Engineering Manager

Harmattan AI; Paris; On-site; EUR 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Harmattan AI in Paris seeks three Engineering Managers for its R&D division to scale the engineering culture and standardize global processes. You will report to the CTO and lead high-performing teams rather than coding, focusing on growth, mentorship, and process improvements.

These roles demand a strong engineering background, a Y-shaped career path into management, and a track record of elevating others while maintaining high standards across diverse teams.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a senior-level management role leading engineering teams.
• Strong ability to mentor, coach and develop engineers across disciplines.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence up and down the organization.

Responsibilities

• Act as a dedicated manager for engineers, overseeing career growth, training, and performance review systems.
• Contribute to organizational structure by reorganizing modules and aligning with company vision.
• Establish and refine work processes across software and electrical engineering teams to ensure high-quality output.
• Manage internal tooling demands and make build vs. buy decisions to optimize engineering environments.
• Lead recruitment to attract and hire high-caliber engineering talent.
• Collaborate with Module Leads, HR, and CTO to maintain a transversal view of organizational needs.

Skills

People management

Leadership

Communication

Education

Engineering degree

Job description

About Us

Harmattan AI is a next-generation defense prime building autonomous and scalable defense systems. Following the close of a $200M Series B, valuing the company at $1.4 billion, we are expanding our teams and capabilities to deliver mission-critical systems to allied forces. Our work is guided by clear values: building technologies with real-world impact, pursuing excellence in everything we do, setting ambitious goals, and taking on the hardest technical challenges. We operate in a demanding environment where rigor, ownership, and execution are expected.

About The Role

We are looking for three Engineering Managers to join our R&D division in Paris to "engineer the engineering machine". This is a dedicated people management role, not an Individual Contributor (IC) position, designed for leaders who find greater satisfaction in building high-performing teams than in personal technical accomplishments. Reporting directly to our CTO, you will be responsible for scaling our engineering culture, standardising global processes, and relieving leadership pressure as we enter a phase of rapid growth.

Responsibilities

• People Management & Mentorship: Act as a dedicated manager for engineers, overseeing career growth, training, and performance review system
• Organisational Strategy: Contribute to the organizational structure by reorganizing modules and initiating changes when necessary to align with the company vision
• Process Standardisation: Establish and refine work processes across software and electrical engineering teams to ensure high-quality output without sacrificing execution speed
• Tooling Oversight: Manage internal tooling demands, making strategic "build vs. buy" decisions to ensure engineers have the most efficient environment possible
• Recruitment Leadership: Build and own the recruitment process to attract and hire "high-bar" talent
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Module Leads, HR, and the CTO to ensure a transverse view of the organisation's needs

Candidate Requirements

• Educational Background: A strong academic record in an Engineering discipline
• Technical Foundation: A "Y-shaped" career background with a solid foundation in engineering (IC/Eng) before transitioning into a dedicated management path
• Proven Leadership: Experience in a senior-level role with a track record of elevating others and growing high-performing engineering teams
• Soft Skills & Communication: Exceptional social and communication skills, with the ability to manage both up and down and lead diverse principals
• Ownership & Vision: A proactive mindset characterized by high ownership; you are expected to contribute ideas to the vision, not just execute tasks
• Adaptability: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, maintaining a high bar for excellence while standardizing processes across different engineering cultures

We look forward to hearing how you can help shape the future of autonomous defense systems at Harmattan AI.