Engineering Manager, Labs

Engineering Manager, LabsAbout the roleAt Anthropic, we're building AI systems that are safe, beneficial, and transformative. Our mission is to develop AI that benefits humanity, and we believe the most powerful capabilities emerge when we thoughtfully bridge the gap between research breakthroughs and real-world applications.

Anthropic Labs serves as our internal accelerator. We're looking for the next breakout hits that bring substantial revenue or transform an industry. We operate in close partnership with research and build through fast iteration cycles. Past successes include Claude Code and MCP.

We're seeking an Engineering Manager to lead and grow our team of software engineers working on early-stage AI capabilities. You'll create an environment where engineers can thrive in the inherently uncertain world of zero-to-one development while maintaining clear direction and psychological safety for the team. Success in this role requires exceptional people leadership, the ability to facilitate rapid learning cycles, and skill in helping teams navigate the natural ups and downs of early-stage exploration.

You'll partner closely with designers, product managers, and research teams to transform emerging AI capabilities into potential products—and you'll need to be as comfortable shutting down projects that aren't working as you are championing the ones that are.

ResponsibilitiesLead and coach a high-performing team of software engineers through the complexities of zero-to-one development, creating an environment that rewards experimentation and learning over attachment to specific outcomes

Hire and develop a team of versatile, entrepreneurial engineers who thrive in ambiguity and can flex across problem spaces

Partner effectively with design, product, and research leaders to align on direction and execution

Create a balanced environment that encourages both creative exploration and rigorous evaluation of what's working

Help teams develop structured approaches to testing hypotheses, making kill decisions, and extracting learnings from both successes and failures

Facilitate effective collaboration between Labs engineers and research teams across Anthropic

Provide clear, actionable feedback and support engineer growth and development in an environment where projects shift frequently

Drive adoption of Labs' prototypes and learnings to inform company-wide product strategy

Represent the Labs perspective and roadmap in discussions with research, product, and leadership stakeholders

Maintain team stability and morale through the inherent uncertainty of early-stage work

You may be a good fit if youHave 5+ years of engineering management experience, with significant time leading teams in ambiguous, early-stage, or zero-to-one environments

Have a strong technical background as an IC prior to moving into management, ideally including startup or founding engineer experience

Excel at creating psychological safety and helping teams navigate uncertainty without burning out

Are skilled at facilitating decision-making rather than imposing solutions—you help your team develop good judgment

Can model the behaviors you want to see: comfort killing projects, strong opinions loosely held, bias toward action

Have experience building and retaining teams of generalists who can adapt as priorities shift

Demonstrate exceptional interpersonal intelligence and can guide teams through rapid pivots while maintaining trust

Have strong strategic thinking to identify high-potential research breakthroughs and viable paths to productization

Communicate effectively and can tell the story of Labs' work and impact to leadership and the broader company

Have a comprehensive technical understanding across full-stack engineering and modern product development, with familiarity in AI/ML concepts

Care deeply about responsibly pushing the boundaries of AI capabilities in service of Anthropic's mission

Strong candidates may also haveExperience managing teams that work directly with research organizations or in R&D-adjacent environments

Track record of helping engineers grow in non-traditional career paths (where success isn't always tied to shipping features)

Experience with AI/ML products or working knowledge of large language models

Background in building teams from scratch or scaling early-stage organizations

Experience managing through organizational change or frequent strategic pivots

What we're not looking forManagers who've only succeeded with well-defined roadmaps and stable, long-term projects

Leaders who struggle to give critical feedback or make hard calls on underperforming projects or team members

Those who need extensive process and structure to be effective

Managers who are protective of their team's work rather than focused on learning and impact

Candidates need not have100% of the skills listed above

Formal certifications or education credentials

Direct machine learning or AI research experience

Deadline to apply: None. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

The annual compensation range for this role is listed below.

For sales roles, the range provided is the role’s On Target Earnings ("OTE") range, meaning that the range includes both the sales commissions/sales bonuses target and annual base salary for the role.

Annual Salary:

$1—$2 USD