Engineering managers who can grow engineers, not just ship sprints.
We place engineering managers from first-time EMs through Director level. Calibrated against delivery track record, hiring history, 1:1 cadence, and the explicit choice to stay on the management track.
The engineering manager market — the honest version.
Engineering management is a separate discipline from senior engineering, and treating it as a promotion rather than a role change is the most common failure mode. The right EM hire grows the engineers under them and produces predictable delivery. The wrong EM hire is a senior engineer with more meetings and fewer commits. Our screens are explicit: we test for the EM behaviors (1:1s, feedback, hiring), not for the IC behaviors (code, architecture).
What we actually screen for.
Every engineering manager candidate goes through a structured technical screen conducted by an ex-engineer recruiter before you see their profile.
- 1:1 cadence and feedback discipline — how they run them, real examples they can cite
- Hiring track record — named engineers they hired, retained past 2 years, progressed to senior
- Delivery outcomes — projects owned, how they were measured, what broke and was fixed
- Cross-team navigation — how they partnered with PM, design, and adjacent engineering teams
- Career choice clarity — do they want the management track or got stuck there
- Technical credibility — still able to review code and hold a design conversation credibly
How we run a engineering manager search.
Days 0–2
Intake + scope alignment
First-time EM, senior EM, or Director — calibrate candidate pool against scope.
Days 2–14
Sourcing + EM-specific screen
Behavioral interview on 1:1, feedback, hiring, and delivery — with real examples probed deeply.
Days 10–14
First shortlist
4–6 candidates with written assessments of management behaviors.
Days 14–28
Interviews + offer
Multi-round including an engineer-peer conversation and a cross-functional PM/designer interview.
Real salary bands across our three markets.
- Pakistan (remote int'l)
USD $80K–$180K
- Canada
CAD $170K–$280K + equity
- United States
USD $220K–$380K + equity
Titles we place under this role type.
- Engineering Manager
- Senior Engineering Manager
- Director of Engineering
- EM
- Tech Lead Manager
Engineering Manager hiring — questions we hear.
Yes — it's the central screen. We probe for EM behaviors (1:1s, feedback, hiring, conflict resolution) with real examples. Senior engineers with an EM title rarely have deep examples when pressed.
Ready to run this search?
Submit a brief and a senior recruiter will reply within 24 business hours with a proposed timeline, calibrated fee structure, and sample profiles.
Related role pages