Engineering Manager
Remote, Canada · Up to $250,000 CAD + 10–25% Bonus · Full-time
The Opportunity
Sage Recruiting is partnering with a well-funded consumer fintech whose product helps millions of people take control of their finances. Our client is in the middle of building something new: their team is pivoting to develop a second, AI-first product aimed at a more affluent market segment. These people are engaged with their finances but want something smarter and more effortless. It's a genuine greenfield moment, and they need the right engineering leader to help them get there.
This is our client's first Engineering Manager hire. You won't be stepping into a seat in an existing org chart. You'll be creating the engineering management function from scratch, partnering directly with product and customer success leadership, and setting the technical direction for both the existing platform and the new product being built. It’s a flat structure with real ownership, and a team of strong engineers who are ready to be guided and led towards the next phase in the company.
What You'll Do
• Own the engineering roadmap: partner with Product and senior leadership to set the technical strategy and turn it into a plan the team can execute against
• Lead the team's technical transition: guide the move from the legacy mobile and backend stacks to a modern TypeScript stack (React, React Native, Node.js) and an AI-first development culture
• Architect the new product's technical foundation: from early prototyping and AI scaffolding through to a production-ready architecture
• Manage and grow a team of software engineers: including mentoring several senior engineers who are beginning to step into management roles themselves
• Identify and develop future engineering managers: you'll be building the management layer beneath you as the team grows
• Help the team move faster: through AI tooling, prototyping harnesses, and better ways of working
• Be a cross-functional partner: work closely with Product, Customer Success, and senior leadership as a peer, not just an executor
What Our Client Is Looking For
You must have:
• Outstanding written and verbal communication. This is the most important filter for this role. You'll be expected to write clearly and persuasively for both technical and non-technical audiences. The interview process includes a written design exercise.
• Solid hands-on experience with React Native and backend TypeScript (or React and mobile development and deployment), with enough depth to review code, set up prototypes and harnesses, and have credible conversations about architectural trade-offs
• Experience with AI scaffolding, specifically helping engineering teams prototype faster, build AI harnesses, and set up tooling infrastructure
• A track record of genuine people development: you've managed 5–7+ engineers, helped people grow into new roles, and built a team culture. Our client isn't looking for a tech lead who also manages; they're looking for someone who has made people development their craft
• Experience owning an engineering roadmap and technical strategy, not just executing on one handed to you
• Experience leading a team through a technology transition or stack migration
It's a bonus if you have:
• Experience building an AI-first product from scratch, from ideation through launch.
• A background in fintech or financial services
• Startup experience. You've built systems and processes that didn't exist before
• Experience working with engineering teams across European time zones, where communication style and decision pace can feel different
You don't need, but could have:
• Proficiency in mobile (Swift) or JVM-based stacks (they use Kotlin). If you don’t have it, you'll inherit this stack, but you won't live in it
• The ability to write production code day-to-day (code review and prototype setup is the bar)
The Role in Context
This role is 50/50 people leadership and technical leadership, not a pure manager, not a glorified senior engineer. You'll spend half your time on the people side (developing engineers, building management infrastructure, setting team culture) and the other half on the technical side (architecture, roadmap, AI tooling, prototyping). That balance matters; if you're looking to step away from the technical side entirely or if you're not yet ready to prioritize people development, this isn't the right fit.
The team is at different stages of the technical transition. Some engineers are ready and eager to move to the new stack; some have already started; others are earlier in the journey. One of your first challenges will be meeting everyone where they are and bringing the team along together.
Several senior engineers on the team are beginning to develop as managers. They're currently responsible for 1–2 direct reports each and are still learning the ropes. You'll mentor them, and eventually they'll report to you as they grow into the role. This is how the management layer below you will be built over time.
What Success Looks Like
In your first 90 days:
• You've figured out how things work internally, where the gaps are, and what the team needs
• You've delivered a people structure plan: a clear roadmap for how the team transitions from where they are today to where the company wants to go
• You've delivered an architectural roadmap for the new AI-first product, covering the technical foundations and how to build toward them
In your first 6 months:
• The team is executing against the roadmap with clarity on where they're going and why
• The senior engineers developing as managers have structured mentorship and are progressing toward leading their own teams
• The technical direction for the new product is set, and the team understands it
Why This Role
First EM, first principles. You won't be inheriting someone else's management framework. You'll be building it, and that work will be visible at the highest levels of the company.
A real growth path. As the managers beneath you develop, this role naturally evolves into a Senior Manager or Director position. The company is growing, and how much depends on where the new product lands, but the trajectory is real.
Two products, one team. You'll be part of maintaining a live product used by a large, real user base while simultaneously building something brand new with an AI-first approach. That combination is rare.
Flat structure, real influence. No directors between you and leadership. You'll work directly with the people making decisions, as a partner and not a proxy.
Remote-first. Work from anywhere in Canada. Core hours of 10am–2pm EST keep the team connected across time zones without locking up the whole day.