What are the responsibilities and job description for the Software Engineering Manager - AI position at Pearson?
AI Engineering Manager – Pearson Learning Studio
Pearson Learning Studio (PLS)
We are seeking an AI Engineering Manager to lead and scale our Agentic Workflow engineering organization within the Pearson Learning Studio (PLS) product. This leader will oversee a team of 5 engineers, driving both technical excellence and strong people leadership in a globally distributed environment (India and Sri Lanka).
This role is ideal for a leader who thrives at the intersection of people development, execution at scale, and data-driven product engineering. You will be responsible not just for delivery, but for building a high-performing, engaged engineering organization.
Key Responsibilities
Organizational & People Leadership (Primary Focus)
- Lead, manage, and scale a distributed engineering team of 5 engineers, including senior engineers and team leads.
- Build a strong leadership bench by mentoring tech leads and emerging managers.
- Drive performance management, including goal setting, regular feedback, and career development plans.
- Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, psychological safety, and continuous learning.
- Manage hiring, onboarding, and team capacity planning to support business growth.
- Ensure high levels of team engagement, retention, and productivity across geographies.
Execution & Delivery Excellence
- Own end-to-end delivery for the Insights & Recommendations domain.
- Establish predictable execution rhythms, ensuring on-time, high-quality releases.
- Partner with Product, Design, and Analytics to translate strategy into clear engineering roadmaps.
- Identify risks early and proactively remove organizational, technical, or process bottlenecks.
- Drive operational excellence, including metrics, KPIs, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Technical Leadership & Strategy
- Provide architectural oversight for data-driven applications, analytics pipelines, and web platforms.
- Guide teams on best practices in SQL, data systems, ReactJS, and Java-based services.
- Ensure scalable system design, performance optimization, and reliability.
- Lead technical design reviews and promote sound engineering decisions across teams.
- Balance hands-on involvement (as needed) with effective delegation to senior engineers and tech leads.
Agile & Cross-Functional Leadership
- Champion Agile best practices across multiple teams (planning, backlog management, retrospectives).
- Align engineering efforts with business outcomes and customer impact.
- Collaborate with global stakeholders across time zones with strong communication discipline.
- Drive transparency through clear reporting, stakeholder updates, and data-driven decision-making.
Required Qualifications
- 5 years of engineering leadership experience, including managing teams up to 5 engineers.
- 8 years of overall experience in software engineering.
- Proven experience scaling and leading distributed engineering teams across geographies.
- Strong technical background in:
- SQL & data analytics systems
- ReactJS
- Java-based backend systems
- Demonstrated success in delivering data-driven platforms or analytics products.
- Strong experience with Agile/Scrum at scale
- Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and organizational leadership skills.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience building or leading high-performing engineering organizations at scale.
- Experience in education technology and Learning science.
- Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
- Experience with data visualization and analytics frameworks.
This is a hybrid work setup, where the candidate will be required to work up to three days onsite at our Hoboken office.
Applications will be accepted through June 30. This window may be extended depending on business needs.
Compensation at Pearson is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. As required by the California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York State, New York City, Vermont, Washington State, and Washington DC laws, the pay range for this position is as follows:
The full-time salary range for this role is between $150,000 - $200,000
This position is eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, and information on benefits offered is here
Who we are:
At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to help people realize the life they imagine through learning. We believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. We are the world's lifelong learning company. For us, learning isn't just what we do. It's who we are. To learn more: We are Pearson.
Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E-Verify. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.
If you are an individual with a disability and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career site as a result of your disability, you may request reasonable accommodations by emailing TalentExperienceGlobalTeam@grp.pearson.com.
Job: Engineering
Job Family: TECHNOLOGY
Organization: Higher Education
Schedule: FULL_TIME
Workplace Type: Hybrid
Req ID: 24727
Salary : $150,000 - $200,000