Manager of Engineering

Who we are: At Arkana Laboratories, everyone has an important role to fill. Come join us and be a part of a team dedicated to making life better for those who need it most.

This place is packed with super-smart people who do their best work together. We work hard every day to advance our understanding of disease and provide world-class care to our patients in hopes of leaving our corner of the world a little better than we found it. While we are committed to improving the lives of thousands of patients, we never lose sight of the realization that they are the reason we get to create change in our field.

Built on generosity, teamwork, and the freedom to try new things, we take great pride in our work. Great ideas come from everywhere in this company and we celebrate each success and failure for the opportunity it gives us to keep reaching. For more than twenty years after our founder, Dr. Patrick Walker, wrote his goals on the back of a napkin, our people, culture, and values have remained strong.

About the position: Arkana Laboratories is the largest and most advanced renal pathology laboratory in the country. We're building AI models that change how pathologists work, architecting a proprietary LIS from the ground up, and scaling our engineering capabilities to match our ambitions. We need a Manager of Engineering to lead a team of 4 engineers (2 existing + 2 new hires), partner with our CTO and Product team, and make key technical decisions in a greenfield (quickly advancing) environment that will help define our competitive advantage for years. If you're a builder who gets excited by architecting systems from scratch, implementing AI in production healthcare environments, and building teams, this is your role.

What you'll do:

Day 1 Team

• Directly manage 2 existing software engineers and recruit/shape your team with 2 open positions. Work in close partnership with Product team and Manager of Technology Operations. Collaborate with Manager of Data & Analytics (peer relationship).

Build & Architect

• Own technical architecture for our proprietary LIS, making key decisions on stack, data models, and system design from the ground up.

• Drive AI/ML implementation in production pathology workflows.

• Lead development of Arkana Connect platform and custom applications.

• Establish engineering standards, CI/CD practices, and development processes.

Greenfield Opportunity

• Architect our proprietary LIS from scratch. Make foundational architecture decisions that will define our platform for the next decade.

• Build AI/ML models integrated into production pathology workflows.

• Develop custom applications from the ground up.

• Establish engineering practices and team capabilities as we build our foundation.

Partner & Deliver

• Work closely with Product on roadmap, feasibility, and delivery planning.

• Collaborate with CTO and Manager of Technology Operations on cloud infrastructure and security.

• Translate product vision into executable technical plans.

Lead & Scale

• Directly manage team of 4 engineers (2 existing + 2 new hires).

• Recruit and shape your team with 2 open positions to hire engineers who match your technical vision.

• Develop engineering talent and technical capabilities.

• Build effective collaboration between engineering and product.

• Establish engineering practices and standards from the ground up.

• Other duties as assigned

You should have:

Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field preferred

Required Experience:

• 6-8 years software engineering experience with 3-4 years engineering leadership managing individual contributors

• Experience with modern software development (React, JavaScript frameworks), custom application architecture from early stages, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP), and Agile/DevOps methodologies

• Healthcare or regulated industry strongly preferred. LIS, EHR, or healthcare platform experience preferred

• Understanding of healthcare data standards (HL7, FHIR) and HIPAA compliance a plus

• Experience with AI/ML deployment and lifecycle management preferred

Required Technical Skills:

• Strong technical skills required

• Proficiency with modern development frameworks, cloud platforms, CI/CD tools, and data analytics platforms (Tableau preferred)

What Makes You Successful

• You're a builder who gets excited about architecting from the ground up

• You've worked effectively with Product teams

• You make sound architectural decisions early that scale later

• You balance innovation with reliability in healthcare contexts

• You're hands-on when needed while building team capability

• You communicate clearly across technical and clinical audiences

• You're adaptable and comfortable with ambiguity in greenfield environments

Why Arkana

• Build from scratch: Architect our proprietary LIS with rare opportunity for foundational technical decisions

• Cutting-edge impact: Largest, most advanced renal pathology lab where your work enables breakthrough diagnostics

• Real AI implementation: Production systems, not pilots

• Product partnership: We build software thoughtfully with dedicated Product team

• Direct CTO partnership: Real influence on technology strategy

• Mission-driven: Every system impacts patient diagnoses and outcomes

• Competitive manager-level compensation

Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-5pm, onsite at the main office in Little Rock, Arkansas.

What we offer: We know that health is more than doctor visits and life is more than work. We work hard at Arkana but in turn provide competitive salaries and generous benefit offerings.

Specifically, we offer the following benefits to full-time employees:

• Competitive salary

• Generous paid time off and Paid Holidays

• Minimal cost health insurance for you and affordable options for your family

• 401(k) with immediate eligibility and match

• Company-paid life insurance

• Company-paid long term disability coverage

• Affordable vision and dental plans

• Flexible Spending Account or Health Savings Account availability

• Wellness plan and complimentary yoga classes

• Monthly in-office massages and employer-sponsored lunches

Please see Careers for further information.