[Hiring] Software Engineering Manager @LawnStarter

Role Description

We're growing, and that means adding engineering leadership capacity to support new initiatives. You'll lead cross-functional delivery teams of 4–5 engineers, reporting to our Head of Engineering. Your job is to make sure your team ships reliably, grows professionally, and doesn't become a bottleneck as LawnStarter scales into new service verticals.

This is a people-first role. If your identity as an EM is primarily technical - if you'd rather review architecture than develop an underperformer - this isn't the right fit. If you're the manager who knows what every person on your team needs to grow, who handles conflict directly, and who can articulate team performance in metrics, keep reading.

What makes this role different:

• You'll own both delivery AND people outcomes - neither can be delegated
• Distributed team across time zones, so async leadership and written communication matter as much as meetings
• We move fast and actually ship - you'll feel the difference between a team that's humming and one that's stuck
• AI-forward is not a buzzword here - we expect you to lead your team on how to use it, not just follow along

What You'll Own

• People development: Concrete growth plans for every IC on your team - not just the struggling ones.
• Delivery: Your team ships on cadence with predictable quality.
• Team health: Conflict gets addressed directly.
• Cross-functional partnership: You're the interface between your team and Product, Design, and other engineering teams.
• Technical direction: Close enough to the work to weigh in on system design and catch architectural risks.
• AI adoption: You're actively introducing AI tools and workflows into how your team operates.

Problems to Solve

• Building people leadership depth as the team scales.
• Managing distributed teams without losing culture or accountability.
• Turning delivery consistency into a competitive advantage.
• Orchestrating cross-functional delivery from roadmap to release.
• Turning AI adoption into throughput without sacrificing craftsmanship.

What Success Looks Like (Year 1)

• Every engineer on your team has a documented growth plan within 60 days.
• Your team ships its committed scope on cadence within 90 days.
• Zero surprise departures - you know your retention risks and are actively working them.
• Underperformance is addressed directly and documented, not deferred.
• The Head of Engineering trusts your team's commitments because you've proven they're reliable.
• Your team is visibly more AI-enabled than when you joined.

Who You Are

• Deeply AI-integrated, not just AI-aware.
• A people developer, not just a delivery manager.
• Remote-native.
• Direct in conflict.
• Data-driven about people and delivery.
• Technically credible.
• A delegator, not a bottleneck.

This Role Is NOT

• A pure technical architect role.
• A process manager.
• A stepping stone.
• A reactive firefighter.
• An AI skeptic in a leadership seat.

Rate and Location

• Rate: $120,000–$140,000 USD annually (contractor), depending on experience.
• Location: Fully remote - this role is built for remote-first leaders.
• Flexibility: Structured work hours with reasonable flexibility for life.

LawnStarter provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. We comply with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment.