Engineering Manager
Company: AthenaHQ
Location: San Francisco (On-site)
Type: Full-time
Compensation: $200K–$300K
Equity: 0.8% – 1.5%
Visa Sponsorship: Not available
About the Role
We’re looking for an experienced Engineering Manager to lead and scale a high-performing engineering team at a fast-growing startup (Series A–C stage experience preferred).
This is a player-coach role — you’ll spend meaningful time hands-on in the codebase while also:
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Setting technical direction
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Mentoring engineers
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Establishing scalable processes
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Driving consistent product shipments
You’ll play a critical role in unifying the team and building a strong engineering foundation as the organization scales.
What You’ll Do
Leadership & Team Growth
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Lead, mentor, and grow a team of software engineers
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Provide regular feedback and support career development
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Foster a high-performance, ownership-driven culture
Hands-On Technical Execution
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Contribute directly to the codebase
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Conduct detailed code reviews
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Maintain high standards for architecture and quality
Process & Systems
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Establish and refine engineering workflows and systems
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Improve sprint planning, tracking, and execution (e.g., using tools like Linear)
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Build scalable processes for a growing team
Product & Strategy
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Partner closely with the CEO and CTO on technical direction
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Drive feature delivery from planning through release
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Own the full delivery lifecycle and ensure quality at every stage
Required Experience
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1–2+ years leading a software engineering team
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Prior experience in:
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IC Lead role, or
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Engineering Manager (player-coach) role
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Experience in high-growth startup environments (Series A–C preferred)
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Strong technical background with ability to contribute hands-on
Tech Stack
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Next.js
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ClickHouse
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Temporal
About the Company
AthenaHQ helps global brands grow through AI Search.
The platform enables customer acquisition from AI-driven search engines by improving:
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Visibility
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Discoverability
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Branding
The company currently serves 200+ customers, has surpassed $2M ARR, and is scaling rapidly.
Team
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Lean, high-caliber team of 10
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Members with backgrounds from leading tech companies and research institutions
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Fast-moving, product-focused culture
Interview Process
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Initial call with CEO & Co-founder (15–30 minutes)
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Call with CTO & Co-founder (15–30 minutes)
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Systems Design Interview
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On-site (2 hours)
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On-site follow-up