Technical Engineering Lead/Manager

As a hands-on Technical Engineering Manager, you will lead the engineering team, guide technical decisions, review code and architecture, and ensure high-quality product delivery. Your role will involve a balance between team management and active technical contribution. Key Responsibilities - Technical Leadership - Provide technical direction for product development and engineering execution. - Review architecture, database design, APIs, integrations, and system workflows. - Ensure scalability, security, performance, and maintainability in product development. - Identify technical risks early and propose solutions aligned with product and business priorities. - Hands-On Coding - Contribute to code for complex features, critical bugs, prototypes, or proof-of-concepts. - Troubleshoot production issues and guide root cause analysis. - Lead by example through clean, maintainable code and set coding standards. - Code Reviews and Quality - Review pull requests for quality, performance, security, and maintainability. - Enforce engineering best practices including documentation, testing, version control, and deployment discipline. - Improve code quality by reducing technical debt and promoting reusable components. - Team Management - Manage, mentor, and guide software engineers across various technical functions. - Conduct regular one-on-ones, performance reviews, and feedback sessions. - Help engineers improve technical skills, communication, and delivery discipline. - Project Delivery - Work with cross-functional teams to convert requirements into technical execution plans. - Estimate effort, manage sprint planning, and track delivery progress. - Communicate delays, risks, dependencies, and trade-offs clearly to leadership. - Engineering Process Improvement - Improve sprint planning, code review, release management, and QA processes. - Define and track engineering productivity and quality metrics. - Promote better engineering discipline without compromising startup speed. - Product and Business Alignment - Understand customer requirements and product priorities. - Collaborate on roadmap feasibility, sequencing, and technical trade-offs. - Provide input on build-versus-buy decisions, integrations, scalability, and platform direction. Required Skills and Experience - 6+ years of software engineering experience. - 2+ years of experience managing or leading an engineering team. - Strong hands-on coding experience in modern web application development. - Experience with frontend and backend development. - Strong understanding of APIs, databases, system architecture, security, and cloud deployment. - Strong debugging, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. - Experience working in a startup or fast-moving product environment. - Good communication skills and ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams. Preferred Technical Skills - MERN stack experience: MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, Node.js. - TypeScript and JavaScript experience. - Experience with AWS or similar cloud platforms. - Experience with REST APIs, authentication, RBAC, and application security. - Experience with CI/CD, Git workflows, automated testing, and release management. - Familiarity with SaaS platforms and business applications is a plus. Success Measures You will be successful if you can: - Improve code quality and reduce recurring defects. - Ensure timely and predictable product delivery. - Build a disciplined engineering culture. - Mentor developers and improve team capability. - Review and guide technical architecture effectively. - Keep the engineering team aligned with product and business goals. Ideal Candidate The ideal candidate should be a strong technical leader who enjoys building products, solving complex problems, mentoring engineers, and improving engineering execution. They should have a hands-on approach to coding and technical work while effectively managing people, timelines, quality, and delivery expectations. Comfortable in a startup environment, the ideal candidate values ownership, practical execution, and alignment with changing priorities. As a hands-on Technical Engineering Manager, you will lead the engineering team, guide technical decisions, review code and architecture, and ensure high-quality product delivery. Your role will involve a balance between team management and active technical contribution. Key Responsibilities - Technical Leadership - Provide technical direction for product development and engineering execution. - Review architecture, database design, APIs, integrations, and system workflows. - Ensure scalability, security, performance, and maintainability in product development. - Identify technical risks early and propose solutions aligned with product and business priorities. - Hands-On Coding - Contribute to code for complex features, critical bugs, prototypes, o