AI Engineering Manager

Storm2; United States; Remote; USD 350,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

A rapidly scaling AI startup is looking for an AI Engineering Manager to lead multiple squads focused on applied AI and research. This role emphasizes technical leadership over day-to-day coding while requiring a deep understanding of systems architecture and model fine-tuning. Ideal candidates will have experience in AI startups and a proven track record of managing high-performing engineering teams. This position is remote within the United States and offers a competitive compensation and equity package.

Qualifications

• Experience leading AI/ML engineering teams in production environments.
• Hands-on experience with agentic systems and AI agents in production.
• Proven ability to operate distributed teams effectively.

Responsibilities

• Lead and scale three AI squads across applied AI, applied research, and evaluation.
• Own delivery of agentic AI systems running in production at scale.
• Ensure production reliability, scalability, and performance.

Skills

Leading AI/ML engineering teams

Hands-on experience with agentic systems

Model fine-tuning workflows

Strong architectural depth

Operating distributed teams

Running high-performing teams

Job description

AI Engineering Manager - Agentic & Applied AI

Location: United States (Remote)

Compensation: $350-420K base + 15% bonus + meaningful equity

Reports to: CTO

About the Company

We’re working with a rapidly scaling AI startup growing ~10% month-over-month, building production-grade, agentic AI systems. With a Series C on the horizon, they are investing heavily in their core AI platform and multi-agent infrastructure.

This is an opportunity to lead world-class AI teams working on applied AI, applied research, and evaluation systems - building real-world AI agents deployed at scale.

The Role

We’re hiring an AI Engineering Manager to lead three AI-focused squads:

• Applied AI
• Applied Research AI

You will start with 5 direct reports, with expected growth to ~10 engineers over the next 12 months (mid-level and senior ICs).

This is a technical leadership role. You won’t be coding day-to-day, but you must deeply understand architecture, model fine‑tuning, and multi‑agent production systems. You will lead by example, run tight standups, and bring technical legitimacy to a team of very smart engineers.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and scale three AI squads across applied AI, applied research, and evaluation
• Own delivery of agentic AI systems running in production at scale
• Oversee fine‑tuning pipelines, model iteration cycles, and evaluation frameworks
• Guide development of multi‑agent systems
• Ensure production reliability, scalability, and performance
• Drive technical decision‑making across architecture and tooling
• Run disciplined team operations (tight standups, strong execution cadence)

What We’re Looking For

Core Requirements

• Experience leading AI/ML engineering teams in production environments
• Hands‑on experience (recent, last 12–18 months) with:
  • Agentic systems
  • AI agents in production
  • Model fine‑tuning workflows
  • Strong architectural depth - must understand the code even if not coding daily
  • Experience operating distributed teams
  • Proven ability to run high‑performing engineering teams

Ideal Background

• Experience from AI-native companies or strong AI groups
• High-performing AI startups that have shipped agent-based systems

Who This Is For

• A technical AI leader who wants to build, not just research
• Someone who prefers convergence and shipping over academic exploration
• A disciplined operator who can run a tight ship
• Someone excited by hypergrowth and real-world impact