Engineering Manager, Labs

Anthropic•San Francisco, NY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Anthropic is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead and grow a team of software engineers focused on early-stage AI capabilities within Anthropic Labs. Anthropic Labs acts as an internal accelerator, aiming to develop AI systems that are safe, beneficial, and transformative, with a focus on bringing substantial revenue or industry transformation. The role involves creating an environment for engineers to thrive in zero-to-one development, fostering psychological safety, and managing rapid iteration cycles. The manager will partner with design, product, and research teams to transform AI capabilities into potential products, making decisions on project continuation or termination. Success requires strong people leadership, facilitation of learning cycles, and the ability to navigate the challenges of early-stage exploration.

Requirements

5+ years of engineering management experience, with significant time leading teams in ambiguous, early-stage, or zero-to-one environments
Strong technical background as an IC prior to moving into management, ideally including startup or founding engineer experience
Excel at creating psychological safety and helping teams navigate uncertainty without burning out
Skilled at facilitating decision-making rather than imposing solutions—you help your team develop good judgment
Can model the behaviors you want to see: comfort killing projects, strong opinions loosely held, bias toward action
Experience building and retaining teams of generalists who can adapt as priorities shift
Demonstrate exceptional interpersonal intelligence and can guide teams through rapid pivots while maintaining trust
Strong strategic thinking to identify high-potential research breakthroughs and viable paths to productization
Communicate effectively and can tell the story of Labs' work and impact to leadership and the broader company
Comprehensive technical understanding across full-stack engineering and modern product development, with familiarity in AI/ML concepts
Care deeply about responsibly pushing the boundaries of AI capabilities in service of Anthropic's mission

Nice To Haves

Experience managing teams that work directly with research organizations or in R&D-adjacent environments
Track record of helping engineers grow in non-traditional career paths (where success isn't always tied to shipping features)
Experience with AI/ML products or working knowledge of large language models
Background in building teams from scratch or scaling early-stage organizations
Experience managing through organizational change or frequent strategic pivots

Responsibilities

Lead and coach a high-performing team of software engineers through the complexities of zero-to-one development, creating an environment that rewards experimentation and learning over attachment to specific outcomes
Hire and develop a team of versatile, entrepreneurial engineers who thrive in ambiguity and can flex across problem spaces
Partner effectively with design, product, and research leaders to align on direction and execution
Create a balanced environment that encourages both creative exploration and rigorous evaluation of what's working
Help teams develop structured approaches to testing hypotheses, making kill decisions, and extracting learnings from both successes and failures
Facilitate effective collaboration between Labs engineers and research teams across Anthropic
Provide clear, actionable feedback and support engineer growth and development in an environment where projects shift frequently
Drive adoption of Labs' prototypes and learnings to inform company-wide product strategy
Represent the Labs perspective and roadmap in discussions with research, product, and leadership stakeholders
Maintain team stability and morale through the inherent uncertainty of early-stage work