Staff Engineer, Workflow Engine
•Stripe· 10m
💻 Engineering📝 Contract🎯 Lead / Principal🇺🇸 Seattle, USA
10m ago
Zapier·2 months ago
At Zapier, we build and use automation every day to make work more efficient, creative, and human. So if you’re using AI tools while applying here - that’s great! We just ask that you use them responsibly and transparently.
Check out our guidance on How to Collaborate with AI During Zapier’s Hiring Process, including how to use AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or others during our hiring process - and when not to.
Hi there,
Zapier is looking for an Engineering Manager to lead our AI Tasks team, the group responsible for making AI accessible, trustworthy, and productive for every Zapier user. This team builds the experiences that combine AI automation with human oversight, enabling complex workflows that were previously impossible. From guided prompting, AI powered task execution, and human-in-the-loop controls, AI Tasks is where AI meets real user needs safely, intuitively, and at scale.
Our mission is simple: unlock new automation possibilities through the combination of AI and human control. We help users go from their first AI experiment to confidently running advanced workflows by designing experiences that meet them where they are, whether they’re novices exploring AI for the first time or power builders scaling AI across their organization.
As the Engineering Manager for AI Tasks, you’ll lead the team responsible for removing the biggest barriers to AI adoption: discovery, blank-canvas prompting, trust, and complexity. This is a unique opportunity to define how AI becomes part of everyday automation for millions of people.
If you’re excited about making AI work for everyone—not just experts—this is the role for you.
You've shipped LLM-powered products. You have hands-on experience building and shipping LLM features, with bonus points for features that help non-experts succeed with AI such as human in the loop or guided prompting.
You’re willing to get your hands dirty. You thrive in ambiguous, fast-moving environments where rapid iteration is key. You’re comfortable prototyping user-facing AI flows, running experiments, and learning from real user behavior. You're comfortable with ambiguity and enjoy the process of turning vision into reality.
You are a skilled engineering leader. You have a proven track record of building high-quality, production-level code. You're fluent in our tech stack (Typescript, React, Nodejs, Python, Django) and comfortable learning new technologies.
You have excellent communication skills. You regularly work with engineers and other stakeholders from various disciplines, balancing engineering concerns, such as technical debt, with product concerns. Ideally, you find solutions that address both the team and user needs, but if not, help build understanding around difficult decisions.
You stay technically engaged. You regularly pair with engineers to support technical decision-making despite not being an IC.
You balance architecture with pragmatism. You make informed technical decisions, knowing when to plan meticulously and when to move quickly.
You prioritize outcomes over process. You implement lightweight processes that drive results without creating unnecessary red tape.
You champion frequent deployments. You believe in shipping code regularly and improving through real-world feedback rather than seeking perfection.
You solve problems creatively. You tackle challenges with a can-do attitude, recognizing when to build new features versus strengthening foundations.
You put users first. Your decisions and leadership are guided by user needs and improving their experience.
You build relationships across teams. You collaborate effectively beyond your team and influence technical decisions for the company's benefit.
Lead and develop a team of 4-6 engineers, providing technical direction, mentorship, and career growth opportunities.
Work with the engineering team to make, evaluate, and advocate for architectural decisions that align with Zapier's vision and technical standards.
Collaborate across engineering teams to evaluate and inform their technical decisions, creating alignment and removing blockers for the execution of Agents roadmap.
Collaborate closely with Product and Design to understand user needs—particularly around discovery, trust, and complexity—and translate those insights into intuitive, effective AI features.
Champion problem-solving by identifying technical challenges and improving engineering processes.
Partner with key stakeholders to tackle user problems effectively.
Communicate effectively to lead your team and keep leadership informed on your team’s progress through one-on-ones, team meetings, and leadership updates.
Foster a culture of experimentation, rapid learning, and continuous improvement
At Zapier, we believe that diverse perspectives and experiences make us better, which is why we have a non-standard application process designed to promote inclusion and equity. We're looking for the best fit for each of our roles, regardless of the type of companies in your background, so we encourage you to apply even if your skills and experiences don’t exactly match the job description. All we ask is that you answer a few in-depth questions in our application that would typically be asked at the start of an interview process. This helps speed things up by letting us get to know you and your skillset a bit better right out of the gate. Please be sure to answer each question; the resume and CV fields are optional.
Education is not a requirement for our roles; however, if you receive an offer, you will need to include your most recent educational experience as part of our background check process.
After you apply, you are going to hear back from us—even if we don’t see an immediate fit with our team. In fact, throughout the process, we strive to never go more than seven days without letting you know the status of your application. We know we’ll make mistakes from time to time, so if you ever have questions about where you stand or about the process, just ask your recruiter!
Zapier is an equal-opportunity employer and we're excited to work with talented and empathetic people of all identities. Zapier does not discriminate based on someone's identity in any aspect of hiring or employment as required by law and in line with our commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity. Our code of conduct provides a beacon for the kind of company we strive to be, and we celebrate our differences because those differences are what allow us to make a product that serves a global user base. Zapier will consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, consistent with applicable laws.
Zapier prioritizes the security of our customers' information and is dedicated to adhering to all applicable data privacy laws. You can review our privacy policy here.
Zapier is committed to inclusion. As part of this commitment, Zapier welcomes applications from individuals with disabilities and will work to provide reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodations are needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact [email protected].
The anticipated application window is 30 days from the date job is posted, unless the number of applicants requires it to close sooner or later, or if the position is filled.
Even though we’re an all-remote company, we still need to be thoughtful about where we have Zapiens working. Check out this resource for a list of countries where we currently cannot have Zapiens permanently working.