Engineering Manager

📋 Description

• • Ecosia is seeking a passionate and experienced Engineering Manager to lead our AI Search Experience team, based in Berlin or fully remote. This pivotal role reports directly to the CTO and involves guiding a talented group of engineers dedicated to building and enhancing Ecosia's cutting-edge AI-powered search functionalities. You will be instrumental in shaping the future of how users interact with information, making search more intelligent, relevant, and trustworthy.
• • The AI Search Experience team is at the forefront of innovation, focusing on critical areas such as grounding Large Language Model (LLM) responses in authoritative data sources, including points of interest, extensive knowledge bases, travel information, and the vast expanse of the open web. This ensures that the information provided is not only comprehensive but also reliable and verifiable.
• • A key aspect of the team's work involves tailoring AI-generated responses to specific user intents and diverse use cases. Whether a user is studying for an important exam, planning a dream travel destination, or seeking quick factual information, the team ensures the search experience is personalized and highly effective.
• • Continuous improvement is a core tenet of the team's philosophy. You will guide efforts to enhance the quality, reliability, and transparency of AI-driven search results, fostering user trust and satisfaction.
• • Collaboration is paramount. You will work closely with sister teams developing our conversational search product and with the central Platform team to deliver cohesive and integrated AI features that users will love. This cross-functional synergy is essential for creating a seamless and powerful search ecosystem.
• • Your work will directly contribute to Ecosia's overarching mission: to provide a modern, sovereign, and user-centric European search experience that empowers users while simultaneously contributing to environmental sustainability.
• • Beyond AI search, the team also owns and evolves a sophisticated internal frontend stack built on modern, open-source libraries. This foundational technology serves as the frontend backbone for multiple teams across Ecosia, and you will oversee its maintenance, enhancement, and the enablement of other teams to leverage it effectively for their own product development.
• • As an Engineering Manager, your role is a dynamic blend of technical leadership and people management. You will foster an environment where engineers can do their best work, grow their careers, and contribute meaningfully to Ecosia's goals.
• • In close partnership with your Product and Engineering peers, you will play a crucial role in enriching Ecosia's engineering culture, which is built on principles of equity, inclusivity, curiosity, and a strong outcome-orientation.
• • You will partner closely with Product and Design counterparts to define the strategic roadmap for the AI Search Experience, translating complex and sometimes ambiguous problem spaces into clear, actionable technical directions.
• • Support and guide the team in the development and continuous improvement of AI-powered search features, with a focus on:
• • Enhancing the grounding of LLM responses using structured data and web sources.
• • Elevating response quality, relevance, and overall trustworthiness.
• • Precisely tailoring search outputs to meet specific user intents and diverse use cases.
• • Provide technical guidance on architectural decisions related to LLM integration, the design and implementation of retrieval systems, the development of robust evaluation pipelines, and the execution of effective experimentation strategies.
• • Champion operational excellence, ensuring the reliability, observability, and scalability of AI systems deployed in production environments.
• • Take ownership of the development and ongoing maintenance of Ecosia's internal frontend framework stack. Ensure this stack remains robust, well-documented, and easily adoptable by other engineering teams across the company.
• • Foster strong collaboration with other Search teams to facilitate seamless cross-team initiatives and the establishment and adherence to shared technical standards.
• • Empower your team to achieve their full potential by proactively removing roadblocks, facilitating critical decision-making processes, effectively resolving conflicts, and continuously optimizing team workflows and processes.
• • Conduct regular one-on-one meetings, provide constructive feedback, and lead growth conversations to support the career development of each team member through dedicated coaching and mentoring.
• • Oversee team performance, ensuring fair, equitable, and transparent evaluation and compensation practices.
• • Promote a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing, with a particular emphasis on AI engineering best practices, experimentation methodologies, and the principles of responsible AI development.
• • Actively co-create and nurture a collaborative, inclusive, and psychologically safe team culture that aligns with Ecosia's core company values.