Engineering Manager
About Tenex
Tenex Engineering is an ai-powered software development agency. I would never work at a devshop. Neither should you. We’re building something different — a team of the world’s best engineers who want to be paid for what they produce, who want to work on diverse & complex problems, and who want to work alongside the brightest minds in the world.
We’re growing incredibly quickly with clients including startups, established market leaders, new media groups, and more. Compensation is uncapped and based on output.
Tenex Engineering is not a typical software development agency:
We hire the best Other agencies make money by hiring cheap talent and charging a premium. We know that one world-class engineer can do more than 10 mediocre engineers, so we only hire the best.
We use AI You’d be surprised how many people still type letters, one at a time, into an IDE. We use all the off-the-shelf AI tools and we build our own tools to get an edge.
We charge on outcomes We charge our clients based on what we produce, measured by story-points that we define.
We pay on outcomes We pay our team based on the story-points that they complete. So everyone is aligned on output and speed. (Psst — comp is uncapped)
Our Core Values
We give a shit. We care deeply about all we do. We take pride in our work and are addicted to collecting “Wows” from customers. We sweat the details, see around corners, and are thoughtful in our approach. Excellence isn’t optional—it’s who we are.
We take out the trash. No task is beneath us, and no ego is above the work. If something needs doing, we do it—whether or not anyone notices. We do the work to help the team, not to collect personal recognition.
We never beat around the bush. Clear communication is kindness. We’re straightforward, open, and timely with our teammates—always direct, always respectful. Nobody should ever have to guess how we feel.
We go down the rabbit hole. Then keep going. We constantly seek growth by any means necessary. Curiosity drives us to explore diverse ideas, perspectives, and cultures. "Because we’ve always done it that way" is never an acceptable answer. We actively challenge ourselves and each other to stay inspired, stay curious, and evolve our thinking.
We do the right thing. Trust is our most valuable asset—earned slowly, lost instantly. Doing what’s right isn’t negotiable, even when it’s inconvenient, unpopular, or costly. Integrity guides every decision we make, without exception.
We operate like Navy SEALs. Greatness doesn’t happen between 9 and 5. We willingly invest nights and weekends—not for optics or politics, but because genuine impact demands commitment. We work hard because our mission deserves nothing less.
We share feedback. We listen to feedback. Feedback is our fastest path to excellence. We invite candid critique, meet it with curiosity—not ego—and act on it immediately. Every critique is a chance to level up ourselves and our teammates, so we default to collaboration, assume positive intent, and treat every interaction as a two‑way learning opportunity.
What we do
Our clients include early-stage startups, established market leaders, new media groups, and more. We’re building agentic side-kicks, mobile apps, and whatever else our customers need. We are growing incredibly quickly, but cannot disclose much more right now.
The job in a sentence
Be the “CTO-level adult in the room” for your pod and your clients: write excellent code, multiply engineer output through systems + coaching, and maximize client outcomes by keeping quality, speed, and clarity unbreakably high.
This is a player–coach role. If you want to only manage people, this isn’t it. If you want to ship and lead, you’ll love it.
What you’ll do
Own engineering outcomes for your pod
Be accountable for speed, quality, and delivery predictability across all client work in your pod.
Ensure scopes are clean, estimates are real, risks surface early, and deadlines mean something.
Step in decisively when things get messy: unclear requirements, broken releases, fragile systems.
Write production code (this is a player–coach role)
Ship code weekly across client and internal codebases, especially on architecture, foundations, refactors, and high-risk integrations.
Set the quality bar by example: readable, scalable, testable, pragmatic code.
Know the codebases deeply — not just tickets and dashboards.
Set and enforce Tenex engineering standards
Define and maintain standards that keep quality high as we scale:
repo structure and architecture conventions
PR hygiene and review expectations
testing, observability, and reliability baselines
deployment and rollback patterns
Build lightweight processes that enable great engineers instead of slowing them down.
Drive AI-first execution
Push AI-assisted development across the pod: coding, debugging, testing, refactoring.
Establish tooling and workflows that materially reduce cycle time.
Build or extend internal tools that give Tenex a real execution edge.
Be client-facing when it matters
Join key technical reviews and client conversations to build trust and show extra force.
Translate technical decisions into business impact.
Partner closely with strategists so engineering stays aligned with ROI and expectations.
Lead and grow engineers
Run 1:1s, give direct feedback, and coach engineers to higher standards.
Create clarity around ownership, expectations, and growth paths.
Hire and onboard elite engineers who raise the bar.
What success looks like
30 days
You understand every major codebase and delivery pipeline in your pod.
Engineering standards are clear, visible, and enforced.
Engineers know exactly what “good” looks like.
60 days
Delivery is faster and more predictable, with fewer surprises.
PR quality and review cadence are consistent.
Team throughput is up without sacrificing quality.
90 days
Your pod runs with high autonomy and confidence.
Engineering execution is trusted by clients and internal stakeholders.
Systems, standards, and habits are in place that scale beyond you.
Must-haves
Elite engineering chops. You ship elegant, scalable code and can simplify hard problems.
Player–coach mindset. You want to write code and want to lead people.
Client-maximizing instincts. You care about outcomes, trust, and proactive communication, not just “tickets closed.”
AI-first execution. You actively use AI tools to multiply your output and you teach others to do the same.
High ownership. You don’t need a playbook to act, you create the playbook.
Direct communicator. You say the thing clearly and respectfully, early.
Nice-to-haves
Experience leading teams, projects, and outcomes (tech lead, EM, principal engineer who mentored heavily, CTO).
Experience shipping across multiple stacks quickly (backend + frontend + integrations).
Consulting / agency / forward-deployed experience (fast context switching, high client exposure).
Strong product sense: you can spot what matters and cut scope intelligently.
Experience building internal engineering tooling (CI, DX improvements, eval frameworks, agentic workflows).
Compensation + benefits
Earn between $400,000 and $800,000 annually, with opportunities for further upside tied to your output.
Ownership: The more you contribute, the more you earn. Your ceiling is limited only by your output, creativity, and ambition.
Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision provided
Vacation policy: Take what you need vacation policy
In-Office, NYC-based: Work from our beautiful office in the heart of New York City, surrounded by a team of your peers.
World-class team: Join a collective of the world's best engineers, designers, and creators, each driven to do their life's most important work.