The mission of Thinking Machines is to build AI that extends human will and judgment. We are training frontier models with Inkling, developing Tinker to let people make models their own, and crafting interfaces that broaden human-AI communication. We believe the future worth building is human, and we're hiring people who want to build it.
About the RoleWe're hiring an Engineering Manager to lead a team of senior and staff-level engineers across ML infrastructure and product. You will help the team build and scale systems that are reliable, performant, and easy to operate.
This role combines collaboration with hand-on work. You’ll partner with tech leads to set the technical direction for your team and own its execution. You should also be ready to go deep on system design and contribute directly when needed.
What You’ll DoLead and grow a team of senior and staff-level engineers, setting clear expectations and maintaining a high bar for execution.
Own architecture, system design, and long-term technical direction for your team's systems, with emphasis on reliability and performance.
Contribute directly to design reviews, prototyping, and debugging critical issues.
Partner with researchers and product teams to define roadmaps and prioritize work.
Hire and close senior engineering talent. Mentor engineers into technical leaders.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent industry experience in computer science, engineering, or similar.
8+ years of experience building and scaling production systems, including system design and distributed systems.
3+ years of engineering management experience in high-growth environments.
Experience managing teams of senior or staff-level engineers.
Background in infrastructure, systems engineering, or developer productivity.
Familiarity with AI/ML systems, data infrastructure, or high-performance computing.
Track record of building or contributing to widely used systems, platforms, or tools.
Location: This role is based in San Francisco, California.
Compensation: Depending on background, skills and experience, the expected annual salary range for this position is $450,000 - $500,000 USD.
Visa sponsorship: We sponsor visas. While we can't guarantee success for every candidate or role, if you're the right fit, we're committed to working through the visa process together.
Benefits: Thinking Machines offers generous health, dental, and vision benefits, unlimited PTO, paid parental leave, and relocation support as needed.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent industry experience in computer science, engineering, or a similar field
- 8+ years of experience building and scaling production systems, including system design and distributed systems
- 3+ years of engineering management experience in high-growth environments
- Experience managing teams of senior or staff-level engineers
- Background in infrastructure, systems engineering, or developer productivity
- Familiarity with AI/ML systems, data infrastructure, or high-performance computing
- Track record of building or contributing to widely used systems, platforms, or tools
What We Do
Thinking Machines Lab is an artificial intelligence research and product company. We're building a future where everyone has access to the knowledge and tools to make AI work for their unique needs and goals. While AI capabilities have advanced dramatically, key gaps remain. The scientific community's understanding of frontier AI systems lags behind rapidly advancing capabilities. Knowledge of how these systems are trained is concentrated within the top research labs, limiting both the public discourse on AI and people's abilities to use AI effectively. And, despite their potential, these systems remain difficult for people to customize to their specific needs and values. To bridge the gaps, we're building Thinking Machines Lab to make AI systems more widely understood, customizable and generally capable. We are scientists, engineers, and builders who've created some of the most widely used AI products, including ChatGPT and Character.ai, open-weights models like Mistral, as well as popular open source projects like PyTorch, OpenAI Gym, Fairseq, and Segment Anything.
