Engineering Manager, UAE

Role details

About Scale AI Scale's rapidly growing Global Public Sector team is focused on using AI to address critical challenges facing governments around the world. Our core work consists of: Creating custom AI applications that will impact millions of citizens Generating high-quality training data for national LLMs Upskilling and advisory services to spread the impact of AI As these applications move from prototype to production, we're investing heavily in the infrastructure and people that keep them reliable, secure, and trusted by our government partners. At Scale, we're not just building AI solutions - we're enabling the public sector to transform their operations and better serve citizens through cutting-edge technology. If you're ready to shape the future of AI in the public sector and be a founding member of our team, we'd love to hear from you. Role Overview We are looking for a technically strong and client-oriented Engineering Manager to lead the development of AI applications directly for UAE government agencies, based in the UAE. The UAE is one of the most ambitious AI-first governments in the world, with sweeping national initiatives around smart government, digital transformation, and sovereign AI — and this role puts you at the center of that mission. This role requires someone who is equally at home in a government stakeholder meeting as they are in a technical design review. You will own engineering delivery, embed deeply with UAE government clients, and help build Scale's presence as the leading AI partner for public sector transformation in the region. What You'll Do Lead and manage a team of engineers building AI-powered applications for UAE federal and local government clients, ensuring high-quality delivery and strong client outcomes Act as the primary technical point of contact for UAE government stakeholders — building trusted relationships, leading discovery workshops, and presenting solutions at the executive level Design, build, and optimize full stack AI applications end-to-end, spanning data pipelines, ML model integration, APIs, and frontend delivery Develop and deploy AI/ML solutions including LLM-powered applications, AI agents, and intelligent automation tailored to UAE government use cases Architect and maintain robust API integrations between Scale's platform and UAE government systems and third-party services Partner with product, go to market, and government counterparts to translate requirements into scalable engineering solutions and drive delivery from concept to production Represent Scale AI in client-facing settings including workshops, technical demos, and executive briefings with UAE ministry and agency stakeholders Manage delivery across multiple concurrent workstreams, balancing velocity and quality in a dynamic, fast-paced environment Mentor and grow engineers on the team, building a culture of technical excellence, ownership, and client focus Contribute to shaping team culture, engineering processes, and best practices as a key leader within the Global Public Sector organization What We're Looking For 6+ years of total software engineering experience, with a strong background in AI/ML engineering and full stack development 3+ years of engineering leadership experience, with a proven ability to manage and grow high-performing technical teams Strong AI/ML engineering foundation — hands-on experience building, fine-tuning, or deploying machine learning models and LLM-based applications in production environments Full stack engineering proficiency across the entire application stack, including backend services, APIs, data pipelines, and frontend interfaces Proven experience in a customer-facing or client-embedded engineering role — confident engaging directly with government or enterprise clients, running technical workshops, and communicating clearly with non-technical stakeholders Experience designing and integrating APIs at scale, including RESTful services and AI/ML APIs Ability to turn complex government requirements into practical, scalable engineering solutions under real delivery pressure Track record of shipping high-quality products and features at pace in dynamic, ambiguous environments Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to tailor technical content for senior government audiences Familiarity with UAE government digital transformation priorities — including initiatives such as UAE Vision 2031, smart government programs, or national AI strategies — is strongly preferred Experience working in or with the UAE or broader GCC region is strongly preferred; Arabic language skills a plus PLEASE NOTE: Our policy requires a 90-day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role. This allows us to ensure a fair and thorough evaluation of all applicants. About Us: At Scale, our mission is to develop reliable AI systems for the world's most important decisions. Our products provide the high-quality data and full-stack technologies that power the world's leading models, and help enterprises and governments build, deploy, and oversee AI applications that deliver real impact. We work closely with industry leaders like Meta, Ernst & Young, Mayo Clinic, Time Inc., the Government of Qatar, and U.S. government agencies including the Army and Air Force. We are expanding our team to accelerate the development of AI applications. We believe that everyone should be able to bring their whole selves to work, which is why we are proud to be an inclusive and equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, gender identity or Veteran status. We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation in the application or recruiting pro