Leif Hanack

Leif Hanack

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Engineering Manager | Leadership | Creating Engineering Environments Where Every Member Grows and Impacts Positively
United States

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Résumé


Jobs verified_user 0% verified
  • Lambda
    Engineering Manager
    Lambda
    Feb 2026 - Current (8 months)
  • Handshake
    Engineering Manager
    Handshake
    Aug 2024 - Feb 2026 (1 year 7 months)
    As Engineering Manager at Handshake, I lead the Backend Platform team, focused on modernizing our Rails core, reducing tech debt, improving developer experience, and increasing platform reliability.
    • Led a company-wide initiative to remove expired feature toggles across 10+ product teams, reducing toggles from 335 to 45 and deleting 200k+ lines of dead code through Slack-based visibility tooling and gamified engagement
    • Introduced the Diátaxis framework and integrated AI-assisted tools like Cursor and custom rules to improve documentation clarity, automate content creation, and accelerate onboarding and decision-making
    • Reduced database load by 20% by eliminating dual writes, resolving N+1 queries, and optimizing indexes,
  • D
    Director Platform Technology
    Nov 2021 - Dec 2023 (2 years 2 months)
    Stepping into a landscape where technical alignment and operational learnings were siloed, the mandate was clear yet challenging: foster cross-team synergy and architectural coherence. 🔑 Key Challenges & Accomplishments 🎯 Team Formation & Alignment
    • Built a diverse team by handpicking individuals from various units within the organization, each bringing a unique set of skills and experiences to the table
    • Founded a Tech Board and led an alignment initiative to create a shared vision, objectives, and working methodology, transforming scattered expertise into a cohesive, high-performing team 🖼️ Establishing Broader Context
    • Strategically positioned the Developer Productivity Engineering team and the Tech Board within the
  • H
    Head of Developer Productivity Engineering
    Mar 2021 - Oct 2021 (8 months)
    • Built a distributed team of 20 and delivered engineering products and services with a strong focus on quality and user experience
    • Introduced collaborative scoping and planning processes, boosting accountability and increasing team focus by over 80% in 4 months
    • Fostered a growth mindset and culture of openness, driving a customer-focused productivity foundation that increased deployment velocity by 75% in 6 months
  • S
    Senior Engineering Manager / API Lead
    Feb 2020 - Feb 2021 (1 year 1 month)
    • Secured buy-in from 15 product teams and led a 12-month migration from 7 fragmented API solutions to a unified OAuth-based authentication platform
    • Established company-wide API guidelines and principles, ensuring consistency across customer-facing APIs
  • S
    Senior Engineering Manager / Business Unit Leadership
    Jul 2015 - Jan 2020 (4 years 7 months)
    • Scaled the organization and enterprise SaaS product to match rapid growth, expanding the team from 9 to 35 in 3 years
    • Led the 0-to-1 development of an enterprise-grade SaaS platform and built a remote-first engineering team from the ground up
    • Mentored and coached engineering managers, developers, and product leaders, supporting significant career growth and managing up to 25 direct reports
  • E
    Engineering Manager
    Dec 2006 - Jun 2015 (8 years 7 months)
    Led a startup-style initiative to adapt a German mortgage transaction platform for the Dutch market, earning the 2008 Banking Review Innovation Award. When the project didn’t continue, successfully pivoted the team to develop a CRM for the German market and later launched a consumer loan transaction platform, ultimately establishing a dedicated business unit in 2015.
  • T-Systems International
    Full Stack Engineer
    T-Systems International
    Jun 1999 - Nov 2006 (7 years 6 months)
    Delivered key projects in the automotive sector, including a user-centric car configurator for DaimlerChrysler, a customer engagement platform for AMG, and a car insurance calculator. These initiatives enhanced user experience and streamlined digital processes across multiple domains.
Education verified_user 0% verified
  • Stanford Continuing Studies
    A Crash Course In AI
    Stanford Continuing Studies
    Jan 2023 - Current (3 years 9 months)
  • Technische Universität Berlin
    master, Master of Science - MS, Computer Science
    Technische Universität Berlin
    Jan 1995 - Jan 1999 (4 years 1 month)
  • Technische Universität Berlin
    bachelor, Bachelor of Science - BS, Computer Science
    Technische Universität Berlin
    Jan 1992 - Jan 1994 (2 years 1 month)
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