Senior AI Engineering Manager in Manchester

Are you ready to shape the future of data? Matillion is the company behind Maia, the AI Data Automation platform. In the AI economy, demand for data is exploding. Manual data engineering can’t keep up. Maia fixes that by combining 15 years of data expertise with agentic AI to eliminate the manual work that slows data teams down. Organisations like Cisco, DocuSign, and Slack are already using it to deliver real business impact, faster. We started in Manchester and now we’re global - with teams across the UK, US and India. We are driven, curious, energetic people who move fast, think big and hold ourselves to a high standard. We’re here to make a dent in the universe bigger than ourselves. And we’re looking for people who want to be part of it.

About the role

Maia is Matillion's AI data automation platform - and this is your opportunity to lead the team at the heart of this platform. This is a cross‑functional engineering team working at the cutting edge of agentic AI, developing and evolving the core services that power Maia. As Senior Engineering Manager for the Maia Core team, you will lead a high‑performing, fast‑paced, high‑conviction group of engineers whose work is central to Matillion's overall strategy. You will have direct exposure to the executive team, and the decisions your team makes will shape the direction of the product and the company. You are an engineering leader, not an individual contributor, but technical credibility is non‑negotiable. You must be able to hold your own in a team operating at the frontier of AI engineering, understand the nuances of building and running agentic harnesses, and have first‑hand experience using agentic AI tools in an engineering context. The right candidate leads teams who work agentically by default, navigating the unique challenges that come with it, and thriving in that environment. Above all, you will inspire, motivate, and coach your team to do career‑defining work - in one of the most exciting engineering domains there is.

What will you be doing?

Engineering management at Matillion is built around three disciplines: People, Service, and Delivery. In this role, you’ll lead across all three within a team operating at the forefront of agentic AI, where the pace is fast, the expectations are high, and the impact is significant.

• People: Your team spans two distinct groups, and your leadership style will need to flex accordingly. At one end are highly experienced engineers who need alignment more than coaching. At the other is a cohort of AI‑native engineers with enormous potential, where your role is to develop engineering craft, shape ways of working, and create opportunities for growth. Beyond your direct reports, you’ll build strong partnerships across Product, Design, Marketing, Customer Support, and Field Engineering. The Maia Core team sits at the heart of the platform, making collaboration a critical part of the role.
• Service: You’ll own the core agentic harness that powers Maia and the services underpinning its capabilities. That means leading incident management, observability, monitoring, alerting, and overall service health - foundational disciplines for an enterprise SaaS platform. We’re looking for someone who can modernise how this is done by embracing AI‑powered approaches that reduce operational overhead while improving reliability and engineering efficiency. You’ll help set the standard for service ownership across Matillion.
• Delivery: You’ll create the conditions for your team to deliver at pace without compromising quality. As Maia continues to evolve rapidly, you’ll continually optimise how the team works, making the most of the latest agentic tooling while keeping customers at the centre of every decision. Given the strategic importance of Maia, you’ll regularly communicate delivery progress and service health directly to executive leadership.

What we’re looking for?

• Agentic‑first leadership experience – You’ve led high‑performing engineering teams operating agentically by default, and understand the challenges this brings beyond traditional team leadership. This is a baseline requirement to succeed in the role.
• Hands‑on familiarity with agentic tooling – You’ve used or explored tools like Claude Code or Codex. This isn’t about being hands‑on day‑to‑day, but about credibility and informed decision‑making around tooling, ways of working, and system design in an AI‑native context.
• Strong SaaS and software engineering fundamentals – You’re comfortable in Java and Python environments, building cloud‑native SaaS systems with a focus on performance, reliability, and privacy. You can reason about architecture and engage confidently in technical discussions.
• Exceptional stakeholder management – This role spans multiple functions, so you’ll build strong relationships across Product, Design, SRE, Security, and beyond, operating as a trusted partner across the organization.
• Comfort with ambiguity and rapid change – You thrive without fixed long‑term roadmaps, shaping high‑level direction into clear execution plans. You adapt quickly, embrace change, and see fast‑moving environments as energizing rather than disruptive.
• Sound decision‑making under pressure – You can translate strategic direction into clear priorities and make confident decisions even when information is incomplete.

Benefits:

• Company Equity
• 30 days holiday + bank holiday
• 5 days paid volunteering leave
• Private Health Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Pension
• Access to mental health support

Matillion is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all of our team. Matillion prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. Matillion does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by law.