Engineering Manager (Elections & AI for Democracy Action Lab)

Protect Democracy • Dc, WA

25d • Remote

About The Position

Protect Democracy seeks to hire a highly motivated Engineering Manager to join our team building on our foundational elections work, and scaling our new AI for Democracy Action Lab —a multidisciplinary, nonpartisan "action tank" that builds tech tools and shapes law and policy to safeguard and enhance democracy in the AI era. This position is remote and based in the US. The priority application deadline for this role is April 5th, 2026 . In this transformative moment, we’re seeking an engineering leader who will leverage AI to transform both how we do our work as a team, and scale the tools we’re building that tackle the most pressing challenges facing our democracy today. At Protect Democracy, we bring an integrated advocacy approach to solving issues facing U.S. democracy. Our engineers build products that support our mission alongside legal and policy experts, organizers, and communications strategists. Together, we have built novel products to address a range of critical pro-democracy use cases, from enhancing the security and confidence in our elections to making federal spending more transparent and accountable, to informing and inspiring advocacy for proportional representation. Position overview: This role is ideal for an experienced engineering manager who can lead a small engineering team to maximize impact through processes and mentorship, leverage AI throughout our product development lifecycle, and collaborate effectively with non-technical partners to bring ideas to life. This role will be a critical piece to improving upon our foundation and helping the team & organization grow the vision of how we can use technology to Protect Democracy. As Engineering Manager, you’ll be responsible for leading how engineers approach product building with evolving tools, making strategic technical decisions, and acting as a key node of collaboration across our organization. You'll also be responsible for supporting technical decisions for the AI for Democracy Action Lab’s product growth and strategy in year 1. This is an opportunity to shape how AI strengthens democracy. In this role, you will: Direct the team’s technical strategy and guide key architectural decisions, prioritizing scalable, sustainable, and robust systems that enable rapid experimentation and production quality; Guide product development cycles from prototype to launch, championing engineering excellence by establishing and refining processes for high-quality, timely delivery; Lead, mentor, and grow a team of engineers (whether full-time or contract), fostering their professional development through regular 1:1s, coaching, and performance management to build a highly effective and motivated team; Build strong cross-functional relationships and facilitate collaboration with non-technical colleagues across the organization to ensure clear communication and alignment on goals; Shape team processes to support engineers working across short and long term projects, and integrating AI usage across our product development workflow; Lead the engineering team in building AI-powered features and products to solve the most pressing problems our democracy faces today.

Requirements

• Proven engineering leadership ability with 10+ years of experience in the software engineering industry, including at least 5 years of direct people management experience
• A track record of successfully leading and scaling multiple high-performing teams, or a single team working across multiple initiatives
• Excellent team and project management skills that provide clarity for engineers on priority and expectations
• Experience using prompt engineering as a developer, and a vision for how to integrate the latest tooling across an engineering team
• Thrives in early-stage environments where you're defining processes and making decisions with incomplete information and finite resources
• Able to translate technical concepts to a non-technical audience with the goal of facilitating the best possible project/mission outcomes
• Strong technical foundation and deep understanding of software development, architectural patterns, and team-level best practices to guide the team through complex technical challenges
• Passion for applying technology to strengthen democratic institutions with a thoughtful approach to AI risks, transparency and accountability
• Communicate and collaborate effectively by utilizing a high degree of emotional intelligence to articulate a clear vision, provide constructive feedback, and build strong relationships with technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Communicate with external stakeholders about technical challenges when building innovative products
• Proven ability to manage, coach, and grow individuals at different levels and with a wide variety of skills and areas of specialization
• Ability to foster collaborative relationships and work in a team environment with people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives
• Growth mindset and enthusiasm for giving and receiving feedback up, down and sideways
• Proven commitment to protecting and improving our democracy.

Responsibilities

• Direct the team’s technical strategy and guide key architectural decisions, prioritizing scalable, sustainable, and robust systems that enable rapid experimentation and production quality
• Guide product development cycles from prototype to launch, championing engineering excellence by establishing and refining processes for high-quality, timely delivery
• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of engineers (whether full-time or contract), fostering their professional development through regular 1:1s, coaching, and performance management to build a highly effective and motivated team
• Build strong cross-functional relationships and facilitate collaboration with non-technical colleagues across the organization to ensure clear communication and alignment on goals
• Shape team processes to support engineers working across short and long term projects, and integrating AI usage across our product development workflow
• Lead the engineering team in building AI-powered features and products to solve the most pressing problems our democracy faces today.

Benefits

• Our benefits package includes generous sick leave and a flexible vacation policy where we encourage team members to take 4-5 weeks every year, along with 12 paid holidays, 6 weeks of paid family medical leave, and 18 weeks of paid parental leave.
• We also offer a 401(k) plan with up to 6% employer match that vests immediately.
• Additionally, we cover employee medical premiums at 100% (with up to 95% coverage for dependents depending on plan selection), and employee and dependent’s dental/vision at 100%.
• All employees have access to long-term disability and life insurance, fertility benefits, a home office stipend, and bonuses at the discretion of the Executive Director.
• Ample opportunities for personal & professional development.
• Candidates who do not meet all listed criteria should still apply, as our organizational structure focuses on providing mentorship and opportunities for professional growth.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed