---
title: Engineering manager job description template for startups (2026)
description: "Engineering manager job description template for startups: what the EM takes off the CTO, how much code, a stage table, a scorecard and a 30-60-90 plan."
---
[Startup Hiring Insights & Guides | funded.club](https://funded.club/blog)
# [Engineering manager job description template for startups (2026)](https://funded.club/blog/engineering-manager-job-description)
Written by [Ray Gibson](https://funded.club/blog/author/ray-gibson) | Oct 1, 2026, 5:17:04 PM
*Updated October 2026*
A strong startup engineering manager job description says how many engineers the hire manages from day one, how much hands-on code is expected, and which work moves off the CTO's plate: 1:1s, performance conversations, the hiring loop or delivery. It lists outcomes, keeps must-haves to six, and shows salary and equity ranges.
Hire an engineering manager when the CTO's calendar becomes the bottleneck. Stuck technical decisions call for a senior or staff engineer instead. Cancelled 1:1s, final interviews queuing for a week and overdue performance conversations call for a manager. Before writing a word, colour-code two weeks of the CTO's calendar and build the JD around the hours being handed over.
Our illustrative example: a Series A B2B software company whose co-founder CTO has eleven direct reports, sits on every final interview and still reviews most pull requests.
The CTO's week, before and after the first EM (illustrative)
Before: eleven direct reports
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
Six months after
10%
10%
15%
45%
20%
1:1sInterviewsCode reviewArchitecture and productInvestors
Illustrative split for the example company, not data.
## Copy-and-paste engineering manager job description
**About \[Company\]**
\[Company\] helps \[customer\] \[do what\]. We are \[number\] people after raising \[round\] from \[investors\] in \[month, year\]. Engineering is \[number\] people in \[number\] teams.
**The role**
We're hiring our first engineering manager to lead \[team\] of \[number\] engineers. You'll report to \[CTO name\], who keeps architecture and technical direction. You'll own 1:1s, performance, hiring and delivery, and spend about \[X\]% of your week on code, mostly reviews.
**What you'll do in your first 6 months**
- Hold weekly 1:1s with every engineer and agree a written growth plan with each by \[month\].
- Take over the hiring loop: redesign the stages, train interviewers and close \[number\] hires.
- Run delivery for \[team\] so the CEO gets dates they can plan around.
- Hold any overdue performance conversations and see them through.
- Agree with \[CTO name\], in writing, who decides what and how disagreements are settled.
**What you'll bring**
- You've managed engineers for \[X\] years, including hiring them.
- You can review a pull request in \[core stack\] and be taken seriously.
- You've had a hard performance conversation and can explain what happened next.
- You've run a hiring process end to end and improved it.
- You've built process in a company of \[X to Y\] people.
- You write clear plans, feedback and incident notes.
**Nice to have**
- You've made the move from engineer to manager and can coach someone through it.
- Experience working alongside a co-founder CTO.
- \[Managing across time zones / domain experience in X\].
**What we offer**
- Salary: \[£/$/€ X to Y\], depending on experience.
- Equity: \[X% to Y%\] in \[options / shares\], \[vesting schedule\].
- \[Remote / hybrid, X days a week in City\].
- Stage: \[Series A / Series B\]. \[Benefits, e.g. budget for management coaching\].
The [free job description builder](https://funded.club/job-description-builder) will turn rough notes into this format, and our [engineering manager interview questions](https://funded.club/blog/engineering-manager-interview-questions) follow the scorecard below.
## How an engineering manager job description changes by stage
| Seed | Series A | Series B | |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Do you need one?** | Rarely. Hire engineers and let the CTO hold 1:1s | Often, once the CTO's week fills with people work | Yes, usually several |
| **Hands-on code** | Most of the week, so really a tech lead | A minority: reviews and small fixes | Little beyond design reviews |
| **Main job** | Ship and hire | 1:1s, hiring loop, delivery rhythm | Planning, performance cycles, growing leads |
Benchmark salary and equity against current data for your market.
Promote from within, or hire from outside
Promote a senior engineer when
• the team already goes to them with problems
• they asked for it, rather than being offered it as a reward
• you can fund a coach and keep a route back
Hire from outside when
• nobody internal wants to stop coding
• overdue performance issues need experience
• the hiring loop has to be rebuilt, not just staffed
## Scorecard: how you'll judge success
| Outcome | What good looks like at 12 months | How you'll test it in interviews |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Team health | Weekly 1:1s held, growth plans written, no surprise resignations | Ask how they spotted the last person about to leave |
| Performance | Problems raised within weeks and resolved with a plan or an exit | Role play a performance conversation |
| Hiring loop | The loop runs without the CTO; \[number\] hires made and still here | Ask them to critique your current process |
| Delivery | Dates the CEO trusts, with slips flagged early | Ask what they cut the last time a date was at risk |
| CTO partnership | A written decision split; the CTO's week back on architecture | A joint session with the CTO on a real disagreement |
In the example, the clearest twelve-month check is the CTO's calendar. If it still looks like the "before" bar, the hire hasn't worked, however well the team ships.
## 30-60-90 day plan
| Days | Focus | By the end they should have |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 to 30 | A 1:1 with every engineer, sit in on interviews, ship one small change | A written view of each person and the loop |
| 31 to 60 | Take over 1:1s and first-round interviews; agree the decision split | The CTO out of routine 1:1s |
| 61 to 90 | Run team planning and close a hire | A delivery plan the CEO uses and a candidate at offer |
## Mistakes founders make in engineering manager job descriptions
**Giving the EM the technical vision.** If the CTO keeps architecture, say so. Otherwise two people think they own it, and the best candidates ask about this on the first call.
**Asking for a full-time coder who also manages.** Something gives, and it is usually the 1:1s. Put a percentage on code in the role section.
**Not saying what the CTO stops doing.** Candidates read the JD for how much room they will get. Name the meetings that become theirs.
## Where Funded.club fits
We've helped 500+ startups from Seed to Series D across North America, Europe and APAC on a low fixed fee agreed upfront, averaging 6 to 9% of salary and from $15,900 to $21,900 for roles above $150,000. Illustratively, a 20 to 25% contingency fee on a $180,000 hire is $36,000 to $45,000 (see [pricing](https://funded.club/pricing)).
One dedicated recruiter runs the search end to end, with first screened candidates within 7 days. Our guide on [how to hire a VP Engineering or engineering manager](https://funded.club/blog/hire-vp-engineering-startup) covers the wider process.
## Frequently asked questions
### When should a startup hire its first engineering manager?
When people work fills the CTO's week, with cancelled 1:1s, queued interviews and overdue feedback. For many startups that happens around Series A.
### Should an engineering manager write code?
Some, enough to stay credible in reviews. Keep it off the critical path, because 1:1s and hiring will interrupt it.
### What is the difference between an engineering manager and a VP Engineering?
An engineering manager runs one team and its people. A VP Engineering runs managers, sets process across teams and owns engineering planning with the CTO.
Worth a brief chat about your next hire? [Book a free call](https://funded.club/contact-us).
[View full post](https://funded.club/blog/engineering-manager-job-description)
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