Empirical - Engineering Manager

Job description

IMPORTANT: ONLY CONSIDERING CANDIDATES LOCATED IN LATIN AMERICA. PLEASE DO NOT APPLY IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE OF LATAM. ABOUT EMPIRICAL Empirical empowers early and growth-stage tech companies to create the right products in the right way by providing two pivotal services: Product & Technology Leadership: Our clients entrust critical decisions to our network of top-tier US-based CTOs and CPOs. We provide fractional, project-based, or advisory support, combining highly experienced talent with a flexible approach. Product Development Teams: We provide our clients with high-performing, senior product development talent through a scalable staff augmentation model. We focus on Latin America to find exceptional talent with time zone and cultural compatibility. We're proud to be a people-first company where meaningful, long-lasting human connections come first, across both clients and internal teams. Our foundation is rooted in diversity, empathy, and talent. That's how we help create great products people love. OUR VALUES - Care about people first - Strive to add value always - Lead with integrity - Have fun every step of the way THE OPPORTUNITY We're looking for a full-time Engineering Manager to join Empirical and help lead our distributed contractor network, support our clients as a technical partner, and champion AI-driven innovation across the organization. Unlike traditional Engineering Manager roles tied to a single team or product, this position spans across all our staff augmentation efforts. You'll work at the intersection of client delivery, technical hiring, contractor success, and business development — ensuring that each engineer Empirical places is set up for success and every client has a trusted, strategic technical point of contact. YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES 1. OPERATIONAL & CLIENT SUPPORT - Help optimize team delivery and client engagement across multiple projects - Serve as the technical point of contact for clients post-hiring, joining regular check-ins to track engineering progress, identify new needs, and align on technical expectations - Understand each client's product, stack, roadmap, and delivery context, and help ensure Empirical contractors are set up to contribute effectively - Maintain regular 1:1s or check-ins with contractors assigned to client projects to ensure satisfaction, alignment, and address any challenges - Act as a bridge between contractors and clients, solving for mismatches in expectations or performance, and advocating for growth opportunities when appropriate - Coach and mentor engineers on adopting Gen AI tools into their day-to-day workflows — leading by example and helping the team work smarter, faster, and more effectively through AI 2. SUPPORT TALENT ACQUISITION - Collaborate with our hiring team and clients to define hiring needs and ideal profiles - Lead technical interview strategy and participate in candidate evaluations - Lead and mentor our network of technical interviewers to ensure quality and consistency in evaluations - Leverage AI tools and develop automation to make hiring processes more efficient — from sourcing and screening to assessments and structured feedback - Continually improve our technical hiring processes with data-driven insights and scalable tooling 3. TECHNICAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT - Partner with leadership during new project and client discovery to assess technical fit, scope complexity, and staffing needs - Lead or contribute to the planning, estimation, and proposal process for new opportunity — developing POCs, technical artifacts, and scoping documents that help Empirical win and onboard new clients and projects - Support smooth project onboarding by translating client context into clear technical briefs and ramp-up plans for incoming contractors - Identify opportunities to expand engagements with existing clients based on evolving product and technical needs - Represent Empirical's technical credibility and expertise throughout the sales and onboarding cycle WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - 7+ years of hands-on experience in software engineering - Experience leading teams as Tech Lead or Engineering Manager, including mentoring engineers and supporting their professional growth - Strong expertise in JavaScript, Node, Python, and related frameworks - Proven background in scalable software architecture and cloud infrastructure - Experience managing client relationships and leading technical discovery sessions - Experience designing and leading technical hiring processes, including technical interviews, assessments, and onboarding workflows - Strong written and spoken English communication skills, as all our clients are US-based - Passionate and hands-on experience with Gen AI tools and their real-world application - Track record of speaking at meetups, sharing knowledge, or contributing to tech communities WHAT WE EXPECT FROM YOU - Deep alignment with our values: care for people, act with integrity, and seek to add value in every interaction - A collaborative mindset with the confidence to work independently and make decisions - Empathy and clarity in communication: with clients, engineers, and internal teammates - Comfort navigating ambiguity and shifting priorities across multiple projects - A passion for building strong engineering cultures, not just writing great code - A mindset of thoughtful action, creative problem-solving, and continuous improvement - A sense of curiosity, joy, and ownership in your work — we believe building great teams should also be fun WHAT WE OFFER - Remote and flexible work - Competitive USD compensation - Access to a community of top-tier LATAM engineers and global leaders - Opportunities for paid training and mentorship - Paid referrals program