Lead and scale engineering management for a distributed team in a fully remote environment. As Staff Engineering Manager, you'll guide 6–8 team leads and engineering managers, ensuring strong delivery health, team effectiveness, and sustainable growth. Partner with the Department Director to execute strategy while owning day-to-day operations across planning, execution, and people leadership.
Key Responsibilities
- Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and career development sessions with team leads and managers, supporting growth and succession planning.
- Lead hiring and onboarding for leadership roles, shaping effective interview processes and ensuring smooth integration of new managers.
- Monitor team engagement and retention, proactively addressing risks and promoting sustainable work rhythms.
- Design and refine organizational structure in collaboration with the Director, clarifying reporting lines and spans of control.
- Integrate AI tools—such as Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor—into management workflows to automate status summaries, 1:1 preparation, and reporting, setting an example for broader adoption.
- Own Jira configuration at the department level, including boards, workflows, and metrics, to maintain clear visibility into progress without relying on repetitive status meetings.
- Oversee sprint execution, roadmap delivery, and blocker resolution across teams, using data to identify risks early and escalate strategic issues when needed.
- Evolve Agile/Scrum practices and cross-team workflows, ensuring consistency and continuous improvement in delivery processes.
- Balance resource allocation across priorities, aligning capacity with both short-term goals and long-term technical investment.
- Facilitate collaboration between ELS teams and other departments, including product, support, and engineering organizations.
- Set and uphold standards in technical quality, AI adoption, and management practices across the leadership layer.
- Define and track key metrics—throughput, quality, retention, hiring—and report insights to leadership and stakeholders.
- Manage operational and people-related escalations, involving the Director only for strategic or customer-impacting decisions.
- Translate department strategy into actionable goals, milestones, and team-level objectives.
- Filter routine operational details, escalating only high-impact items related to strategy, product, or customers.
- Provide structured feedback to the Director on team health, risks, and opportunities to shape future direction.
What You Bring
- Fluency in English, both written and spoken, at an upper-intermediate level or higher.
- At least three years of experience managing engineering managers or technical leads in a remote-first setting.
- A solid technical foundation—such as in Linux, packaging, scripting, or application security—that enables credible coaching and informed decision-making.
- Proven leadership in Agile/Scrum environments, with deep experience in Jira for workflow management, reporting, and delivery visibility.
- Strong track record in hiring, developing, and retaining technical leaders, including managing performance and career frameworks.
- Operational discipline in managing capacity, prioritization, and process ownership while enabling strategic focus at the leadership level.
- Clear, structured communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences.
- Hands-on experience using AI tools to reduce management overhead in reporting, analysis, and written communication.
Nice to Have
- Background in security, software lifecycle support, or related domains such as CVE management, patching, or end-of-life product support.
- Experience driving AI adoption or engineering excellence initiatives across multiple teams.
- Familiarity with Linux infrastructure, security products, or customer support models similar to ELS or TuxCare.
Work Environment
Fully remote with flexible hours, open to candidates across Europe and CIS. Work from anywhere with autonomy over your schedule. The role emphasizes operational clarity, AI-augmented workflows, and leadership at scale—all within a culture that values integrity, collaboration, and innovation.
Benefits
- Challenging and meaningful technical projects
- Mentorship and knowledge-sharing programs
- 24 paid vacation days and 10 public holidays
- Unlimited sick leave
- Reimbursement for private medical insurance
- Co-working, gym, and sports expense support
- Rewards for innovative ideas eligible for patenting
