Engineering Manager

Granola
London, United Kingdom

Who this role is best for

Strong fit for candidates with management experience in fast-paced startups who prioritize people development and operational efficiency, and who are based in London or open to relocation.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with 2+ years of engineering management experience in high-growth startups
    — “2+ years of experience managing engineering teams in fast-moving, high-bar product startups or tech companies.”
  • Individuals with a technical background who can empathize with engineering challenges
    — “A background as a software engineer (or strong technical foundation) so you can deeply understand architectural trade-offs, empathize with technical friction”
  • People who thrive in close-knit teams with high autonomy and minimal bureaucracy
    — “no rigid silos between backend and product engineering everyone has a full-stack mindset, high ownership, and direct impact on the product.”

Things to consider

  • Requires in-office presence five days per week in London, with limited remote flexibility
    — “We do our best work in person, and so our team spends time together five days per week in our new, bright, and spacious office at Old Street.”
  • Candidates must be prepared to relocate to London if not already based there
    — “We are happy to offer relocation assistance to candidates who'll be moving to London to join us.”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience in scaling teams while maintaining fast delivery cycles
    — “help us scale our engineering team while keeping our shipping cadence extremely fast.”
  • Emphasize your ability to build high-trust, autonomous team cultures
    — “Build an environment of high accountability, trust, and autonomy.”
  • Showcase your process-implementation skills without creating overhead
    — “Implement 'just enough' process to keep teams aligned and unblocked, explicitly avoiding bureaucracy or rigid framework overhead.”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • supporting engineers
  • nurturing career growth
  • creating high-trust team dynamics
  • ensuring fast shipping cadence
  • recruiting high-bar engineering talent
Typical background
2+ years of experience managing engineering teams in fast-moving, high-bar product startups or tech companies

Skills & requirements

Required

People ManagementCoachingDelivery ExecutionProcess ImplementationTeam HealthHiringTechnical ContextLow EgoScrappy

Preferred

Fast-moving StartupsHigh-bar Product StartupsCraftsmanshipOwnership

Stack & domain

Engineering ManagementPeople CoachingDelivery ExecutionProcess ImplementationPragmatismTeam HealthCulture BuildingHiringScalingProduct StartupsTechnical FoundationArchitectural Trade-offsTechnical FrictionHigh-trust Team DynamicsFast-paced Startup SettingScalable Engineering TeamShipping CadenceProduct MomentumOperational TasksAdapting To Product PrioritiesCraftsmanshipOwnershipFull-stack MindsetHigh OwnershipDirect Impact On ProductLow-egoScrappyNavigating AmbiguityRolling Up SleevesAdapting QuicklyProduct PrioritiesLeadershipCollaborationCommunicationMentorshipTechnologyEngineeringProduct DevelopmentStartups

About the role

Original posting from Granola via Ashby

ABOUT GRANOLA

Granola is the AI notepad for people who spend their days in meetings. We build software that transforms raw conversation into clear, structured, and actionable notes combining transcription with flexible LLM workflows directly on your desktop.

We’re a small, tight-knit team moving fast in London. We care deeply about craft, speed, and autonomy. At Granola, there are no rigid silos between backend and product engineering everyone has a full-stack mindset, high ownership, and direct impact on the product.

THE ROLE

We are looking for an Engineering Manager focused on People & Delivery to help us scale our engineering team while keeping our shipping cadence extremely fast.

This is not a traditional corporate management role, nor is it a hands-on technical lead position. You are the operational engine and talent multiplier for the engineering team. Your primary focus will be supporting engineers, nurturing their career growth, creating high-trust team dynamics, and ensuring we ship exceptional product momentum week-in, week-out.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

  • People & Coaching: Conduct regular 1:1s, provide direct actionable feedback, and help engineers navigate career growth, performance, and skill development in a fast-paced startup setting.
  • Delivery & Execution: Own squad momentum and delivery rhythm. Work closely with product and design to break down projects, manage trade-offs, remove friction, and keep shipping cycles fast and predictable.
  • Process & Pragmatism: Implement "just enough" process to keep teams aligned and unblocked, explicitly avoiding bureaucracy or rigid framework overhead.
  • Team Health & Culture: Build an environment of high accountability, trust, and autonomy. Keep morale high and foster a culture of craftsmanship and ownership.
  • Hiring & Scaling: Partner closely with Talent and Leadership to recruit, interview, and onboard high-bar engineering talent as we scale the team.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

  • Track Record in Management: 2+ years of experience managing engineering teams in fast-moving, high-bar product startups or tech companies.
  • Delivery Mastery: Strong instinct for execution. You know how to scope down features, spot bottlenecks before they happen, and keep delivery humming without sacrificing quality.
  • People-First Mindset: Genuinely passionate about developing people, active listening, and creating conditions where engineers feel empowered to do their best work.
  • Technical Context: A background as a software engineer (or strong technical foundation) so you can deeply understand architectural trade-offs, empathize with technical friction, and hold high-signal conversations with the team.
  • Low-Ego & Scrappy: Comfortable navigating ambiguity, rolling up your sleeves on operational tasks, and adapting quickly as product priorities evolve.

About the opportunity

We are living in the most exciting time for tool builders since Engelbart's demo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_of_All_Demos in 1968. We want to assemble the best crew to build this future together, here in London. Our compensation philosophy is to pay slightly above market on salary and above market on equity.

We do our best work in person, and so our team spends time together five days per week in our new, bright, and spacious office at Old Street. We are happy to offer relocation assistance to candidates who'll be moving to London to join us.

Lastly, we think amazing talent comes from all kinds of life journeys and experiences. If what is written above speaks to you, whether you look like a fit on paper or not, please reach out.

Source: Granola careers (Ashby)

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