Staff Software Engineer_Tech Lead Manager

**About the Role** This is a pivotal leadership role to **redefine the future of search and knowledge access at Uber**. We are looking for a visionary Staff Engineer and Tech Lead to spearhead the evolution of our internal search platform, transforming it from a traditional information retrieval tool into a conversational, intelligent, and action-oriented experience. Your primary mission will be to architect a world-class search ecosystem for all Uber employees. This requires a dual-pronged technical strategy: leading the in-house development of novel AI components while also conducting deep evaluations of cutting-edge third-party solutions. You will be the key technical decision-maker on when to build and when to integrate. As a Tech Lead Manager, you will be responsible for the high-level technical architecture, the strategic roadmap, and the leadership of a talented team of engineers. You will set the technical vision, mentor your team, and remain hands-on, architecting critical systems and integration points. This is a unique opportunity to own the strategy for a mission-critical platform and leverage the entire AI landscape—both internal and external—to deliver profound impact. **What the Candidate Will Need / Bonus Points** \-\-\-\- What the Candidate Will Do ---- 1. **Architect the Ecosystem:** Design and own the technical vision for Uber's next-generation enterprise search platform, creating a cohesive strategy that integrates first-party AI models with best-in-class third-party technologies. 2. **Lead AI Implementation:** Drive the exploration and implementation of advanced AI capabilities. This includes architecting conversational interfaces, enabling multi-step reasoning, and bringing agentic AI functionalities to our users, whether through in-house development or strategic integration. 3. **Make Critical Build-vs-Buy Decisions:** Conduct deep technical evaluations of industry-leading AI solutions. You will own the process of vetting vendors, prototyping integrations, and providing clear recommendations to leadership. 4. **Lead and Mentor:** Lead a world-class team of software and machine learning engineers. Provide technical guidance, conduct architectural reviews, and foster a culture of innovation and engineering excellence. 5. **Build and Integrate:** Remain hands-on, writing production-quality code for critical custom components, integration layers, and core platform infrastructure. 6. **Collaborate and Influence:** Work closely with senior leadership, product managers, and stakeholders across the company to define the roadmap and ensure your team's work aligns with Uber's strategic goals. \-\-\-\- Basic Qualifications ---- 1. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. 2. 8+ years of professional experience in software engineering, with a proven track record of shipping complex. 3. Strong programming proficiency in Python and experience with systems programming languages (e.g., Go, Java, C++). 4. Significant experience in designing and building production systems leveraging machine learning, especially in Search, NLP, or Conversational AI. 5. 2+ years of experience in a formal or informal technical leadership role, including mentoring engineers and setting technical direction for a team. \-\-\-\- Preferred Qualifications ---- 1. Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related field. 2. Experience architecting systems that involve Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and vector databases. 3. Demonstrated experience making strategic build-vs-buy decisions and integrating large-scale third-party software or SaaS platforms into a complex enterprise environment. 4. Experience with the architecture of AI agentic systems or complex, multi-step LLM-powered workflows (either through building or integration). 5. Expertise with both traditional search technologies (e.g., Elasticsearch) and modern semantic search paradigms. 6. Excellent communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical trade-offs to diverse audiences and influence technical strategy at a senior level. 7. A strong product intuition and a passion for creating user-centric AI experiences that solve real-world problems. Uber's mission is to reimagine the way the world moves for the better. Here, bold ideas create real-world impact, challenges drive growth, and speed fuelds progress. What moves us, moves the world - let’s move it forward, together. Offices continue to be central to collaboration and Uber’s cultural identity. Unless formally approved to work fully remotely, Uber expects employees to spend at least half of their work time in their assigned office. For certain roles, such as those based at green-light hubs, employees are expected to be in-office for 100% of their time. Please speak with your recruiter to better understand in-office expectations for this role. \*Accommodations may be available based on religious and/or medical conditions, or as required by applicable law. To request an accommodation, please reach out to [accommodations@uber.com](mailto:accommodations@uber.com).