Engineering Manager (AI-Native Platform) - Remote

First American; Santa Ana (CA); Hybrid; USD 149,000 - 198,000; Full time

Job summary

First American is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead distributed, cloud-native engineering teams building AI-powered software for the real estate industry. You will partner with Product Management, Design, Architecture, and security to translate strategy into outcomes, while developing engineers and driving operational excellence.

The role emphasizes ownership, measurable delivery, and a culture of learning, with a focus on scaling teams, improving velocity and quality, and aligning

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience building production software systems and leading engineering teams
• Experience delivering cloud-native, distributed software
• Strong collaboration with Product Management, Design, Architecture, and cross-functional stakeholders
• Experience coaching engineers through performance, career growth, feedback, and mentorship
• Experience adopting AI-assisted software development tools to accelerate delivery

Responsibilities

• Build high-performing engineering teams and foster an inclusive, safe environment
• Drive reliable delivery with clear priorities and strong execution discipline
• Collaborate with Product, Design, Security, and Business stakeholders to align roadmaps
• Champion AI-native engineering and responsible AI adoption
• Establish operational excellence with reliable, observable, scalable software
• Develop engineering systems for planning, estimation, and release processes
• Provide technical leadership and guide architectural decisions

Skills

Leadership

People management

Cloud-native

Distributed systems

Metrics-driven

AI adoption

Stakeholder management

Communication

Tools

Kubernetes

Terraform

CDK

OpenTelemetry

Grafana

Datadog

Prometheus

GitHub Copilot

Job description

Who We AreJoin a team that puts its People First! Since 1889, First American (NYSE: FAF) has held an unwavering belief in its people. They are passionate about what they do, and we are equally passionate about fostering an environment where all feel welcome, supported, and empowered to be innovative and reach their full potential. Our inclusive, people-first culture has earned our company numerous accolades, including being named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list for eleven consecutive years. We have also earned awards as a best place to work for women, diversity and LGBTQ+ employees, and have been included on more than 50 regional best places to work lists. First American will always strive to be a great place to work, for all. For more information, please visit www.careers.firstam.com.What We DoRemote Work WelcomeBe part of a transformative engineering organization that is shaping how First American builds and delivers world-class AI-native technology products that power the real estate industry.We are looking for an Engineering Manager who thrives at building high-performing engineering teams, creating an environment where engineers can do their best work, and delivering meaningful business outcomes through strong execution, technical leadership, and operational excellence.As an Engineering Manager, you will lead one or more distributed engineering teams responsible for designing, building, and operating modern cloud-native and AI-powered software systems. You'll partner closely with Product Management, Design, Architecture, and fellow Engineering leaders to translate strategy into outcomes while developing engineers, improving engineering effectiveness, and fostering a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous learning.What You'll Do:Build High-Performing Engineering TeamsCreate an inclusive, psychologically safe environment where engineers are empowered to grow, collaborate, and deliver exceptional results.Coach engineers through regular feedback, career development, performance management, and mentoring while raising the overall technical and leadership capability of the team.Build strong hiring pipelines, make thoughtful hiring decisions, and continuously raise the engineering talent bar.Drive Delivery ExcellenceOwn predictable delivery for one or more engineering teams by establishing clear priorities, effective planning mechanisms, and strong execution discipline.Remove obstacles, manage competing priorities, and ensure teams consistently deliver high-quality software aligned with business objectives.Measure team health using engineering and operational metrics, continuously improving velocity, quality, and customer outcomes.Partner Across FunctionsCollaborate closely with Product Management, Design, Architecture, Security, and Business stakeholders to align roadmaps, clarify priorities, and ensure engineering investments deliver measurable customer and business value.Help translate ambiguous business problems into executable engineering plans while balancing technical health with product delivery.Build AI-Native Engineering TeamsChampion the responsible adoption of AI across the software development lifecycle.Ensure engineers effectively leverage AI-assisted development tools such as Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or similar technologies to accelerate software development while maintaining high standards for quality, security, and engineering judgment.Partner with technical leaders to evaluate opportunities for AI-powered products and agentic systems while ensuring appropriate governance, observability, and operational safeguards.Establish Operational ExcellenceBuild engineering systems that enable reliable software delivery through strong operational practices.Ensure teams consistently deliver software that is:- secure- observable- resilient- scalable- maintainableDrive continuous improvements through metrics, postmortems, incident reviews, SLOs, automation, and engineering health initiatives.Champion operational discipline as an everyday engineering practice rather than a reactive activity.Develop Engineering SystemsCreate mechanisms that improve team effectiveness and predictability.This includes:- planning and estimation- sprint and release processes- engineering metrics- on-call readiness- documentation- technical debt management- development workflows- continuous improvementContinuously identify opportunities to simplify processes, reduce friction, and improve engineering productivity.Provide Technical LeadershipGuide technical decision-making without becoming the bottleneck for engineering execution.Review architecture and design proposals, encourage sound engineering tradeoffs, and ensure solutions remain maintainable, scalable, and aligned with organizational standards.Partner with senior and staff engineers to evolve technical direction while empowering engineers to make strong technical decisions independently.What You'll Bring:7+ years of experience building production software systems, including experience leading engineering teamsDemonstrated experience managing software engineers and building high-performing engineering teamsStrong experience delivering cloud-native, distributed software systems in productionExperience establishing engineering processes that improve delivery predictability, software quality, and operational excellenceStrong understanding of modern software architecture, cloud infrastructure, APIs, distributed systems, and software engineering best practicesExperience using business and engineering metrics and operational data to improve team effectiveness and customer outcomesExperience coaching engineers through performance, career growth, feedback, and mentorshipExperience partnering effectively with Product Management, Design, Architecture, and cross-functional stakeholdersStrong understanding of iterative, metrics driven software development and continuous delivery; you live and breathe DORA.Experience adopting AI-assisted software development tools to accelerate delivery of business value.Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence, align stakeholders, and drive decisions across technical and business teamsStrong judgment balancing customer needs, technical health, organizational priorities, and long-term sustainabilityIdeally, You'll Also Have Experience With:AI platforms such as OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic, or DatabricksAI-assisted development tools including Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or similarModern backend development using C# (.NET), Python, Go, Java, TypeScript, or similar technologiesKubernetes and containerized application platformsInfrastructure as Code using Terraform, CDK, or similar technologiesObservability platforms including OpenTelemetry, Grafana, Datadog, Prometheus, or similarEngineering organizations operating in highly regulated industries such as Financial Services, Insurance, or HealthcareLeading geographically distributed engineering teams#ST2Pay Range: $148,600.00 - $198,200.00 AnnuallyThis hiring range is a reasonable estimate of the base pay range for this position at the time of posting. Pay is based on a number of factors which may include job-related knowledge, skills, experience, business requirements and geographic location.** Note that the following statements only apply to candidates who will be working from an unincorporated area within Los Angeles County. **First American will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws (e.g., the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act).First American intends to conduct a review of an applicant’s criminal history in connection with a conditional offer. First American reasonably believes that a criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following material job duties for this position potentially resulting in the withdrawal of the conditional offer of employment: handling of confidential, proprietary or trade secret information belonging to First American or its customers, administrating or facilitating financial transactions, and the ability to meet customer-imposed criminal history requirements.What We OfferBy choice, we don’t simply accept individuality – we embrace it, we support it, and we thrive on it! Our People First culture is inclusive for all employees - not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's the key to our success. We are proud to foster an authentic and inclusive workplace For All. You are free and encouraged to bring your entire, unique self to work. First American is an equal opportunity employer in every sense of the term.Based on eligibility, First American offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401k, PTO/paid sick leave and other great benefits like an employee stock purchase plan.