Senior Software Engineer | Head of Special Projects
Fully Remote | Full-time
Our Mission
To change how organizations do work.
Trao is an AI R&D lab for mid-market and enterprise companies. We research, design, build, and deploy software and AI systems.
We've delivered work across industries, including large banks such as CommBank (one of Australia's largest banks), the UK Government, US-based family offices, and numerous VC-backed startups.
Behind the scenes is a team obsessed with over-delivering extremely high-quality work every single day. We are engineering-first, detail-oriented, and focused on solving real business problems through automation that most teams would consider impossible.
We work on very ambitious projects.
Work Style & Expectations
- 6 days a week, 9 hours/day
- Fully remote
- More often than not, you will work beyond 9 hours
- Fast timelines, real deadlines, real ownership
- Daily collaboration with a small, strong team of engineers solving complex problems
If you are NOT deeply passionate about software, this role will not be a good fit.
What You'll Do
This is not a typical engineering manager role. You sit at the intersection of research, engineering leadership, and client delivery.
- Lead and manage engineers across multiple concurrent technical projects
- Research emerging technologies and AI approaches relevant to client problems then turn that research into actionable plans
- Own the full lifecycle of special projects: scoping, staffing, executing, and delivering
- Serve as the primary technical point of contact for clients -- understanding their requirements deeply, translating them into engineering briefs, and keeping them informed throughout
- Write clear, precise documentation: technical specs, project plans, requirement documents, and status updates
- Identify and flag risks early, and make decisions under ambiguity
- Hold the team to high engineering and delivery standards
What We're Looking For
- A strong engineering background -- you've built and shipped real production systems and can speak credibly with senior engineers
- Incredible experience with MERN stack
- Proven experience managing technical teams or leading projects end-to-end
- Excellent written and verbal communication you can talk to a CTO and a non-technical stakeholder on the same day and be effective with both
- Sharp research instincts -- you can go deep on an unfamiliar problem domain quickly and synthesize what matters
- High ownership mentality -- you treat client problems like your own problems
- Organized and structured under pressure -- multiple projects, multiple clients, fast timelines
- Familiarity with AI/ML systems and modern software architecture is a strong plus
How to Apply
If you truly believe you are a good fit, email [Confidential Information] with (not more than 5-6 lines):
- A brief description of the most complex project you've led - what it involved, what your role was, and what the outcome was
- Why do you think you are a good fit
