Software Engineering Manager - Auth Team

WHO WE ARE 

At Basis, we empower agencies and brands with cutting-edge software that automates digital media operations. Our all-in-one platform supports seamless planning, reporting, and financial reconciliation across direct, programmatic, search, and social media.

We’re not just building advanced technology; we’re also building a culture where passionate, motivated individuals come together to drive meaningful change. Our commitment to inclusivity and growth ensures our employees thrive both professionally and personally.

With our headquarters in Chicago, we offer flexible work options across the U.S. and Canada, including remote, hybrid, or on-site at headquarters.

ABOUT THE TEAM

Technology is at the core of what we do. The Auth Team at Basis Technologies designs secure, performant, and expressive systems that model programmatic advertising’s complicated real-world organizational hierarchies and resource ownership. The Auth team functions as an enabling platform for all of Basis Engineering; building and owning the authorization primitives, identity infrastructure, and access control policies that every product team depends on. We set the standard for how trust is established and enforced across the platform, for both human users navigating complex agency hierarchies and AI agents operating autonomously within our systems.

WAYS YOU WILL CONTRIBUTE

You will be specializing in technical development of our authentication and authorization platform. Other ways you will contribute:

• Define authorization for our AI-powered agentic workflows and designing how non-human actors authenticate, receive scoped permissions, and operate within the same authorization framework as human users.

•  Evolve our identity layer in Auth0 to improve authentication, token issuance, and identity federation.

   
• Mature and maintain our Relationship-Based Access Control (ReBAC) OpenFGA model, which supports all authorization decisions across our infrastructure.
   
• Drive large-scale technical projects that depend on multiple teams and systems. Establish and champion best practices and quality standards with the team.
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  Set a positive example and mentor others on how to collaborate in pull requests, demos, and working relationships. Contribute to a culture of learning and high standards of technical achievement.
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  Take ownership over team deliverables, decisions, quality, process, and technical direction. Be accountable for driving projects from ideation through production.
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  Demonstrate a deep understanding of our application’s business domain and stakeholder needs. Use your knowledge to proactively identify risks and blockers during planning discussions, architecture discussions, and RFCs. Ensure feasibility and alignment between business goals and technical implementation for large-scale projects.
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  Embody Basis’ core principles while fostering a positive culture within the team. Actively promote Basis in the community.
• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of engineers through regular 1:1s, career development conversations, and ongoing feedback. Support the team in doing their best work.
  
  
• Partner with recruiting to grow the Auth team: define hiring criteria, participate in interviews, and onboard new team members effectively.
  
  
• Own the team’s roadmap and delivery, working with cross-functional stakeholders to prioritize, scope, and sequence work while protecting the team’s ability to move with quality and intent.

• Minimum of 8 years of professional engineering experience, including time in a leadership or management role.
• 3+ years of engineering management experience, including hiring, performance management, and career development for a team of software engineers
• Deep understanding of OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect (token flows, JWKS validation, scopes, audience restrictions, etc).
• Hands-on experience with ReBAC systems (OpenFGA, Zanzibar, SpiceDB), including modeling authorization schemas, writing and testing tuple-based policies, and reasoning about permission evaluation performance.
• Experience with Auth0 or comparable identity providers (Okta, Azure AD, Keycloak).
• Strong proficiency in backend languages such as Java, Ruby, or Python as well as web frameworks such as Spring Boot, Rails, or Django.
• Fluency with AI coding tools (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, etc.) as a core part of the development workflow — for code generation, debugging, exploration of unfamiliar codebases, and documentation — paired with strong judgment for evaluating, refining, and taking full ownership of AI-generated output.
• Thoughtful approach to collaboration, design, and decision-making that prioritizes equity, access, and continuous learning.
• Commitment to creating inclusive, respectful environments where all voices are valued and supported.

Integrity in Hiring

At Basis, integrity is at the core of how we hire. To protect our candidates and our company, we verify identity, education, and employment history for all hires. Some roles may also require onsite or in-person interviews as part of the process. Any misrepresentation of identity, experience, or skills may result in removal from the hiring process or termination of employment. We value transparency and authenticity and expect the same from every applicant.

Anything Else?

Don’t have every skill listed? No problem! We know experience can be built in many ways. If you have relevant skills that aren't reflected in your resume, we encourage you to share them in an optional cover letter.  

Life With Basis

We’re committed to our people’s growth and well-being because our success is tied to theirs. That’s why we’ve earned recognition as a top workplace, including: Ad Age, #1 Best Places to Work, WorkLife's #1 Most Committed to Work Life Balance, and the Chicago Tribune's Top Workplaces in Chicago. We offer competitive perks, including a flexible work week, 401k/RRSP matching, mental health support, paid sabbaticals, generous parental leave, flexible work options, and more.

Basis is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate all team members regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race or cultural background, religion, disability, age, and beyond.

If you need assistance with interview accessibility, please contact talent.acquisition@basis.com. Your privacy is important to us, view our policy here.