Engineering Manager — AI-Powered Pod Lead

LightTable AI; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Hybrid work model

Early-stage impact

Work with CTO

Job summary

LightTable AI in Denver is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead one of two engineering pods. You will own people, priorities, and technical decisions while staying hands-on enough to influence code and architecture.

The role expects 15–20 engineers within a year, uses a modern React and Python stack, and moves with AI coding tools to maximize leverage. You will report to the CTO and share leadership with another pod lead, in a startup environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years coding professionally and 3+ years leading a software team.
• Hands-on leadership with accountability for performance and hiring.
• Strong React and Python (FastAPI) experience or comparable full-stack depth.
• Experience with AI coding tools and startup environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead a pod of AI and web engineers day to day: priorities, cadence, unblocking, and shipping on a schedule.
• Own technical decisions inside your feature area and maintain close code involvement.
• Manage performance: give feedback, grow engineers, and uphold a high bar.
• Hire engineers and build scalable interview processes to double the team.
• Help figure out how to build with AI coding tools and judge their usefulness.
• Coordinate with CTO and other pod lead to align architecture and avoid duplicated work.
• Translate technical vision into sprints, scope, and sequencing your team can execute.
• Work with design partners and customers to shape the pod's output.
• Navigate ambiguity as the organization evolves.

Skills

Player-coach

People management

React

Python (FastAPI)

AI tooling

Tools

Claude Code

OpenAI Codex

Job description

LightTable AI in Denver is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead one of two engineering pods. You will own people, priorities, and technical decisions while staying hands-on enough to influence code and architecture.

The role expects 15–20 engineers within a year, uses a modern React and Python stack, and moves with AI coding tools to maximize leverage. You will report to the CTO and share leadership with another pod lead, in a startup environment.