Founding Engineering Manager

Founding Engineering Manager

Full-Time 43200 - 72000 £ / year (est.) Home office possible
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead a dynamic engineering team and shape the future of a cutting-edge SaaS platform.
  • Company: Join a high-velocity, product-driven startup as a founding engineering manager.
  • Benefits: Enjoy remote-first work, flexible hours, competitive pay, and equity participation.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact by building scalable systems and mentoring talented engineers.
  • Qualifications: Experience in technical hiring, system architecture, and cloud-native environments required.
  • Other info: Ideal for hands-on leaders who thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous settings.

The predicted salary is between 43200 - 72000 £ per year.

Join a founding team as the first engineering manager at a high-velocity, product-driven SaaS venture. You will build and lead a distributed engineering team, own core architecture and delivery, and partner closely with product and founding leadership to turn early traction into a reliable, scalable platform.

Role & Responsibilities

  • Hire, mentor and grow the engineering team: build hiring plans, run structured interviews and create onboarding paths for remote-first engineers.
  • Own technical architecture and roadmap tradeoffs: design scalable, secure systems and prioritise technical debt vs. feature delivery.
  • Lead end-to-end delivery: set sprint cadences, define KPIs, remove blockers and ensure high-quality releases using CI/CD best practices.
  • Drive platform reliability and observability: implement monitoring, alerting and incident runbooks to maintain SLAs for customers.
  • Collaborate with product and founders to translate customer feedback into measurable engineering outcomes and product metrics.
  • Define engineering standards and processes: code review practices, testing strategy, deployment automation and documentation culture.

Skills & Qualifications

Must-Have

  • Technical hiring
  • System architecture
  • Kubernetes
  • AWS
  • Python
  • CI/CD

Preferred

  • TypeScript
  • PostgreSQL
  • Serverless frameworks

Qualifications

  • Proven experience as an engineering lead/manager at an early-stage or high-growth product company; demonstrable track record of hiring and scaling teams.
  • Hands-on engineering experience shipping backend services and shaping architecture decisions in cloud-native environments.
  • Right to work in the United Kingdom and ability to work fully remotely within UK time zone expectations.

Benefits & Culture Highlights

  • Remote-first work with flexible hours and a results-oriented culture.
  • Significant ownership and leadership impact as an early founding hire.
  • Competitive compensation package with equity participation to share in long-term upside.

This role is ideal for hands-on engineering leaders who thrive in ambiguity, enjoy hiring and coaching strong engineers, and are motivated to build robust, scalable platforms that deliver measurable customer value. Apply if you want to shape engineering culture and technical direction from day one.

Founding Engineering Manager employer: Mindroiu Serban-Alexandru PFA

Join a pioneering SaaS venture as the Founding Engineering Manager, where you will have the unique opportunity to shape the engineering culture and technical direction from the ground up. Enjoy a remote-first work environment with flexible hours, competitive compensation, and equity participation, all while leading a distributed team to build scalable systems that deliver real customer value. This role is perfect for hands-on leaders eager to make a significant impact in a dynamic and results-oriented culture.
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Contact Detail:

Mindroiu Serban-Alexandru PFA Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Founding Engineering Manager

✨Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry and let them know you're on the hunt for a Founding Engineering Manager role. Personal recommendations can make all the difference, so don’t be shy about asking for introductions.

✨Tip Number 2

Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repository showcasing your past projects and achievements. This is your chance to demonstrate your hands-on engineering experience and technical prowess, which is crucial for this role.

✨Tip Number 3

Prepare for those interviews! Research common questions for engineering managers and practice your responses. Be ready to discuss your experience with hiring, mentoring, and leading teams, as well as your approach to system architecture and delivery.

✨Tip Number 4

Don’t forget to apply through our website! We’re always looking for talented individuals who want to shape engineering culture and technical direction. Your next big opportunity could be just a click away!

We think you need these skills to ace Founding Engineering Manager

Technical Hiring
System Architecture
Kubernetes
AWS
Python
CI/CD
TypeScript
PostgreSQL
Serverless Frameworks
Team Leadership
Agile Methodologies
Code Review Practices
Testing Strategy
Deployment Automation
Documentation Culture

Some tips for your application 🫡

Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV speaks directly to the role of Founding Engineering Manager. Highlight your experience in technical hiring and system architecture, and don’t forget to mention any hands-on engineering work you've done that aligns with our needs.

Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Use your cover letter to tell us why you’re the perfect fit for this role. Share specific examples of how you've built and led teams, and how you’ve tackled challenges in high-growth environments. We want to see your personality shine through!

Showcase Your Technical Skills: In your application, make sure to highlight your expertise in Kubernetes, AWS, and Python. If you have experience with CI/CD practices, definitely include that too! We’re looking for someone who can hit the ground running.

Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity. Plus, it shows us you’re keen on joining our team!

How to prepare for a job interview at Mindroiu Serban-Alexandru PFA

✨Know Your Tech Inside Out

As a Founding Engineering Manager, you'll need to demonstrate your expertise in system architecture and cloud-native environments. Brush up on your knowledge of Kubernetes, AWS, and Python, and be ready to discuss how you've used these technologies in past projects.

✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills

This role involves hiring and mentoring engineers, so be prepared to share specific examples of how you've built and led teams in the past. Talk about your approach to structured interviews and onboarding processes, and how you foster a positive engineering culture.

✨Prepare for Technical Trade-offs

You'll need to own technical architecture and make trade-offs between feature delivery and technical debt. Think about scenarios where you've had to prioritise these aspects and be ready to discuss your decision-making process during the interview.

✨Emphasise Collaboration with Product Teams

Collaboration is key in this role, so be ready to explain how you've worked closely with product teams to translate customer feedback into engineering outcomes. Share examples of how you've defined KPIs and ensured high-quality releases using CI/CD best practices.

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