Director of Engineering, Platform
About Fora
Fora is the modern travel agency, redefining what it means to be a travel advisor in today’s world. We’re a next-generation platform that provides a comprehensive, business-in-a-box solution—combining cutting-edge technology, personalized training, a vibrant community, and exclusive industry partnerships—all designed to empower anyone with a passion for travel to turn that passion into a thriving business. Whether you're a travel enthusiast or an experienced professional, Fora equips you with everything needed to launch and scale a successful travel advisory business, making it the ultimate way to align work with your lifestyle.
At the heart of Fora is our mission: to enable 100,000 entrepreneurs to transform their love for travel into a fulfilling full-time or part-time career, offering unparalleled flexibility, autonomy, and support. We believe that everyone, from seasoned travel professionals to first-time entrepreneurs, can build a career that’s both profitable and aligned with their passions.
Our platform combines innovative technology with the human touch, offering:
- Best-in-class training programs to help agents develop expert knowledge, no matter their starting point.
- A powerful suite of tools for booking, client management, and marketing, ensuring agents can focus on delivering exceptional travel experiences.
- Access to an engaged community of fellow advisors, fostering collaboration, support, and shared learning.
- Exclusive partnerships with top travel brands, providing access to competitive rates, perks, and experiences that elevate advisors’ offerings.
Since our founding in 2021 by experienced travel entrepreneurs Henley Vazquez, Jake Peters, and Evan Frank, Fora has experienced rapid growth, expanding to a team of 130+ full-time employees based in downtown New York City. Earlier this year, we announced our $60 million Series B and C investment rounds, led by Thrive Capital and Insight Partners, with participation by previous investors including Forerunner and Heartcore Capital. This funding represents a vote of confidence in the enduring power of entrepreneurship, and secures our ability to build a category-defining travel brand. We have a vision for the future that leverages the best of humans and the best of technology to create the first truly unified platform for all travel needs - from staycation to the safari.
We're proud of the recognition we've received, including:
- LinkedIn’s Top Startups List 2024
- Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies 2025 and 2023
- Built In 2025 Best Places to Work
- And several "top agency" awards from our fantastic partners including Virtuoso, IHG, Four Seasons, and more
Fora is a mission-driven company that believes in the power of entrepreneurship, community, and passion. As we continue to grow, we are looking for more talented and like-minded individuals to join our team - people who are excited about transforming the travel space and helping us scale our vision globally.
About The Role
We’re looking for an experienced Director of DevOps & Infrastructure to lead and scale the foundational systems that power Fora’s platform. In this role, you’ll own the reliability, scalability, and developer experience of our infrastructure — including CI/CD pipelines, cloud architecture, observability systems, and core platform security. You’ll partner closely with Engineering, Product, and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure our systems are fast, secure, and built to scale with our business.
You’ll lead and grow teams of engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, thoughtful collaboration, and high-quality delivery. Our ideal candidate is a mission-aligned leader with a strong track record of building high scale and secure platforms, a deep understanding of devops, data pipelines and distributed systems, and a passion for scaling both products and teams.
Key Responsibilities
- Partner closely with Product and Design leadership to shape the roadmap and ensure engineering priorities are aligned with business goals and user needs.
Lead the technical direction and execution of our infrastructure roadmap, including cloud architecture (e.g. AWS/GCP), CI/CD tooling, IaC, observability, system security, and developer experience. - Oversee end-to-end engineering initiatives, from architectural planning through implementation and delivery, with a focus on delivering scalable, reliable, and high-quality experiences.
- Ensure cohesive system design and platform consistency, partnering with both frontend and backend engineers to deliver seamless, user-centered solutions across the stack.
- Provide technical and strategic leadership across multiple projects, ensuring delivery velocity without compromising system quality or UX standards.
- Mentor and support engineering managers and senior ICs, fostering a strong team culture rooted in accountability, growth, and craftsmanship.
- Drive cross-functional alignment and help unblock teams by clarifying priorities, making tradeoffs, and removing organizational or technical barriers.
Requirements
- 4+ years in a senior engineering leadership role (e.g. Engineering Manager, Tech Lead Manager, or Director), with a track record of scaling systems and teams.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to navigate cross-functional collaboration, articulate technical tradeoffs, and align engineering efforts with business priorities.
- Experience with distributed systems, and modern web technologies ideally in a fast-paced, product-driven environment.
- Strong understanding of testing strategies, quality assurance practices, and system reliability.
- Experience with relational databases and integration patterns across services and third-party platforms.
- A leadership style that emphasizes empathy, transparency, and accountability — and a desire to foster a culture of mentorship, collaboration, learning, and high ownership.
- Entrepreneurial mindset and comfort working in an early- to mid-stage startup environment where ambiguity and pace are part of the fun.
Compensation
Compensation range for this role can vary widely depending on experience, and for this role an indicative range is $200k-$250k + equity. Other benefits include:
- Unlimited vacation
- Health Insurance (including an option completely covered by Fora HQ)
- Dental & Vision Insurance
- Wellhub Memberships
- 401k plan with company match
- Commuter Benefits
- Supplemental Life Insurance
- Stock Options
This role is based in our beautiful New York City office (Tribeca/Fidi) with lots of natural light and great views.
Our Values
We’re forging our own path
Fora has always been about driving change within the industry. We’re not interested in maintaining the status quo.
We’re stronger together
Community is our cornerstone and collective power is our strength. We believe we can all go further when we operate together, using our combined leverage to unlock better opportunities and outcomes for our advisors, partners, and travelers.
We believe in technology
We believe technology is an answer to some of the most fundamental challenges the travel industry faces. We believe advancements in AI, bold investments in our platforms, and a world-class data infrastructure will transform the work of our advisors and our partners, while creating better travel experiences for travelers.
We’re here to serve
We operate in service of our community and believe that when they’re empowered to focus on what they do best, we all win. It’s why we relentlessly advocate for our advisors and prioritize their best interest every step of the way.
We mean business
Fora is equal parts fun, meaningful work and serious travel business. We’re unlocking opportunities for thousands of travel entrepreneurs, delivering a stream of high-quality guests at scale for our partners, and providing a superior travel experience for our travelers. It’s a better equation for the future of our industry.
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WORK AUTHORIZATION
You must have authorization to work in the United States. Fora is unable to assist applicants with obtaining work authorization.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
Fora is committed to an equitable hiring process and an inclusive work environment. BIPOC and traditionally underrepresented candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We will not discriminate and will take action to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or any other characteristic protected by law.
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Fora is a team of entrepreneurs and technologists building travel advisors, creators, and enthusiasts at the center. Its mission is to empower 100,000 travel entrepreneurs, and Fora is doing it by curating the most incredible experiences for trave...
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