Handshake
Tech / AI / Software
TechnicalLeadManager,HandshakeAI
Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Senior candidates.
“Technical Lead Manager, Handshake AI at Handshake. Skills: technical direction, managing a small team, coding regularly, working with non-engineering stakeholders, communication, triage and prioritization. Write production-quality code and architect systems that are reliable, observable, secure, and maintainable. Set technical direction for a small team — define the approach, unblock engineers, and raise the bar on quality”
Industry & Context.
Sharp instincts on triage and prioritization across multiple concurrent workstreams
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
6+ years of software engineering experience, with meaningful depth in backend, fullstack, or systems work, Experience as a tech lead or TLM — setting technical direction for a team, not just owning your own work, 1–2 years managing a small team of engineers (3–6); comfortable with feedback, growth conversations, and performance, Must be someone who codes regularly and wants to keep coding — this is not a transition-to-management role, Experience working closely with non-engineering stakeholders (research, product, operations, or similar) — comfortable translating between technical and business context, communication skills: clear under pressure, able to present options and recommendations to varied audiences, Sharp instincts on triage and prioritization across multiple concurrent workstreams
Nice to Have
Experience with AI/ML systems or production reliability in AI-adjacent environments, Familiarity with distributed systems and backend architecture at scale, Experience building reusable platforms or internal tooling from bespoke solutions, Background working with or alongside research or operations-heavy organizations
What You'll Do.
Write production-quality code and architect systems that are reliable
Set technical direction for a small team — define the approach
and raise the bar on quality
Manage and develop a team of 3–5 engineers: set expectations
have real feedback conversations
Own end-to-end delivery across multiple concurrent workstreams — triage
and flag scope or capacity issues early
Design and build integrations
and internal systems in close collaboration with research
Identify patterns across workstreams and build reusable components that scale the team's output
Communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders alike — translate tradeoffs into decisions and keep the right people informed
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
working closely with non-engineering stakeholders (research, product, operations, or similar); in close collaboration with research, product, and operations teams; Communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders alike
Communication Scope
clear under pressure; able to present options and recommendations to varied audiences; Communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders alike — translate tradeoffs into decisions and keep the right people informed
Process & Methodology
Own end-to-end delivery across multiple concurrent workstreams, triage, prioritize, flag scope or capacity issues early
Full Job Description
ABOUT HANDSHAKE Handshake is the career network for the AI economy. 20 million knowledge workers, 1,600 educational institutions, 1 million employers (including 100% of the Fortune 50), and every foundational AI lab trust Handshake to power career discovery, hiring, and upskilling, from freelance AI training gigs to first internships to full-time careers and beyond. This unique value is leading to unparalleled growth; in 2025, we tripled our ARR at scale. Why join Handshake now: - Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel - Work hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions - Join a team with leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, among others - Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue ABOUT THE ROLE Handshake AI is at the frontier of applied AI — working with world-class labs and partners on genuinely hard problems around human data, evals, and AI systems. The engineering team here ships production solutions that matter: reliable, observable, and built to scale. As a Tech Lead Manager, you're first and foremost a builder. You'll set technical direction for a small team of engineers while staying deeply hands-on — writing production code, architecting systems, and driving work forward. This is a player-coach role, ideal for a senior engineer ready to take on their first or second management scope without leaving the craft behind. The best person for this role leads by example, builds trust through technical credibility, and creates structure without bureaucracy. Location: San Francisco, CA | 5 days/week in-office What you'll do - Write production-quality code and architect systems that are reliable, observable, secure, and maintainable. - Set technical direction for a small team — define the approach, unblock engineers, and raise the bar on quality. - Manage and develop a
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