Job Title: Manager, Software Engineer (AI-Driven Engineering Manager)

Looking to take your leadership and technical skills to the next level in a fast-

moving, mission-driven tech company? NYSHEX is scaling its global engineering

team in Cape Town and we’re seeking a pioneering Engineering Manager to help

us build a world-class, AI-accelerated development organization.

About the Role

As NYSHEX’s first Engineering Manager in Cape Town, you’ll set the tone for a new

frontier of engineering excellence. This is a hands-on leadership role—expect to spend

at least 50% of your time coding, architecting, and contributing directly to our platform’s

success.

You’ll mentor a growing team, drive GenAI adoption across workflows, and partner

cross-functionally to deliver secure, scalable, high-quality products that are changing

the global shipping industry. You’ll also help bridge efforts across our U.S. and South

African teams, supporting a culture of collaboration, empowerment, and impact.

This role reports directly to our VP of Engineering and is based in Cape Town, South

Africa. It will begin as a remote position while we search for the perfect office space

(we’d love your input!). Once established, the role will shift to a hybrid model with in-

office days on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and remote flexibility on Thursday

and Friday.

What You’ll Do

People Leadership

• Build, coach, and mentor a team of engineers, offering regular feedback and career development support

• Create an inclusive, high-performing team culture grounded in collaboration and continuous learning

• Drive hiring, onboarding, and team retention efforts locally in Cape Town

• Ensure engineers are working on the right priorities and are set up for success

• Support team members through both technical and organizational challenges

Technical Leadership

• Dedicate 50%+ of your time to hands-on engineering: architecture, coding, code reviews, and quality assurance

• Champion GenAI productivity tooling and help evolve our AI-driven product strategy

• Ensure scalable, secure, and observable systems with minimal tech debt

• Lead architectural planning via ADRs and participate in technical design reviews

• Collaborate closely with Product and Design to shape and execute the roadmap

• Delivery & Operational Excellence

• Own and improve team delivery metrics (velocity, incident rates, etc.)

• Lead agile ceremonies and sprint planning, enforcing DoR and DoD best practices

• Identify and reduce vulnerabilities, tech debt, and production issues

• Ensure alignment on sprint goals, quarterly priorities, and long-term initiatives

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner effectively with Product, Commercial, DevOps, and Engineering peers

• Communicate trade-offs and timelines clearly across technical and non-technical audiences

• Build trust through reliability, transparency, and results-driven execution

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Sprint Execution: 85%+ sprint goal achievement

• Code Quality: 85%+ test coverage for new code

• Team Development: IDPs (Individual Development Plans) in place for all direct reports

• Incident Response: SLA adherence (99.99% uptime, timely responses, no critical vulnerabilities)

• Team Engagement: eNPS of 10 or higher

Tech Stack

• Languages & Frameworks: Java, JavaScript, Python, Next.js, Node.js, Spring, Hibernate, SQL

• Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS (EC2, ECS, S3, Kafka), Kubernetes, Docker

• Data & Storage: PostgreSQL, Aurora

• GenAI Tools: GitHub Copilot, AWS Q Developer, CodeWhisperer, Cursor

• GenAI Models/Platforms: OpenAI, Anthropic, Llama, AWS Bedrock

• CI/CD: GitHub Actions, end-to-end testing frameworks

• Monitoring: DataDog, New Relic, CloudWatch

• Security: SonarQube, Burp Suite, AWS Inspector, Black Duck

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years in software engineering with 3+ years in a formal leadership role

• Strong technical acumen with hands-on architecture, development, and systems experience

• Proven track record of scaling engineering teams and delivering complex software

• Excellent communicator who can influence across teams and functions

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading SaaS product development

• Familiarity with security-first development and OWASP best practices

• Prior experience in high-growth startups or dynamic tech environments

• Knowledge of scaling agile processes across multiple teams

About NYSHEX

Have you ever stopped to wonder how your computer, clothes, furniture, or household

goods made their way to your doorstep? Most likely, almost everything you own arrived

here in a container on a container ship. It’s a massive global industry that we all rely on

but rarely think about—mainly because it’s been done the same way for decades with

very little innovation.

NYSHEX is changing that.

We’re transforming and enabling an industry plagued by inefficiency, volatility, and $23B

in annual economic waste. At NYSHEX, we’re building a digital foundation for global

ocean shipping—one that brings transparency, reliability, and trust to carriers, shippers,

and forwarders alike.

We're passionate about solving complex logistics problems with technology, and we

hope you'll join us in shaping the future of supply chains around the world.