Engineering Manager

Who we are

The problem: Every minute matters in fire response.  As climate change amplifies the intensity of wildfires—with longer fire seasons, dryer fuels, and faster winds—new ignitions spread faster and put more communities at risk. Today, most wildfires are detected by bystanders and reported via 911, meaning it can take hours to detect a fire, verify its exact location and size, and dispatch first responders. Fire authorities need a faster way to detect, confirm, and pinpoint fires so that they can quickly respond—preventing small flare-ups from becoming devastating infernos.

About Pano: Pano AI is a 100+ person growth stage start-up, headquartered in San Francisco, that is the leader in early wildfire detection and intelligence, helping fire professionals respond to fires faster and more safely—with the right equipment, timely information, and enhanced coordination—so that they can stop a new ignition before it grows.  Pano AI combines advanced hardware, software, and artificial intelligence into an easy-to-use, web-based platform. Leveraging a network of ultra-high-definition, 360-degree cameras atop high vantage points, as well as satellite and other data feeds, Pano AI produces a real-time picture of threats in a geographic region and delivers immediate, actionable intelligence.

Pano AI was named as one of the Time100 Most Influential Companies in 2025. MIT Technology Review listed Pano as one of the top 15 climate tech companies to watch in 2024 and Fast Company named Pano AI one of the Top 10 most innovative companies in AI of 2023. We’ve also been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNBC News, and a national TV commercial produced by strategic partner T-Mobile. Pano AI’s dozens of government and enterprise customers span 10 states in the U.S., five states in Australia, and BC, Canada, helping protect more than 30 million acres of land. Pano AI has raised$89M in venture capital funding from Giant Ventures, Liberty Mutual Ventures, Tokio Marine Future Fund, Congruent Ventures, Initialized Capital, Salesforce Ventures, and T-Mobile Ventures, s. Learn more athttps://www.pano.ai/.  

The Role 

The person in this role will lead the software engineering team responsible for developing and maintaining the Pano360 backend and the related tools. The Pano360 application enables Pano customers to gather situational awareness of their territory through a multitude of sensors, receive alerts about new wildfires, and monitor active incidents in real-time. 

At Pano, we strongly believe in team members taking ownership of what they do, and our approach to problem-solving relies heavily upon creativity, communication, and collaboration. 

The ideal candidate is humble, hungry, and people-smart.  They have the wisdom and experience to build, grow, and mature high-performing teams in a dynamic startup environment. 

*We will give preference to candidates located in MST or PST zone

• Team leadership: lead and motivate a team of full-stack or backend software engineers, including hiring, onboarding, coaching, and performance evaluation. 
• Project management: plan, organize, and oversee complex engineering projects, including setting timelines, budgets, and resource allocation. 
• Technical coaching: provide guidance and support on technical matters, review work, and ensure long term product quality, reliability, and maintainability.
• Process improvement: Identify and implement improvements to engineering processes and practices. 
• Stakeholder communication: communicate with clients, customers, and other stakeholders to understand their needs and ensure alignment.
• Resource management: allocate people and resources effectively to support project needs. 
• Continuous Improvement: ensure that the team stays up-to-date on industry trends and best practices to improve velocity and product quality. 
• Collaboration: work with other departments, including other engineering teams, product, design, and go-to-market teams, to ensure successful project outcomes.
• Direct contributions: drive occasional direct technical contributions to have a pulse on the team’s development practices, gain insights into team impediments, and drive outcomes.

• 10+ years of engineering experience plus a BS in Computer Science or equivalent.
• 3+ years of experience managing a software engineering team building the backend of a cloud-based application.
• 3+ years of operating in an early-stage startup (<100 engineers).
• Professional experience supporting containerized Java/JVM/Python services
• 5+ years of professional experience in a fast-paced SaaS or a similar business environment.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience supporting production systems as a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) or a DevOps Engineer.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience with cloud services and technologies (GCP, AWS, Azure, etc.).
• Experience with containerization and orchestration tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
• Proficient in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools and methodologies (e.g. Terraform, Pulumi, Puppet, etc.).
• Proven ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex technical issues in distributed systems.
• Ability to communicate effectively within the team and across the organization while sharing insights and updates, and collaborating to achieve project goals.

• Advanced working knowledge of GCP Services like GKE, GCS, IAM, etc.
• Experience with relational databases, particularly PostgreSQL
• 3+ years of professional experience designing, and implementing and/or administering CI/CD solutions (e.g. Github Actions, Buildkite, Jenkins, etc.)
• Strong SRE mindset with focus on cloud networking and security best practices
• Strong software development, particularly with scripting languages (e.g., Python, Bash, etc.)
• Experience with system administration in general and Linux in particular
• Familiarity with SOC2 / ISO 27001 security frameworks
• Preference for someone in the Pacific / Mountain time zone

Pano is an equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and supporting our team-members regardless of where they come from. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.