Senior Engineering Manager (AI)

We are looking for an experienced Senior Manager with expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning to help Compass build a platform that makes the home buying and selling experience delightful. As a Senior Manager at Compass, you will act as the primary technical leader for your domain and work directly with executive leadership, leveraging your expertise to exert influence and provide strategic direction to shape the future of AI-driven innovation on the Compass platform.

In this role, you will oversee and mentor the Compass AI engineering team, orchestrating the team’s efforts to deliver impactful solutions. Your collaboration with Product and Design counterparts will be instrumental in translating concepts into tangible products, driving projects from conception to fruition.

The Senior Manager position at Compass carries significant technical leadership responsibilities. Exceptional soft skills, coupled with superb communication abilities, are imperative as you navigate collaborative endeavors and lead by example. Your capacity to navigate and propel complex technical initiatives independently will be critical, instilling confidence and driving progress. You will encounter myriad opportunities to lead and catalyze technical innovation, shaping the future of AI-driven innovation on our platform and the real estate industry at large.

What you will do:  

• Lead Strategic Direction: Spearhead the technical and strategic direction of Compass AI/ML innovation, collaborating closely with executive leadership to align with company goals and market trends.
• Drive Innovation: Champion innovation initiatives and work collaboratively with product and design leaders to swiftly translate ideas into tangible customer value, ensuring a competitive edge in the market.
• Talent Acquisition and Development: Take the lead in recruiting, onboarding, and nurturing top engineering talent, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth within the organization.
• Team and Project Management: Provide oversight to Compass’ Software Engineers, ML Engineers, and ML scientists, guiding them in delivering high-quality solutions that meet customer needs while fostering career development and job satisfaction among team members.
• Promote a Collaborative Culture: Cultivate a positive team culture that encourages collaboration, creativity, and innovation, fostering an environment where diverse perspectives are valued and respected.
• Technical Expertise and Innovation: Stay abreast of emerging technologies and industry best practices in AI/ML, driving adoption where appropriate to ensure the Compass platform remains at the forefront of innovation and efficiency.
• Operational Excellence: Advocate for and uphold high standards of operational excellence, ensuring code quality, testing automation, observability, scalability, and maintainability are prioritized throughout the development lifecycle.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify and address bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the development process, implementing strategies to optimize developer experience and increase productivity.
• Performance Management: Set clear goals and expectations for team and individual performance, working collaboratively with employees to establish measurable objectives and commitments that align with organizational goals.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Act as a liaison between engineering teams and other stakeholders, effectively communicating progress, challenges, and opportunities to ensure alignment and transparency across the organization.

What we look for: 

• Leadership Experience: A minimum of 5 years of engineering management experience in a medium or large company, with a proven track record of successfully leading geographically distributed engineering teams.
• Engineering Background: 10+ years of professional engineering experience, with a preference for someone whose background shows recent emphasis on AI and ML (ideally, 3+ years at minimum of AI/ML focus).
• Strategic Vision: The ability to think strategically and envision the long-term trajectory of AI-driven innovation, aligning technical decisions with broader business goals and market trends.
• Talent Acquisition and Growth: Proven experience in rapidly hiring, onboarding, and nurturing engineers, with a focus on building high-performing teams.
• Organizational Skills: Demonstrated organizational capabilities, particularly in areas of influence, collaboration, and communication, essential for driving alignment and cohesion across teams and stakeholders.
• Commitment to Operational Excellence: A passion for operational excellence best practices, including but not limited to automated testing, observability, incident management, redundancy, and disaster recovery, ensuring robust and reliable systems.
• Innovation and Collaboration: A track record of driving innovation and collaborating effectively with Product and Design stakeholders to deliver customer value and achieve business objectives.
• Performance Management Expertise: Proficiency in orchestrating all aspects of performance management, including promotions, performance improvement plans, and terminations, while leading with emotional intelligence and fairness.
• Continuous Learning: A dedication to continuous learning and self-improvement, both in technical and leadership skills, staying abreast of industry trends and best practices to drive ongoing innovation and growth.
• Passion for Mentorship: A genuine passion for mentoring and nurturing the growth of direct reports, fostering an environment of learning, development, and career advancement.

Compensation: The base pay range for this position is $167,000-$252,000 annually; however, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Bonuses and restricted stock units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a full range of benefits. Base pay is based on market location. Minimum wage for the position will always be met.