Manager of Engineering, Labs

Pax8 is the leading cloud-based technology marketplace, simplifying the cloud journey for our partners by integrating technology, business intelligence and proactive service to deliver an unparalleled experience. Serving thousands of partners through the indirect sales channel, our mission is to build the technology marketplace of the future. We are a fast-growing, dynamic and  high-energy startup organization, allowing you to make a meaningful impact on the business. Culture is important to us, and at Pax8, it’s business, and it IS personal. We are passionate, creative and humorously offbeat. We work hard, keep it fun, and expect the best. 

 

We Elev8 each other. We Advoc8 for our partners. We Innov8 continuously. We Celebr8 life.

Position Summary:  

The Engineering Manager at Pax8 Labs owns both technical leadership and team development as we build autonomous AI agents that will fundamentally change how small businesses operate. This is largely uncharted territory: we're pioneering new approaches to agent architecture, multi-system coordination, and real-world AI deployment at scale. They build and scale high-performing engineering teams while contributing directly to the codebase as an individual contributor, helping to define both the technology and the engineering culture as we scale. This role combines hands-on technical work with people management, establishing an engineering culture and the processes to support rapid prototyping and deployment of AI technologies that will reach thousands of partners through Pax8's marketplace platform. 

Essential Responsibilities:

• Technical Leadership & Individual Contribution - Contribute directly to the codebase, focusing on critical path features, architectural decisions, and technology stack evaluation. Set technical standards and mentor engineers on best practices. (50%)
• Team Building & Management - Build, hire, and scale an engineering team from 0 to 5 engineers over the first 12 months. Conduct 1:1s, performance reviews, and career development conversations. Partner with GM to define Labs' engineering culture and operating principles. (35%)
• Strategic Collaboration - Collaborate closely with Product Lead, UX Lead, and Technical Fellow on technical discovery and architectural decisions. Interface with Pax8's core engineering organization for potential integration and deployment. (10%)
• Process & Culture Development - Implement lightweight, effective development practices that support rapid experimentation and learning. Establish development practices, technical documentation, and knowledge sharing frameworks. (5%) 

Ideal Skills, Experience, and Competencies: 

• At least 8+ years of software development experience with 3+ years in technical leadership roles.

• Expert-level proficiency in backend languages such as Go, Python, Rust, Kotlin, or TypeScript. 

• Demonstrated experience integrating and deploying AI solutions and machine learning models in production environments. 

• Extensive knowledge of cloud-native architectures, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and distributed systems. 

• Proven ability to design and develop robust, well-documented APIs (REST, GraphQL, or gRPC). 

• Deep familiarity with modern DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform). 

• Experience with agent frameworks, orchestration systems, or multi-agent coordination preferred. 

• Experience building diverse, high-performing teams and defining engineering culture in fast-moving environments. 

• Proven ability to balance individual contribution with team leadership responsibilities. 

• Experience with AI-powered products or modern development tooling preferred. 

• Startup or scale-up experience, comfortable with ambiguity and rapid iteration. 

• Understanding of modern AI/ML workflows, LLMs, and autonomous agent architectures. 

Labs Culture & Work Style: 

• Modern Development: Embrace AI tools where they add genuine value, from coding assistance to automated testing 

• Async-First Communication: Thoughtful documentation (Slack, Notion, Loom), with focused in-person collaboration 2-3 days per week in our Denver office 

• Build-Measure-Learn: Rapid prototyping with early validation, comfortable failing fast and iterating 

• Technical Excellence: High standards for code quality balanced with speed of delivery 

Why Join Pax8 Labs ? 

• Technical Challenge: Build autonomous agents that actually work in production, solving novel problems in agent coordination and system integration 

• Pioneering Territory: Work at the forefront of agent technology in a rapidly evolving space 

• Massive Scale: Your code will reach thousands of partners through Pax8's established marketplace platform 

• Greenfield Engineering: Build systems from scratch with modern technologies and no legacy constraints 

• Culture Building: Define engineering practices and culture for a team scaling from 0 to 40+ engineers 

• Strong Backing: Executive support and autonomy to build breakthrough technology 

• Exceptional Team: Work directly with the GM, alongside our Technical Fellow and experienced product and design professionals 

Work Environment: 

Pax8 Labs operates with a hybrid model requiring 2-3 days per week in our Denver office to foster creative collaboration and team synergy.  

 

*** Colorado law requires an estimated closing date for job postings. Please don't be discouraged from applying if you see this date has passed ***

 

Pax8 is an equal opportunities employer and welcome individuals who are in possession of the appropriate requirements to work within the country the role is based in. Offered individuals will be asked to undertake identity, security compliance and reference checks. Your privacy is important to us. Your data will be held in accordance with Data Privacy best practices and processed only in accordance with our recruiting processes.