Engineering Manager, Core Services

Cursor3 days ago

Location

San Francisco

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 250,000 – 350,000

Level

Manager

Role

Engineering Manager

Posted

Apr 7, 2026

Full TimeManager

The role

Summary

Cursor is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead the Core Services team, responsible for critical shared services including authentication, webhooks, and backend systems that power the company's AI-driven developer productivity tool. The ideal candidate will drive technical direction, build robust infrastructure, and lead a high-impact team focused on creating scalable and reliable backend services.

What you'll do

Authentication Architecture: Design and implement a scalable authentication system for a widely-used developer tool, ensuring robust security and access management.

Backend Infrastructure Management: Own and optimize the infrastructure supporting agent workflows, focusing on end-to-end performance and reliability.

Webhook Infrastructure Development: Build a high-throughput webhook server with advanced features like retry semantics, dead-letter queues, and comprehensive observability.

Source Control Integration: Develop resilient abstractions for source control providers to ensure system stability across different third-party platforms.

Team Leadership: Recruit, mentor, and develop top backend and services engineering talent through strategic hiring, coaching, and high-impact project assignments.

Cross-Team Collaboration: Partner closely with product and infrastructure teams to ensure the reliability and scalability of Cursor's backend systems.

What we look for

Technical

Distributed SystemsProven experience in designing and managing distributed systems with a focus on reliability and performance

Authentication FrameworksExpertise in OAuth, JWT, and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) implementations

Backend Service ArchitectureStrong understanding of building scalable backend services with clean abstractions and well-defined service contracts

Education

Computer ScienceBachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field

Experience

Engineering LeadershipMinimum 5-7 years of experience leading engineering teams, with a focus on backend and services infrastructure

Production Service ManagementDemonstrated ability to own the full lifecycle of production services from design to deployment and maintenance

Skills

Required skills

Backend EngineeringComprehensive understanding of backend service design, implementation, and management

Team LeadershipStrong leadership skills with ability to mentor, coach, and develop engineering talent

System ReliabilityExpertise in creating robust, performant, and scalable system architectures

Nice to have

AI Developer ToolsExperience with AI-powered developer productivity platforms

Event-Driven ArchitecturesFamiliarity with designing and implementing event-driven system architectures

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 250,000 – 350,000 (annual)

Benefits

Competitive Compensation

Highly competitive salary package for top engineering talent in San Francisco

Equity

Stock options in a promising AI startup with significant growth potential

Professional Development

Opportunities for continuous learning, mentorship, and career advancement

Interview process

1
Initial Screening — Phone or video call with recruiting team to assess background and fit
2
Technical Leadership Interview — In-depth discussion of engineering management experience and technical leadership approach
3
System Design Challenge — Architectural design session focusing on backend services, authentication, and scalability
4
Team Fit Interview — Meetings with potential team members to evaluate collaborative potential and cultural alignment
5
Final Executive Interview — Discussion with senior leadership about vision, strategy, and potential impact