About the Engineering Manager Role

Scale AI is seeking an Engineering Manager to join its rapidly growing Global Public Sector team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This full-time role focuses on leading the development of AI applications for Saudi government clients. The position requires a blend of engineering leadership, AI/ML delivery expertise, and direct client engagement, with candidates typically possessing 5-10 years of relevant experience.

Role Context and Impact

The Global Public Sector team at Scale AI is dedicated to addressing critical challenges for governments worldwide through AI. This involves creating custom AI applications that impact millions of citizens, generating high-quality training data for national LLMs, and providing upskilling and advisory services. As a founding member of the regional team, the Engineering Manager will help define Scale AI's approach to some of the most ambitious public sector AI initiatives in the Gulf, ensuring the delivery of reliable, secure, and trusted solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of engineers delivering AI-powered applications for KSA government clients, ensuring high-quality output and on-time delivery.
• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for KSA government stakeholders, translating complex engineering concepts for non-technical audiences.
• Design, build, and optimize full-stack AI applications end-to-end, from data pipelines and ML model integration to APIs and frontend delivery.
• Develop and deploy AI/ML solutions, including LLM-powered features, AI agents, and intelligent automation tailored to government use cases.
• Build and maintain robust API integrations connecting Scale's platform with government systems and third-party services.
• Partner with product, go-to-market, and government counterparts to define requirements, scope solutions, and drive delivery from conceptualization through production.
• Represent Scale in client-facing settings, including workshops, demos, and executive briefings with KSA government agencies.
• Manage the full product lifecycle across multiple workstreams simultaneously, balancing speed and quality in a fast-paced environment.
• Inspire, mentor, and grow engineers on the team, fostering a culture of technical excellence and customer focus.
• Influence team culture, engineering processes, and best practices as a senior leader within the Global Public Sector organization.

Required Qualifications

• 6+ years of total software engineering experience, with a strong background in AI/ML engineering and full-stack development.
• 3+ years of engineering leadership experience, demonstrating the ability to manage and develop high-performing technical teams.
• Strong AI/ML engineering foundation, including hands-on experience building, training, fine-tuning, or deploying machine learning models and LLM-based applications in production.
• Full-stack engineering proficiency across the entire application stack, including backend services, APIs, data pipelines, and frontend interfaces.
• Proven experience in a customer-facing or client-embedded engineering role, with comfort engaging directly with government or enterprise clients, leading technical discussions, and building trust with non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience designing and integrating APIs at scale, including RESTful services and AI/ML APIs.
• Ability to translate complex government business requirements into practical, scalable engineering solutions.
• Track record of shipping high-quality products and features at pace in dynamic, ambiguous environments.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to adapt technical content for diverse audiences.

Desired Attributes and Regional Experience

• Desire to work in a very fast-paced, high-stakes environment where work directly impacts citizens.
• Experience working in or with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is strongly preferred; Arabic language skills are a plus.

Work Environment and Location

This is a full-time position based in Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, within a team focused on high-impact public sector initiatives.