Engineering Manager (Hands-On /Java) - Brazil

Space Inch continues to grow! Following a string of successful hires, we keep on growing our engineering team. We’re looking for a hands-on Engineering Manager to join one of our longest-running and most successful projects. This is a hybrid role where you’ll spend roughly 75%+ of your time coding as a senior Java engineer, while also leading a small engineering team and acting as the primary day-to-day technical point of contact for the client. This is a hybrid role: you’ll spend the majority of your time hands-on in the codebase , while also leading a small engineering team, helping organize delivery, mentoring engineers, and acting as the day-to-day technical point of contact for the client . If you enjoy staying close to the technology while also taking ownership of a team and its relationship with the client, we’d love to hear from you. Our Mission, Vision, and Values At Space Inch , we prioritize alignment with our clients and team, ensuring a deep understanding of their needs. We are committed to delivering exceptional work while supporting the personal and professional growth of our team members. Our Stance on AI and Technology Transitions We don't just "accept" AI; we encourage its usage to enhance productivity and code quality . We’re looking for engineers who are comfortable incorporating AI into their everyday workflow while still applying strong technical judgment knowing how to validate, challenge, and improve AI-generated output. About Working at Space Inch - Our team is around 80 people, primarily based in Croatia, with members across South America, Serbia, and the US; our product team is mostly in the US, with engineering primarily in Croatia and Brazil - We are remote-first, though occasional travel may be required, e.g. for our annual company retreats - We work on end-to-end projects with a long-term vision - We prioritize work-life balance, even with a globally distributed team Requirements - 1–2+ years of hands-on engineering leadership experience , leading a small team while remaining actively involved in the codebase and technical decision-making - 7+ years of professional software development experience - 5+ years of hands-on experience with Java, Spring, and Spring Boot - Strong backend engineering and software architecture fundamentals, with experience building and maintaining production systems and microservices - Strong experience with relational databases, particularly PostgreSQL - Experience with Docker and cloud environments - Familiarity with CI/CD, Kubernetes, and modern cloud infrastructure - Comfortable owning the full software development lifecycle, from design through production - Experience mentoring engineers, providing technical guidance, and supporting their professional growth - Comfortable organizing priorities, tracking delivery, and unblocking a team - Experience communicating directly with clients or external stakeholders - Comfortable discussing technical decisions, delivery, risks, and priorities with non-engineering stakeholders - Familiarity with AI-assisted engineering tools such as Claude, Cursor, or similar, with the ability to validate and improve AI-generated output - Strong ownership and accountability - Fluent professional English , written and spoken - This role is open to candidates currently based in Brazil only. Key Responsibilities Engineering — ~75% - Build and maintain backend applications and microservices using Java, Spring, and Spring Boot - Own technical decisions across architecture and system design - Write production-ready code, participate in code reviews, and maintain engineering quality - Debug and improve performance, reliability, and scalability - Work across databases, cloud infrastructure, CI/CD, and DevOps - Use AI-assisted development tools thoughtfully to improve productivity and code quality Team Leadership & Client Communication — - Coordinate planning, prioritization, de