Head of Engineering

Mantle; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 260,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Mantle is seeking a Head of Engineering to shape the technical future of the company, building an engineering team and culture from the ground up. You will write code in early days while hiring, setting direction, and defining how we ship.

You will own architecture for web/mobile apps and the AI core, establish a culture of urgency and ownership, and drive delivery with product and design. This is a rare opportunity to influence a consumer product serving families.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of high-performance software development experience.
• 3+ years leading engineering teams.
• Track record shipping consumer products end-to-end in startup or high-growth environments.
• Strong proficiency with modern full stack technologies (React, Node.js) and AWS cloud infrastructure.
• Hands-on engineering ability and willingness to go deep on any part of the stack.
• Expert in hiring and developing strong technical talent.
• Strong technical judgment, including ability to make good tradeoffs under uncertainty.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow Mantle's engineering team.
• Own architecture and infrastructure for web and mobile apps and the AI agent at the core.
• Establish engineering culture of urgency, ownership, sound judgment and execution.
• Define operating cadence for planning, prioritization, and delivery with product and design.
• Build testing, monitoring, security and privacy practices to protect sensitive data.
• Integrate modern AI coding tools and agents into the development workflow.

Skills

Leadership

Full-stack

React/Node.js

AWS

Hands-on coding

Talent development

Technical judgment

Tools

Cursor

Claude Code

Job description

About Mantle

We’re building an AI agent to help families support their aging parents (origin story here).

Over 40M “sandwich generation” Americans currently manage their parent’s affairs. Keeping mom/dad safe and supported is like a second job: it’s time-consuming, stressful and on top of their already busy lives. We believe that managing our parents’ affairs should feel under control, easier and lower stress.

Co-founded by serial entrepreneur partners including Ted Zagat, who sold his previous businesses to Slack (announcement here) and Google (Zagat restaurant guides).

The Role

We are looking for a Head of Engineering to lead the technical future of Mantle. This is a foundational role for a hands‑on engineering leader who wants to build not just a product, but an engineering team and culture from the ground up. You will work side‑by‑side with the founders to turn an ambitious vision into a consumer product that families trust with some of the most important parts of their lives.

This is a role for a true builder. In the early days, you'll write a meaningful share of the code yourself while also hiring the team, setting the technical direction, and establishing how we ship. It's not just about architecture diagrams; it's about making good tradeoffs under uncertainty, unblocking the team every day, and owning the outcome when something breaks.

What You’ll Build

• Engineering team: Hire, develop and lead a small, high-performance team of engineers across full stack, AI and mobile.

• Technical architecture: Own the architecture and infrastructure for our consumer web and mobile applications and the AI agent at their core.

• Engineering culture: Establish a culture of urgency, ownership, sound judgment and strong execution.

• Operating cadence: Define how engineering plans, prioritizes, communicates and delivers alongside product and design.

• Quality and trust: Build the testing, monitoring, security and privacy practices that let families trust Mantle with sensitive information.

• AI‑native development: Make modern AI coding tools and agents a core part of how the team builds.

What We’re Looking For

Required Experience

• 10+ years of high-performance software development experience, including 3+ years leading engineering teams

• Track record of shipping consumer products end-to-end, from concept to production, in a startup or high-growth environment

• Strong proficiency with modern full stack technologies (e.g. React, Node.js) and cloud infrastructure on AWS

• Hands‑on engineering ability and willingness to go deep on any part of the stack

• Expert in hiring and developing strong technical talent

• Strong technical judgment, including the ability to make good tradeoffs under uncertainty

Ideal Background

• Early‑stage startup experience, ideally having built an engineering function from the ground up

• Experience building both web and mobile applications

• Experience shipping AI-powered or LLM-based products to real users

• Strong product sense and a clear instinct for what matters in a startup

• Has partnered with founders on company priorities, roadmap, and execution

• Nice to have, but not required: experience with FinTech or products handling sensitive personal data

Who Thrives Here

• Builders: You love creating things from scratch and taking full ownership

• Founder-minded: You think like an owner and care deeply about company outcomes, not just engineering outputs

• Product-minded: You prioritize user impact, not just technical elegance

• AI-forward: You embrace modern AI development tools (Cursor, Claude Code, etc.) to move faster and build better

• Strategic and pragmatic: You set direction and make practical decisions quickly

• Autonomous: You thrive with minimal direction and maximum responsibility

• Mission-driven: You care about what we're building

• Great collaborator: You foster great working relationships

What You’ll Get

• Meaningful work: Build a consumer product that will make a real difference in the lives of millions of families, with real technical ownership, fast pace, and huge financial potential

• Founding scope: Shape our engineering strategy, team, and culture from the very beginning

• Partnership with founders: Work closely with Mantle's co‑founders, including involvement in the biggest decisions

• Learning & growth: Opportunity to build a category‑defining company from the ground up

• Real ownership: Your decisions will shape our product, business and culture

• Remote Fridays: Work from home every Friday. Monday through Thursday, we build together in person in San Francisco