Engineering Manager

About the role

This role involves leading a team within Dialpad's Agentic AI initiatives. You will be responsible for guiding the technical direction and execution of the company's next-generation AI platform, with a focus on building production systems where AI agents can reason, act, and execute workflows safely and effectively. The position requires a combination of hands-on technical involvement and people management, working closely with various leadership teams to develop and deliver advanced AI solutions that meet business needs. You will play a key role in shaping the architecture, implementation, and operational excellence of AI systems, ensuring they are scalable, reliable, and aligned with Dialpad's strategic objectives.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Lead the technical strategy and implementation efforts for a significant portion of Dialpad's agentic AI platform, including designing memory architectures, retrieval systems, and evaluation or observability features to ensure robust AI performance.
• Remain actively engaged in coding, design reviews, and technical decision-making, providing hands-on contributions to resolve blockers, accelerate project timelines, and uphold high engineering standards.
• Design, develop, and deploy scalable AI systems that support autonomous assistance, real-time voice reasoning, and secure API or tool execution across enterprise workflows, ensuring these systems are reliable and maintainable.
• Manage and mentor a small team of engineers, providing coaching, feedback, and career development guidance to foster growth and technical excellence within the team.
• Establish clear priorities, ownership, and execution plans, helping the team navigate ambiguous situations and adapt to evolving project requirements.
• Collaborate closely with Product, Engineering, and Applied Research leadership to align technical efforts with Dialpad's long-term business goals and product roadmap.
• Evaluate and implement new agent frameworks, inference optimization techniques, retrieval methods, and safety measures to enhance product capabilities and platform stability.
• Enforce strong engineering practices, including design review processes, operational readiness, testing, quality assurance, and AI safety protocols to ensure production systems are robust and secure.
• Mentor engineers and technical leads, promoting sound technical judgment, best practices, and standards for an AI-native software development lifecycle.
• Participate in hiring efforts, onboarding new team members, and building a high-performance engineering culture focused on innovation, quality, and safety.
• Define technical roadmaps and architecture strategies, identifying potential risks and guiding the team through complex technical challenges.
• Support the development of documentation, training, and knowledge sharing to ensure team members and stakeholders are aligned and informed.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging experimentation with new technologies and approaches to advance Dialpad's AI capabilities.
• Contribute to the development of metrics and KPIs to monitor system performance, safety, and reliability, ensuring AI systems meet operational standards.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate AI solutions seamlessly into existing products and workflows, ensuring a smooth user experience.
• Advocate for AI safety, ethics, and compliance best practices throughout the development lifecycle.

Requirements

• Over 10 years of relevant software engineering experience, with a proven track record of delivering complex systems.
• Demonstrated leadership experience as a Tech Lead or first-line manager, with a history of managing and developing engineering teams.
• Strong background in scaling distributed systems and production infrastructure, with experience transitioning into applied AI, large language model (LLM) platforms, and agentic architectures.
• Extensive experience in shipping production systems where AI agents reason, act, coordinate, and safely execute workflows.
• Deep knowledge of LLM platforms, including inference optimization, fine-tuning strategies, and deployment considerations.
• Expertise in advanced retrieval systems, memory architectures, and knowledge management techniques for AI systems.
• Hands-on experience with agent frameworks such as LangChain/LangGraph, CrewAI, or AWS/Google Agent ecosystems.
• Familiarity with AI Ops, including evaluation, observability, and safety frameworks for production AI systems.
• Experience working with real-time infrastructure and voice/conversational AI systems.
• Knowledge of tool use, API execution frameworks, and human-in-the-loop validation systems to ensure AI safety and performance.
• Ability to set technical direction, identify architectural risks, and guide execution while maintaining attention to detail.
• Strong coaching and mentorship skills, with the ability to provide clear feedback and manage performance effectively.
• Skilled in creating clarity, defining measurable goals, and systematically addressing quality, reliability, and technical debt.
• Capable of thriving in ambiguous environments, building new AI products from scratch, and scaling them into enterprise-grade systems.

Nice to have

• Experience in AI, machine learning platforms, LLM systems, or agentic architectures.

Skills & tools

• LLM Platforms
• Data & Retrieval systems
• Agent Frameworks (LangChain/LangGraph, CrewAI, AWS/Google Agent ecosystems)
• AI Ops
• Real-Time Infrastructure
• Tool Integration

Practical notes

This position reports directly to the Senior Director of Engineering. Dialpad offers competitive benefits, including access to AI tools and training programs designed to support professional growth. The company has been recognized as a Great Place to Work, reflecting its commitment to a positive and inclusive work environment. Candidates are encouraged to apply even if they do not meet every single requirement, as long as they demonstrate the core traits, drive, and ambition necessary for success. Dialpad is an equal-opportunity employer, committed to fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace.