Sr. Engineering Manager, Agentic Data Plane

Remote from: Poland
Annual salary: Undisclosed
Salary information is not provided for this position. Check our Salary Directory to estimate the average compensation for similar roles.
Department: Product & Operations
Employment type: Full Time,
Job posted: 22 May 2026
Apply before: 22 Jun 2026
Experience level: Senior
Views / Applies: 34 / 5

About company

About Redpanda Data

Redpanda is a modern streaming platform for developers.

Computer Software
2019

Actively Hiring

AI Summary

Redpanda is seeking a Senior Engineering Manager to lead a team of 7-10 engineers building core services for their Agentic Data Plane, a new AI infrastructure category. The role involves managing distributed teams across EMEA, with a hybrid presence in Warsaw. Responsibilities include end-to-end delivery, operational excellence, career development, and acting as a local point of contact. Ideal candidates have 7+ years in software engineering, 3+ years in management, and expertise in cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes, and distributed systems. The role offers an opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI technology in a fast-growing company.

Job Complexity

Easy Hard

AI Insight This role requires a combination of deep technical expertise in cloud and distributed systems, proven leadership of distributed teams, and experience in a fast-paced startup environment, making it challenging but not the hardest level.

Salary Analysis

AI Insight The salary for this role is not specified in the job listing, but based on market data for a Senior Engineering Manager in AI infrastructure, the median is estimated at $220,000. This is competitive for the US market, especially considering the hybrid Warsaw location.

Key Skills

Engineering Management Distributed Systems Kubernetes Cloud Infrastructure AI Infrastructure Team Leadership Agile Operational Excellence On-Call Management Cross-Functional Collaboration

Cover Letter Sample

I am writing to express my strong interest in the Senior Engineering Manager, Agentic Data Plane position at Redpanda. With over 7 years of experience in software engineering and 3+ years leading high-performing teams, I have a proven track record of delivering enterprise-grade SaaS platforms on cloud infrastructure.

My expertise in distributed systems, Kubernetes, and managing hybrid teams across time zones aligns perfectly with the requirements of this role. I am particularly excited about Redpanda's Agentic Data Plane and its potential to revolutionize AI infrastructure.

I have successfully led teams through complex product launches, maintained operational excellence with strict SLOs, and fostered inclusive, high-trust cultures. I am eager to bring my technical leadership and passion for AI to Redpanda and contribute to its growth.

Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to the opportunity to discuss how I can help drive the Agentic Data Plane forward.

Possible Interview Questions

Describe your experience managing distributed teams across multiple time zones. How do you ensure effective communication and collaboration?

I have managed teams spanning US and EMEA time zones by implementing async-first practices, such as detailed documentation, recorded stand-ups, and using collaboration tools like Slack and Jira. I schedule overlapping hours for key meetings and ensure team members have clear ownership and autonomy.

Can you provide an example of a complex cloud infrastructure project you led? What were the challenges and how did you overcome them?

I led the migration of a microservices platform from on-prem to AWS. Challenges included data consistency during migration and minimizing downtime. We used blue-green deployments, database replication, and thorough testing. The project was completed on time with zero data loss.

How do you approach incident response and maintaining operational excellence for a SaaS platform?

I establish clear on-call rotations, runbooks, and post-incident reviews. I prioritize SLOs and use monitoring tools to detect issues early. I also foster a blameless culture to encourage learning and continuous improvement.

What strategies do you use to hire and retain top engineering talent?

I focus on creating an inclusive culture, offering growth opportunities, and providing regular feedback. I participate in interview loops to assess technical and cultural fit. I also invest in onboarding and mentorship to ensure new hires succeed.

How do you partner with Product Management to translate product priorities into engineering plans?

I regularly sync with PMs to understand customer needs and business goals. I break down epics into technical tasks, estimate effort, and identify dependencies. I also communicate trade-offs and risks early to align on realistic timelines.

Redpanda is pioneering the Agentic Data Plane (ADP) – a new category in AI infrastructure that makes it simple and secure to connect AI agents with enterprise data and systems. Built on a multi-modal data streaming engine, Redpanda empowers agentic applications that reason and act in real-time with speed, autonomy, and precision.

Global leaders including Activision Blizzard, Cisco, Moody’s, Texas Instruments, Vodafone and 2 of the top 5 banks in the U.S. rely on Redpanda to process hundreds of terabytes of data a day.

Backed by premier venture investors Lightspeed, GV and Haystack VC, Redpanda is a diverse, people-first organization with teams distributed around the globe.

We are looking for an accomplished and forward-thinking Senior Engineering Manager to lead one of our Cloud engineering teams. Reporting to the Director of Cloud Engineering, you will own the day-to-day delivery, quality, and operational excellence for a team of 7-10 engineers building core services in Redpanda Cloud’s Agentic Data Plane, the platform that connects AI agents with enterprise data and systems in real time.Your team sits within a globally distributed Redpanda engineering organization, with peers in the US and across EMEA. The team itself is a mix of Warsaw-based hybrid engineers and fully-remote engineers elsewhere in EMEA, so you’ll be running async-first practices and building trust across timezones as a core part of the job. You’ll partner closely with Product, peer engineering leaders, and field teams to ship and operate reliable services that customers run in production today.

This is a hybrid role based in our central Warsaw office, with a minimum of 3 days/week on-site. As the most senior Redpanda employee in the Warsaw office, you’ll also act as a light-touch local point of contact for office logistics and onboarding new hires in-region — a small but visible part of the role, not a facilities job.

You will:

Lead and manage a team of 7-10 engineers building services for Redpanda’s Agentic Data Plane
Own end-to-end delivery for your team’s roadmap: scoping, prioritization, execution, and on-time, high-quality launches
Maintain a high bar bar for operational excellence, including incident response, on-call health, SLOs, and day-2 operations
Provide regular career development, coaching, and performance feedback that helps engineers level up
Hire, onboard, and retain top-tier engineers; participate actively in interview loops and calibrations
Lead a team that spans hybrid working in the Warsaw office and fully remote across EMEA, running effective async-first practices and maintaining strong working relationships with peer teams in the US
Act as Redpanda’s senior on-site presence in Warsaw, supporting new hires and light office coordination as the team grows in-region
Partner with Product Management to shape the team’s roadmap and translate product priorities into clear engineering plans
Surface risks, dependencies, and trade-offs early
Be data driven to to identify what’s working and where to invest
Collaborate with Customer Success and Solutions Engineering to unblock customers and prioritise our roadmap

You have:

7+ years of experience in software engineering, including building and operating enterprise-grade SaaS platforms.
3+ years of experience managing highly technical engineering teams, with a track record of delivery
Expertise in cloud infrastructure and operations, with hands-on experience in public clouds (AWS/GCP/Azure), Kubernetes, and distributed systems
Expertise leading distributed teams across multiple timezones, including onsite and remote
Excitement about agentic AI, the processes and infrastructure that makes it work, and AI-assisted software development lifecycles
Experience translating product priorities into team plans and delivering predictably against them
Eagerness to thrive in a fast growing, dynamic environment and comfortable working remotely with a distributed team
Strong verbal and written communication skills in English, and demonstrated technical leadership
A strong sense of empathy for both customers and teammates, and a commitment to building high-trust teams.

Nice to have:

Golang proficiency or recent hands-on technical experience
Expertise in Linux systems used to run and operate production-grade services.
Hands-on experience with data streaming platforms, AI/ML infrastructure, databases, or distributed storage systems at scale.
Experience enabling teams to adopt AI code generation tools in ways that measurably improve velocity while maintaining quality
Prior experience as a leader in a satellite office or remote hub of a globally distributed company

Join Redpanda if you’d enjoy being part of a fast-moving, diverse, people-first organization with team members around the globe and a culture based on trust, transparency, communication, and kindness.