Engineering Manager II, Agent Runtime

Box; Redwood City (CA); Hybrid; USD 210,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Box is seeking an engineering leader to run its agent runtime platform. You will oversee a mixed team of software and ML engineers, drive architecture, and coordinate with multiple product organizations to deploy AI agents at scale.

You will define evaluation frameworks, lead incident response, and contribute code when needed, working in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment with visibility to VP-level stakeholders. Box offers equity and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software or ML engineering experience with strong technical fundamentals.
• 2+ years of engineering management experience leading hybrid teams.
• Hands-on experience with AI agents or LLM-based systems and agent architectures.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with product and engineering leaders.
• Familiarity with LangGraph or agent harness frameworks is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a six-person hybrid team of software and ML engineers building and operating Box’s agent runtime platform.
• Own onboarding of internal tenant teams onto the agent runtime and support agent deployments.
• Drive the technical architecture of the agent runtime service, including the context retrieval layer.
• Define evaluation frameworks and drive data-driven improvements to agent quality.
• Manage on-call rotation and incident response, driving improvements to minimize disruptions.
• Present weekly plans and progress to VP‑level leadership and other stakeholders.
• Contribute to technical solutions, including code, as a player-coach.

Skills

Software/ML engineering

Engineering management

AI agents / LLM-based systems

Distributed systems

Cross-functional collaboration

Agent architectures (ReAct/Planner)

Code contribution as leader

Tools

LangGraph

Dspy

AutoGen

Job description

Box (NYSE:BOX) is the leader in Intelligent Content Management. Our platform enables organizations to fuel collaboration, manage the entire content lifecycle, secure critical content, and transform business workflows with enterprise AI. We help companies thrive in the new AI-first era of business. Founded in 2005, Box simplifies work for leading global organizations, including JLL, Morgan Stanley, and Nationwide. Box is headquartered in Redwood City, CA, with offices across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

By joining Box, you will have the unique opportunity to continue driving our platform forward. Content powers how we work. It’s the billions of files and information flowing across teams, departments, and key business processes every single day: contracts, invoices, employee records, financials, product specs, marketing assets, and more. Our mission is to bring intelligence to the world of content management and empower our customers to completely transform workflows across their organizations. With the combination of AI and enterprise content, the opportunity has never been greater to transform how the world works together and at Box you will be on the front lines of this massive shift.

WHY BOX NEEDS YOU

Box is building the infrastructure that powers AI agents across our entire product ecosystem — and we need a hands‑on engineering leader to run it. The Agent Runtime team is a platform team at the heart of Box’s AI‑first strategy. You will own the runtime engine that enables every Box product team to deploy and operate AI agents at scale, supporting tenants like Box Notes, Canvas, Automate, and Workflows. This is not a team that ships features in isolation — it is the foundation that makes Box’s agent‑powered products possible.

You will lead a tight‑knit team of six engineers (a hybrid of software engineers and ML engineers), work cross‑functionally with product and engineering leaders across the company, and present weekly progress directly to VP‑level stakeholders. If you are energized by fast‑moving, ambiguous environments where the work you do has immediate and visible impact on the business, this is the role for you.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Lead and grow a six‑person hybrid team of software engineers and ML engineers building and operating Box’s agent runtime platform.
• Own the onboarding of internal tenant teams onto the agent runtime, partnering closely with PMs and engineering managers across multiple product organizations to support their agent deployments.
• Drive the technical architecture of the agent runtime service, including the context retrieval layer, ensuring reliability, scalability, and quality.
• Champion an eval‑driven development culture — define evaluation frameworks, run agent quality assessments, and use data to guide the team’s technical direction.
• Manage and coordinate the team’s on‑call rotation to ensure timely and effective incident response, actively participate in escalated on‑call incidents to provide leadership and support, and drive improvements by addressing recurring issues to minimize disruptions and deliver an enterprise grade platform.
• Present weekly plans, progress, and demos to VP‑level leadership, maintaining high visibility and accountability for the team’s execution.
• Contribute directly to technical solutions — including code — when the team needs it, modeling the player‑coach approach that defines this team’s culture.

WHO YOU ARE

We are an AI‑first company. This means you approach your work with a growth mindset and find ways to leverage AI to help make faster, smarter decisions that will 10X your impact at Box.

• You bring 7+ years of software or ML engineering experience and have maintained strong technical fundamentals — you are comfortable with distributed systems, ML systems, and can roll up your sleeves and contribute code when the team needs it.
• You have 2+ years of engineering management experience leading hybrid teams of software engineers and ML engineers, and you lead from the front rather than from a distance.
• You have hands‑on experience with AI agents or LLM‑based systems — you can speak fluently about agent architectures (ReAct, planner‑based, or similar), evaluation methodologies (recall, precision, NDCG, LLM‑as‑judge), and the real‑world challenges of deploying customer‑facing agents in production at scale
• You thrive in ambiguous, fast‑moving environments where priorities shift with the industry — you adapt quickly, keep the team focused, and deliver customer value even when the plan changes.
• You are a natural cross‑functional collaborator who has worked with multiple teams outside your own org — partnering with product managers and engineering leaders across different organizations is where you do some of your best work.
• Familiarity with LangGraph or other agent harness frameworks (e.g., Dspy, AutoGen) is a plus, though equivalent experience with other agent architectures is equally valued.

Box lives its values, with community and in‑person collaboration being a core part of our culture. Boxers are expected to work from their assigned office a minimum of 3 days per week. Your Recruiter will share more about how we work and company culture during the hiring process.

At Box, we believe unique and diverse experiences benefit our culture, our products, our customers, our company, and our world. We aim to recruit a passionate, high‑performing workforce that reflects the world we live in.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, and any other protected ground of discrimination under applicable human rights legislation. Box strives to respect the dignity and independence of people with disabilities and is committed to giving them the same opportunity to succeed as all other employees. Inclusiveness is core to our culture at Box, and we strive to ensure you get the most from your interview experience.

Box makes reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please complete this form. Reasonable accommodations may include scheduling adjustments, document dictation and beyond.

Notice to applicants in Los Angeles: Box, Inc and its related branches will consider for employment, qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the Los Angeles Fair Chair Ordinance. The Fair Chance Ordinance is provided here.

Notice to applicants in San Francisco: Box, Inc and its related branches will consider for employment, qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the San Francisco Fair Chair Ordinance. The Fair Chance Ordinance is provided here.

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Box is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. Actual base salary (or OTE if commissionable role) is dependent upon factors such as: knowledge, skill level, experience, and work location. This role is also eligible for equity and benefits. For more information, check out our benefits and perks.