Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
This Software Engineering Manager, AI role stands out as SaaS-adjacent work where software delivery meets real-world deployment. Standard Bots is building an AI-driven platform that turns robotics capabilities into a productised interface, and the remit spans the full lifecycle from data collection through training to low-latency inference on edge hardware. That combination reflects a growing segment of the SaaS ecosystem where recurring software value depends on reliable integration with devices and operational environments.
From a SaaS career perspective, the role offers unusually broad exposure to the systems that make AI features durable in production. Owning evaluation benchmarks, pipeline robustness, and the shift from experimental code to scalable architecture mirrors the maturity curve many SaaS companies face when moving from prototype to dependable platform. The emphasis on roadmap translation and cross-functional alignment also builds the kind of product-oriented engineering leadership that transfers across AI-enabled SaaS teams.
This position is best suited to an engineering leader who enjoys shaping both organisation and architecture, and who can balance research-informed direction with production constraints. It fits someone comfortable managing managers as well as ICs, and motivated by end-to-end accountability across data, models, and deployment rather than narrow optimisation work.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
Location
New York, NY (Hybrid), Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA
Employment Type
Full time
Compensation
- $250K – $300K • Offers Equity
About Standard Bots
At Standard Bots, we’re revolutionizing real-world automation by making robotic systems accessible to everyone. Our AI-powered platform enables robots to tackle unprecedented challenges through an intuitive instruction interface, bringing the power of software automation to physical spaces.
About the Role
We are looking for an Engineering Manager to lead our AI Team. This is the role responsible for the entire AI lifecycle—from how we collect and curate physical-world data to the training and real-time inference of E2E (end-to-end) models on edge hardware.
Currently, the team is in a high-growth phase. You will initially manage a focused group of ICs and Tech Lead Managers (TLMs), with the opportunity to grow and hire your team. You will be the architect of the team’s structure, responsible for building the next generation of AI talent and robotic AI capabilities at Standard Bots.
Your Responsibilities
Strategic Advising: Act as a key advisor to leadership on AI strategy, translating emerging research into actionable product roadmaps and long-term technical advantages.
Architectural Evolution: Drive the transition from experimental codebases to a robust, scalable AI architecture, across data ingestion with hardware variants, training, and inference.
Organizational Scaling: Architect and execute the hiring strategy to grow the current team into a structured, multi-disciplinary organization capable of supporting rapid product expansion.
E2E Pipeline Oversight: Own the full AI lifecycle, including high-bandwidth data collection methods, internal review tools, model training, and low-latency edge inference.
Quality & Reliability: Establish rigorous evaluation benchmarks and testing protocols to ensure AI-driven robot behaviors are safe, predictable, and production-ready.
Leadership & Mentorship: Manage two TLMs and a team of ICs, providing technical oversight, fostering engineering excellence, and building tailored career growth plans.
Cross-Functional Alignment: Partner with Hardware, Core Platform, and Product teams to seamlessly integrate AI capabilities into the physical user experience.
You Might Thrive in This Role If You:
Have 8+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 3+ years in a formal management role.
Have a proven track record in AI/ML leadership, specifically managing teams that ship production-grade models (experience with computer vision, imitation learning, or robotics is a massive plus).
Are a "Builder" of Teams: You have experience hiring and structuring teams in high-growth environments, moving from a flat structure to a specialized sub-team model.
Understand the "Full Stack" of AI: You are comfortable discussing data labeling workflows, GPU orchestration, and the nuances of model quantization for the edge.
Navigate Ambiguity: You can take high-level business objectives, derive the technical goals needed to achieve them, and break it down into a multi-quarter technical roadmap.
Communicate with Impact: You can translate complex AI research into clear business outcomes for stakeholders and leadership.
Tech Stack
Languages: Python (Primary), TypeScript/Node.js (Internal Tools)
Infrastructure: AWS/GCP, Docker, Kubernetes
ML Frameworks: PyTorch, JAX
Data/Deployment: High-bandwidth sensor data streaming, GPU clusters, Edge computing
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range for this role is $250,000 to $300,000, depending on experience. Base salary is just one part of the overall compensation at Standard Bots. All Full-Time Employees are eligible for Employee Stock Options. We also offer a package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to regular full-time employees.
Compensation Range: $250K - $300K
