Software Engineering Manager

Spellbook; San Juan de Terranova; On-site; CAD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Group benefits

Mental health support

Holiday closure

Wellness allowance

Stock options

Job summary

Spellbook, the leading AI copilot for transactional lawyers, is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead a small team building AI products for legal professionals inside our platform. This is a technical leadership role with responsibility for product outcomes, engineering quality, and team performance.

You will stay involved in architecture and implementation, prototype with coding agents, and drive efficient delivery through clear direction and pragmatic architectures while expanding the team's

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software development experience with leadership in a fast-moving environment.
• Strong system design and web development skills in JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Node, and AWS.
• Experience leading the development and operation of production software.
• Regular use of coding agents or similar AI tools, with concrete examples of improving development speed or quality.
• Ability to prototype, review code, evaluate technical approaches, and make pragmatic architecture decisions.
• Strong product judgment and a record of turning ambiguous customer problems into focused plans and shipped products.
• Ability to balance near-term delivery with reliability, maintainability, and longer-term technical needs.
• Clear communication and the ability to align engineering, product, and design around decisions and tradeoffs.
• Experience coaching engineers and setting a high standard for performance without adding unnecessary process.

Responsibilities

• Work with product, design, and customer-facing teams to identify important customer problems and decide what to build.
• Develop a strong understanding of how legal professionals use Spellbook through customer conversations, product data, and direct observation.
• Set technical direction for the team, prioritizing work based on customer impact, business value, technical risk, and long-term platform leverage.
• Lead the team through delivery and take responsibility for the quality, reliability, and results of its work.
• Stay hands‑on by prototyping, contributing directly to architecture and implementation, and reviewing critical code and designs.
• Test new ways of working with coding agents and automation. Adopt the practices that improve speed or quality.
• Define practical standards for reviewing, testing, evaluating, and operating software produced by engineers and agents.
• Help engineers improve their technical judgment, product thinking, and ability to use AI effectively.
• Contribute to Spellbook’s engineering strategy as AI changes how we develop software and what small teams can accomplish.

Skills

System design

Web development

JavaScript/TypeScript

React

Node.js

AWS

AI tools

Leadership

Startup experience

Tools

Git

CI/CD

Job description

Spellbook is the most comprehensive AI copilot for transactional lawyers. It works directly inside Microsoft Word to help legal teams draft, review, and negotiate contracts up to 10x faster and with greater precision. Today, more than 4,000 law firms, in-house teams, and solo practitioners rely on Spellbook to simplify their workflows and eliminate the drudgery of everyday contract work.

We are backed by leading investors including Khosla Ventures, Thomson Reuters Ventures, Inovia Capital, The LegalTech Fund, Bling Capital, and Moxxie Ventures. The company recently raised $50 million in Series B funding, led by Keith Rabois at Khosla Ventures, bringing its total funding to more than $80 million.

• This is an existing vacancy

About The Role

We’re looking for an Engineering Manager to lead a small team building AI products for legal professionals. This is a technical leadership role with responsibility for product outcomes, engineering quality, and team performance.

You’ll work closely with product and design, stay involved in architecture and implementation, and help the team make good decisions under uncertainty. You’ll also determine how coding agents and automation should change the way we develop software, based on what improves results in practice.

The role includes managing and developing engineers, but it is not primarily about process or coordination. We’re looking for someone who can increase the team’s output and ambition through clear direction, sound judgment, strong technical work, and effective use of AI.

Responsibilities

• Work with product, design, and customer-facing teams to identify important customer problems and decide what to build.
• Develop a strong understanding of how legal professionals use Spellbook through customer conversations, product data, and direct observation.
• Set technical direction for the team, prioritizing work based on customer impact, business value, technical risk, and long-term platform leverage.
• Lead the team through delivery and take responsibility for the quality, reliability, and results of its work.
• Stay hands‑on by prototyping, contributing directly to architecture and implementation, and reviewing critical code and designs.
• Test new ways of working with coding agents and automation. Adopt the practices that improve speed or quality.
• Define practical standards for reviewing, testing, evaluating, and operating software produced by engineers and agents.
• Help engineers improve their technical judgment, product thinking, and ability to use AI effectively.
• Contribute to Spellbook’s engineering strategy as AI changes how we develop software and what small teams can accomplish.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software development experience, including technical leadership in a startup, scale‑up, or other fast-moving environment.
• Strong system design and web development skills, with experience in JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Node, and AWS.
• Experience leading the development and operation of production software.
• Regular use of coding agents or similar AI tools, with concrete examples of improving development speed or quality.
• Ability to prototype, review code, evaluate technical approaches, and make pragmatic architecture decisions.
• Strong product judgment and a record of turning ambiguous customer problems into focused plans and shipped products.
• Ability to balance near‑term delivery with reliability, maintainability, and longer‑term technical needs.
• Clear communication and the ability to align engineering, product, and design around decisions and tradeoffs.
• Experience coaching engineers and setting a high standard for performance without adding unnecessary process.

NICE TO HAVES

• Experience building LLM-based products, agent workflows, or evaluation systems.
• Familiarity with operating AI systems reliably and securely in production.
• A track record of launching new products at scale.
• Founder experience or another role with broad ownership.

We will only be considering candidates in St. John's for this role. This role is not subject to Ontario's salary range disclosure requirement, as total compensation exceeds the threshold set out in the exemption. We're happy to discuss compensation details directly with candidates as the process progresses.

WHY JOIN SPELLBOOK?

• Embrace autonomy and accountability in a flexible work environment; we focus on outcomes and empower you to determine how to get the job done
• Access our company-paid group benefits for you and your family, with $1,000 towards mental health support
• Disconnect during our holiday closure and take advantage of our generous time off policies throughout the year
• Enjoy monthly paid meals, an annual wellness allowance to support your well-being and parental leave top-ups as your family grows
• Secure your stake in our success; you’ll receive competitive stock option grants as a pivotal early employee

Inclusive Hiring at Spellbook

We are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive candidate experience. Should you require any accommodation whatsoever during the interview process, please inform us without any hesitation. Spellbook is dedicated to ensuring equal treatment and opportunity in all phases of recruitment, selection, and employment, in compliance with employment law. We do not discriminate based on gender, race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other protected category. Spellbook is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, fostering a culture of inclusivity and maintaining a work environment that is free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

Use of Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment

Spellbook uses artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly to support administrative and efficiency-focused aspects of our recruitment process. This includes activities such as drafting job descriptions, generating interview questions, note‑taking and recordings, and supporting sourcing and scheduling workflows. All candidate evaluations, interviews, and hiring decisions are made by members of the Spellbook team. While AI tools may assist with screening and assessment, they do not replace human judgment in selection decisions. Our use of AI is intended to streamline routine tasks, improve consistency, and enhance the overall candidate experience. We are committed to upholding principles of fairness, transparency, and accountability in all hiring activities. Spellbook regularly reviews its recruitment practices to mitigate bias and to ensure alignment with applicable laws and evolving best practices.

Our Compensation Philosophy

Spellbook uses industry benchmark data to establish compensation bands for all roles. The salary range listed for a position reflects the expected total wage range for the role—including base salary and on‑target commissions, where applicable—and may span multiple career levels. Final compensation is determined during the interview process based on factors such as experience, skills, scope, and role level. In addition to base salary and applicable commissions, total rewards may include equity, health and wellness benefits, and other company programs. Full details will be shared during the interview process.