Opportunity at
ElasticSenior Engineering Manager - Agents and Context - Platform
Elastic, known as the Search AI Company, provides cloud solutions spanning search, security, and observability to help organizations leverage their structured and unstructured data. More than…
Career Tools
About This Role
Elastic, known as the Search AI Company, provides cloud solutions spanning search, security, and observability to help organizations leverage their structured and unstructured data. More than half of the Fortune 500 utilize the Elastic Search AI Platform. Within the Agents and Context group, the Chat team builds conversational and agentic infrastructure that allows users to interact with their data directly in Elasticsearch, encompassing conversation experiences, tool harnesses, retrieval mechanisms, streaming,…
Job Description
Elastic, known as the Search AI Company, provides cloud solutions spanning search, security, and observability to help organizations leverage their structured and unstructured data. More than half of the Fortune 500 utilize the Elastic Search AI Platform. Within the Agents and Context group, the Chat team builds conversational and agentic infrastructure that allows users to interact with their data directly in Elasticsearch, encompassing conversation experiences, tool harnesses, retrieval mechanisms, streaming, memory, and evaluation layers.
Elastic seeks a Senior Engineering Manager to lead a geographically dispersed team of approximately twelve engineers within the Chat unit. Operating within a trio model alongside a Product Manager and Technical Lead, the selected candidate will directly supervise team members, guide project execution, and collaborate on roadmap development. This position focuses on both personnel management and delivery leadership in a dynamic environment.
Responsibilities
- Manage the delivery schedule for the Chat roadmap by defining milestones and addressing risks
- Oversee the full hiring lifecycle, including crafting job descriptions, managing interview loops, partnering with recruiting, and onboarding
- Coach and mentor engineers through scheduled one-on-one meetings, constructive feedback, and clear expectations
- Handle performance reviews, career development plans, and resolutions for underperformance
- Collaborate with the Technical Lead and Product Manager to establish roadmap priorities
- Coordinate with data science, user experience, and other Agents and Context teams regarding shared components and quality metrics
- Establish and refine team processes for planning, asynchronous communication, and release cycles
- Represent the engineering team before company leadership and stakeholders
Requirements
- Demonstrated experience as an engineering manager overseeing software teams, covering recruitment, mentoring, and performance management
- Experience executing multi-team software initiatives within an asynchronous and distributed setting
- Background in hands-on software engineering with technical familiarity regarding TypeScript, Node, React, and Elasticsearch-backed systems
- Understanding of large language model applications, including Retrieval-Augmented Generation, agents, tool use, evaluation, and context engineering
- Strong written and verbal communication skills emphasizing concise long-form documentation
- Direct, calm, and empathetic leadership style focused on accountability
Qualifications
- Previous familiarity with Elasticsearch, Kibana, search technology, information retrieval, or open source communities
Core Skills
Benefits
- Base salary compensation package
- Health coverage for employees and their families across numerous locations
- Flexible schedules and work locations for eligible roles
- Generous annual vacation time
- Charitable donation matching up to $2000 or local currency equivalent
- Up to 40 hours of paid time off annually for volunteer work
- Paid parental leave of at least 16 weeks
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers are based only on the employer’s listing; where it doesn’t say, neither do we.
What is the compensation for this position?
The role provides a base salary ranging typically from €73.300 to €115.900 EUR, determined by relevant experience, expertise, and role complexity. There is no variable compensation component.
Where is the team located?
Elastic operates as a distributed company by intention, employing team members across continents with flexible scheduling and location options.
What team will this manager lead?
The manager will lead the Chat team, which is part of the Agents and Context group, consisting of roughly 12 distributed engineers.
Does the role involve writing production code?
No, the posting notes that while technical depth is required to spot bottlenecks and architectural risks, you will not write production code.
Sample Interview Questions
AI-generated questions tailored to this specific role — a preview of the full practice set.