Senior Engineering Manager, Builder Tools
About Us
Temporal is an open source programming model that can simplify code, make applications more reliable, and help developers focus on the important things like delivering features faster. We are on a mission to be the reliable foundation of every developer’s toolbox, and are building the team that will make that happen. Our values guide us —they are present in how we show up, make decisions, and work together to make an impact. We’re curious, driven, collaborative, genuine and humble. Temporal is growing and we are looking for those who share our values, challenge 'standard' thinking, and want to influence our future. If you have a passion for improving the developer experience, building world-class open-source software and communities, and want to be a part of our amazing team, we'd love to hear from you!Summary
As a Senior Engineering Manager on the Builder Tools team, you will lead a team that empowers a company of builders by delivering a frictionless, standardized ecosystem of core engineering and AI tools. You’ll operate like internal Forward Deployed Engineers—partnering directly with teams across the company to accelerate safe, effective AI adoption—while also being an early adopter of our own AI products to create a tight feedback loop with product leadership.
You will balance speed with reliability: removing invisible barriers that break flow, building paved paths, and prioritizing measurable business impact.
Scope & Responsibilities
- Set direction for AI-assisted development, end-to-end: Define the engineering-wide approach for safe, effective AI-assisted workflows (tooling standards, rollout strategy, and adoption).
- Build frictionless paved paths: Identify and remove sources of friction in developer workflows; deliver a small set of deeply reliable, well-supported paved roads rather than many bespoke bypasses.
- Internal AI platform strategy (build vs. buy): Own strategy and execution for internal agent runtimes and developer-facing AI systems (authoring, review, and automation workflows), including vendor evaluation and integrations.
- Governance, cost, and measurement: Drive governance and cost management for AI tooling (usage measurement, guardrails, optimization) using clear metrics and frameworks (e.g., DORA/SPACE) to translate improvements into business outcomes.
What You’ll Bring
Leadership & Execution
- A strong bias toward action, curiosity, and focus on impact.
- Experience leading teams focused on developer productivity, DevEx, internal platforms, or engineering tooling.
- Track record of driving adoption of new workflows and platforms across an engineering organization.
- Ability to operate across boundaries and influence without direct ownership; comfort acting as an internal forward-deployed partner.
- Strong coaching and feedback skills, creating an environment where engineers can grow and ship high-quality systems.
AI & Tooling Experience
- Experience evaluating and deploying AI coding tools, developer assistants, and/or LLM-based workflows and agents.
- Intuition for when to adopt vs. build, and how to standardize without blocking innovation.
Technical Background
- Strong software engineering background (backend, platform, or developer tools).
- Familiarity with modern developer workflows and the systems that support them.
- Ability to engage deeply in technical discussions around system design, safety guardrails, operational readiness, and tradeoffs.
Product & Organizational Thinking
- Ability to translate ambiguous needs into clear guidance and systems.
- Strong empathy for builders and their workflows (including non-traditional developers).
- Experience prioritizing and communicating based on measurable impact, not just qualitative feedback.
Nice to Haves
- Experience building measurement systems for tooling outcomes (adoption, reliability, cycle time, cost-to-serve, AI spend).
Compensation
- The estimated pay range for this role is $268,000 - $305,000 depending on experience and location.
- This role is eligible to participate in Temporal's equity plan.
- Unlimited PTO, 12 Holidays + 2 Floating Holidays
- 100% Premiums Coverage for Medical, Dental, and Vision
- AD&D, LT & ST Disability, and Life Insurance (Standard & Supplemental Available)
- Empower 401K Plan
- Additional Perks for Learning & Development, Lifestyle Spending, In-Home Office Setup, Professional Memberships, WFH Meals, Internet Stipend and more!
Paid Time Off (PTO) and Benefits outside the United States vary by country, and are issued in partnership with Remote.com. Additionally, Temporal offers perks to all international employees for learning & career development, a lifestyle spending account, in-home office setup (in addition to company-issued hardware), professional memberships, work-from-home meals, and access to the Calm app for mental wellness.
Travel
Temporal is a globally distributed, collaborative team that values opportunities for in-person connection. Occasional travel may be required for company events, team offsites, and other meaningful moments that bring us together.
Additional Perks- $3,600 / Year Work from Home Meals
- $1,800 / Year Professional Enrichment (Career Development & Professional Memberships)
- $1,200 / Year Lifestyle Spending Account
- $1,000 / Year In-Home Office Setup (In addition to Temporal issued equipment - laptop, monitor, keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and extension power cable at no cost to you)
- $74 / Month Reimbursement for Internet
- Calm App Subscription for Mental Health & Wellness