI Platform team](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-developer-experience-ai-platform-team-classdojo-remote-p0v9y0pesv0y) - [Growth Product Lead, Kids](https://feeny.ai/job/growth-product-lead-kids-classdojo-remote-2yc6jvk6cenq) - [Monetization Growth Product Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/monetization-growth-product-manager-classdojo-san-francisco-59tzvdbybnbv) — San Francisco, CA - [Revenue Product Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/revenue-product-lead-classdojo-san-francisco-ey3wc3ajbjdq) — San Francisco, CA