LawnStarter: Software Engineering Manager
Headquarters: Brazil
URL: http://lawnstarter.com
About LawnStarter
LawnStarter is the nation's leading on-demand marketplace for lawn care and related services, with over $100M in annual bookings. We're expanding beyond lawn care to become the one-stop shop for all outdoor home services - pest control, pool cleaning, window cleaning, and more.
About Engineering at LawnStarter
Our engineering team builds the platform that connects hundreds of thousands of homeowners with over 70,000 active service pros. We operate three brands (LawnStarter, Lawn Love, HomeGnome) on shared infrastructure, and we're profitable and growing. Engineering here is fast - we ship constantly, we own our systems end-to-end, and we don't tolerate "not my problem." We have strong processes and existing engineering managers, so you're not building from scratch. You're raising the bar.
The Role
We're growing, and that means adding engineering leadership capacity to support new initiatives. You'll lead cross-functional delivery teams of 4-5 engineers, reporting to our Head of Engineering. Your job is to make sure your team ships reliably, grows professionally, and doesn't become a bottleneck as LawnStarter scales into new service verticals.
This is a people-first role. If your identity as an EM is primarily technical - if you'd rather review architecture than develop an underperformer - this isn't the right fit. If you're the manager who knows what every person on your team needs to grow, who handles conflict directly, and who can articulate team performance in metrics, keep reading.
What makes this role different
- Ownership: You'll own both delivery AND people outcomes - neither can be delegated.
- Distributed Culture: We are a distributed team across time zones, so async leadership and written communication matter as much as meetings.
- Velocity: We move fast and actually ship - you'll feel the difference between a team that's humming and one that's stuck.
- AI-Forward: AI is not a buzzword here - we expect you to lead your team on how to use it, not just follow along.
What You'll Own
- People development: Concrete growth plans for every IC on your team. You know where each person is going and what it takes to get there.
- Delivery: Your team ships on cadence with predictable quality. You surface risk early, manage scope, and don't miss commitments without warning.
- Team health: Conflict gets addressed directly. Underperformers are managed with a clear process. Top performers are protected and developed.
- Cross-functional partnership: You're the interface between your team and Product, Design, and other engineering teams. Decisions get made, not stalled.
- Technical direction: Close enough to the work to weigh in on system design and catch architectural risks, without being in the weeds.
- AI adoption: You're actively introducing AI tools and workflows into how your team operates (code review, documentation, sprint planning, debugging).
Problems to Solve
- Building people leadership depth: As we expand into new verticals, we need an EM who can develop the next generation of senior engineers and tech leads.
- Managing distributed teams: Maintaining culture and accountability across multiple time zones and countries.
- Turning delivery consistency into a competitive advantage: Shipping reliably to compound on our momentum.
- Orchestrating cross-functional delivery: Acting as the connective tissue between Product, Design, and specialist functions without becoming a bottleneck.
- Turning AI adoption into throughput: Using AI to increase velocity without sacrificing craftsmanship or quality.
What Success Looks Like (Year 1)
- Every engineer on your team has a documented growth plan within 60 days.
- Your team ships its committed scope on cadence within 90 days.
- Zero surprise departures; you know your retention risks and are actively working them.
- Underperformance is addressed directly and documented.
- The Head of Engineering trusts your team's commitments.
- Your team is visibly more AI-enabled than when you joined.
Requirements
- Deeply AI-integrated: You have moved past basic prompting and are actively implementing AI workflows (e.g., Claude Code, spec-driven development) to accelerate your team.
- People developer: You prioritize career growth and coaching over status updates. You have a track record of managing performance and developing talent.
- Remote-native: You have experience leading fully remote teams and understand how to build trust and manage async decision-making.
- Direct in conflict: You address tension and performance issues immediately rather than letting them simmer.
- Data-driven: You track and articulate team performance using metrics (velocity, retention, growth) rather than "vibes."
- Technically credible: You stay close enough to the code to earn respect and provide architectural input, even if you aren't the primary coder.
- Delegator: You coach engineers toward answers rather than providing them, ensuring you are not a bottleneck.
This Role Is NOT
- A pure technical architect role.
- A process manager role (we have processes; you lead the people running them).
- A stepping stone (we are looking for someone committed to people leadership as their primary craft).
- A reactive firefighter role.
- An AI-skeptic role.
Benefits
- Rate: $120,000-$140,000 USD annually (contractor), depending on experience.
- Location: Fully remote.
- Flexibility: Structured work hours with reasonable flexibility for life.
LawnStarter provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. We comply with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment.
To apply: https://weworkremotely.com/remote-jobs/lawnstarter-software-engineering-manager-1