Engineering Manager - growing Series A startup - NYC

The Developer Link; New York (NY); On-site; USD 260,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Bonus potential

Job summary

The Developer Link, a fast-growing Series A AI startup in New York City, is hiring its first Engineering Manager as the engineering org scales from 20 to 50+ engineers.

You will manage 6–10 engineers, coaching and owning performance and delivery, while partnering with the CTO on hiring, org design, career ladders, and developing the next generation of engineering leaders; a lightweight process approach is valued.

Qualifications

• 3+ years directly managing engineers
• 5+ years previously as a SWE
• Experience scaling an early-stage startup through hyper-growth
• Technical contribution to architecture/design discussions
• Lightweight process — add it where it helps, bin it where it doesn't
• First EM / founding engineer experience is a plus
• B2B SaaS, fintech or complex/data-heavy product experience is useful

Responsibilities

• Manage ~6–10 engineers, coaching, performance and delivery
• Partner closely with the CTO on hiring, org design, career ladders
• Develop the next generation of engineering leaders
• Maintain a lightweight process that speeds delivery

Skills

People management

SWE experience

System design

Hiring collaboration

Job description

I'm working with a fast-growing Series A AI startup in NYC hiring their first Engineering Manager as they scale the engineering org from 20 → 50+.

Until now, every engineer has reported directly to the CTO, so this isn't a role for someone coming in with a process playbook. They're looking for a technical, player-coach style EM who has helped scale an early-stage engineering team before and knows how to introduce the right amount of structure without slowing everyone down.

You'll initially manage ~6–10 engineers, owning coaching, performance and delivery while partnering closely with the CTO on hiring, org design, career ladders and developing the next generation of engineering leaders.

Looking for:

• 3+ years directly managing engineers + 5+ years previously as a SWE
• Experience scaling an early-stage startup through serious hyper-growth — ideally Series A/B → C/D+
• Strong enough technically to contribute meaningfully to architecture/design discussions
• Someone who can win over strong, opinionated engineers rather than manage through title
• Lightweight approach to process — add it where it helps, bin it where it doesn't
• First EM / founding engineer / early employee experience would be particularly interesting
• B2B SaaS, fintech or complex/data-heavy product experience useful

$260k–$320k + equity + up to 40% bonus