Software Engineering Manager, Public Sector

Scale AI's Public Sector business is growing quickly as government agencies adopt AI to support critical national security, defense, and public sector missions. We're looking for a hands‑on Engineering Manager to lead a team of software engineers building core products and infrastructure for these customers.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in technical environments, enjoys managing teams while staying close to the code, and wants to work on meaningful problems that impact real world operations across the U.S. government. You'll play a critical role in delivering backend systems, distributed platforms, and ML tooling used by our public sector partners— all while helping your team grow and execute.

You’ll split your time between technical planning and execution (50%) and people management and team development (50%) , leading a team of 6‑8 engineers. You'll work cross‑functionally with product, security, and customer‑facing teams to ensure our engineering efforts meet complex federal compliance, security, and performance needs.

Must be able to commute to office three times per week .

You will:

• Recruit a high‑performing engineering team.
• Drive engineering productivity. Provide guidance, mentorship, and technical leadership to a team of engineers working on Generative AI projects.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to define, design, and execute strategic roadmap.
• Navigate and deliver outcomes while navigating through complex public sector compliance requirements and frameworks.
• Design and implement scalable backend systems for Federal customers, leveraging Scale's modern and cloud‑native AI infrastructure.
• Develop distributed systems, data‑intensive applications, and machine learning infrastructure to enable real impact for mission owners.
• Build robust and reliable backend systems that can serve as standalone products, empowering customers to accelerate their own AI ambitions.
• Participate actively in customer engagements, working closely with stakeholders to understand requirements and deliver innovative solutions.
• Contribute to the platform roadmap and product strategy for Scale AI's Federal business, playing a key role in shaping the future direction of our offerings.
• Have or ability to obtain a TS/SCI clearance .

Ideally you'd have:

• 5+ years of full‑time engineering experience, post‑graduation.
• 2+ years of prior engineering management or equivalent experience and has managed an engineering team.
• Extensive experience in software development.
• Experience scaling products at hyper‑growth startups.
• Excitement to work with AI technologies and their applications for the public sector.
• Extremely strong track record as an individual contributor.
• Show a track record of mentoring and leading teams in successful projects.
• Possess excellent communication and collaboration skills, and the ability to translate complex technical concepts to non‑technical stakeholders.

Nice to haves:

• TS/SCI clearance.
• Deep technical knowledge of Software Development, willing to get deep into the weeds to solve problems alongside the team.
• Experience with AI platforms and technologies, including generative models and LLMs.
• Previous experience in government or government‑facing technology roles.
• Experience with cloud‑native technologies, full stack development, data engineering, and ML ops infrastructure.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation packages at Scale for eligible roles include base salary, equity, and benefits. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position and may be inclusive of several career levels at Scale; it will be determined during the interview process based on work location and additional factors, including job‑related skills, experience, qualifications, interview performance, and relevant education or training. Scale employees in eligible roles are also granted equity‑based compensation, subject to Board of Directors approval. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process, and confirm whether the hired role will be eligible for equity grant. You'll also receive benefits including, but not limited to: comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, a learning and development stipend, and generous PTO. Additionally, this role may be eligible for additional benefits such as a commuter stipend.

Base salary range for this full‑time position in the locations of San Francisco, New York: $216,000 - $270,000 USD.

Base salary range in Washington DC: $194,400 - $243,000 USD.

Base salary range in St Louis: $162,400 - $203,000 USD.

PLEASE NOTE: Our policy requires a 90‑day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role. This allows us to ensure a fair and thorough evaluation of all applicants.

Equal Employment Opportunity & Accommodations

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, gender identity or Veteran status.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation in the application or recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at View email address on click.appcast.io. Please see the United States Department of Labor's Know Your Rights poster for additional information.

We comply with the United States Department of Labor's Pay Transparency provision.

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