Engineering Manager (Execution & Quality)

Why This Role Exists CazVid is shipping fast - but execution friction is consuming senior architectural bandwidth. This role exists to: Increase team velocity Improve story and code quality Absorb first-line operational load Protect senior leadership from day-to-day execution pulls This is not a strategy role. This is an execution amplifier. What You Will Own 1. Team Execution & Delivery You are responsible for ensuring that: The engineering team ships incrementally and consistently Work is broken into small, executable stories PRs are reviewed quickly and thoroughly Blockers surface early, not late You keep the train moving. 2. Story Quality Gate Requirements often arrive in early-stage form from business stakeholders and need refinement before engineering can execute. You will: Clarify acceptance criteria before work begins Ensure stories meet a clear quality bar before entering the sprint Identify when a proposed solution is masking the actual problem Balance urgency with sustainability - escalate when timelines and quality are in tension When execution risk, timeline pressure, or unclear requirements exceed a reasonable threshold, you are expected to escalate early rather than compensate personally. You do not define product direction - but you enforce clarity before execution. 3. Code Review & Technical Hygiene You are expected to: Review PRs for correctness, readability, and maintainability Catch obvious architectural anti-patterns early and escalate non-obvious design questions Enforce team standards Escalate design concerns to the Chief AI Officer when necessary You don't design the system - you protect it. 4. First-Line Firefighting You handle: Broken builds Misbehaving services (Kafka, Typesense, Airflow) SSH-level triage and debugging Why is this not working?" questions from the team You resolve what you can. You escalate what you can't. 5. Team Management You will: Run standups and syncs Set clear expectations Provide direct feedback Hold engineers accountable for quality and timelines Your job is not to be liked - it's to keep the system healthy. What You Will NOT Be Responsible For ❌ Product vision or roadmap ownership ❌ AI model design or algorithm architecture ❌ Executive-level decision making ❌ Long-term system architecture ownership ❌ Serving as the final decision-maker on product tradeoffs Those responsibilities remain with senior leadership. Required Technical Skills TypeScript / Node.js (primary stack) AWS (EC2, deployment, basic infrastructure) MongoDB (queries, debugging, basic ops) Comfortable with SSH-level debugging of production services Familiarity with Kafka, Airflow, or similar data pipeline tools (nice to have) AI Fluency We use AI tools extensively. This role requires someone who: Uses AI to amplify their own thinking - not replace it Is tool-agnostic: willing to learn new AI tools as they emerge Knows when AI output is wrong and can correct it Treats AI as a multiplier for execution, not a substitute for judgment You don't need to be an AI expert. You need to be a fast learner who drives the AI, not the other way around. Working Hours This role requires occasional overlap with Pakistan-based team hours (PKT). Flexibility for early morning or late evening syncs is expected. This is not your typical 9-5 job. What Success Looks Like (3–6 Months) If this role is working: The engineering team ships more consistently Fewer execution questions escalate upward Story quality improves measurably Code review throughput increases The Chief AI Officer regains ~15–20 hours/week for architecture and research That reclaimed time is the real ROI. Ideal Background You likely have: 5-10 years of software engineering experience Prior experience managing distributed or remote teams Strong instincts for code quality and scope control Comfort saying "this isn't ready yet" The ability to pick up new tools and languages quickly - because you understand underlying patterns, not just syntax You are execution-minded, not