Software Engineer Manager (Artificial Intelligence)

Vestwell; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Wellbeing committee

Paid time off

Learning & development

Hybrid work

401(k) plan

Job summary

Vestwell is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead the AI Engineering organization in Austin. You will balance strong technical leadership with people management to define strategy, execute ambitious roadmaps, and deliver production-grade AI solutions.

You will mentor engineers, establish best practices, and shape the long-term growth of the AI team. You will collaborate with Product, Design, Data, Security, and business stakeholders to build scalable, reliable AI services, including RAG, AI

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or a related technical field.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow an AI software engineering team.
• Define architecture and direction for AI platforms and enterprise apps.
• Partner with Product, Design, Data, Security and business leads to drive strategy and roadmaps.
• Drive delivery with high quality, reliability, and observability across AI services.
• Recruit, mentor and develop engineering talent for scalable AI systems.
• Review architecture and mentor engineers on complex implementations.

Skills

AI leadership

Python production apps

Team leadership

Cloud-native architectures

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering/Physics/Mathematics or related technical field

Tools

LangChain

LangGraph

AWS

Docker

PostgreSQL

GitHub/Jira/Jenkins

Job description

• The Engineering team is seeking an experienced Engineering Manager to lead our AI Engineering organization
• This leader will be responsible for building and scaling the engineering team that delivers AI-powered products and enterprise capabilities
• You will combine strong technical leadership with exceptional people management, partnering closely with Product, Design, Data, and business leaders to define strategy, execute against ambitious roadmaps, and deliver reliable, production-grade AI solutions
• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of AI software engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, ownership, and continuous learning
• Drive engineering execution by establishing priorities, managing delivery, and ensuring predictable, high-quality outcomes
• Define the technical architecture and engineering direction for AI platforms, services, and enterprise applications
• Partner with Product, Design, Data Science, Security, and business stakeholders to translate business objectives into scalable technical solutions
• Architect, build, and oversee the delivery of production-grade AI services with a focus on reliability, scalability, observability, and operational excellence
• Guide the implementation of modern AI capabilities, including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), AI agents, orchestration frameworks, and integrations with leading LLM providers
• Establish engineering best practices for software development, testing, deployment, code quality, and operational support
• Remain technically engaged by reviewing architecture, mentoring engineers, and contributing to key technical decisions and complex implementations when appropriate
• Recruit, coach, and develop engineering talent while helping shape the long-term growth of the AI Engineering organization

Benefits

• Competitive health coverage
• A dedicated Employee Wellbeing Committee
• Generous vacation, safe/sick time, and leave policies
• Strong focus on learning & development
• Hybrid work environment
• A great 401(k) plan!

The ideal candidate has a proven track record of leading high-performing engineering teams while remaining technically credible in modern AI and software engineeringYou know how to balance execution with long-term architecture, mentor engineers, raise the engineering bar, and build systems that scaleYou’re a great fit if you enjoy developing people as much as technology, can navigate ambiguity, and are passionate about delivering AI solutions that create measurable business valueProven experience building, delivering, and operating production software systems at scaleStrong hands-on experience developing production applications in PythonStrong understanding of software engineering best practices, including testing, observability, security, code review, and operational excellenceExperience integrating AI services using leading LLM providers and modern AI frameworks such as LangChain, LangGraph, or similar technologiesBachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or a related technical fieldExperience with relational databases (PostgreSQL preferred) and distributed application architecturesExperience working in Agile development environments using tools such as GitHub, Jira, and Jenkins (or equivalent)Demonstrated ability to recruit, mentor, and develop high-performing engineering teamsExcellent communication and collaboration skills with the ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders8+ years of professional software engineering experience, including at least 3+ years leading engineering teamsDeep understanding of modern AI and machine learning concepts, including large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), AI agents, and model orchestration frameworksExperience designing cloud-native applications using AWS, Docker, and modern deployment and CI/CD practicesExperience leading engineering teams responsible for AI/ML-enabled products or platformsStartup or high-growth company experienceExperience in financial technology or regulated industriesExperience building and scaling AI platforms used across multiple products or business functionsExperience leading engineering organizations through rapid growth or organizational change