Senior Software Engineering Manager

Careem is building the Everything App for the greater Middle East — making it easy to move around, order food and groceries, manage payments, and more. Our purpose is simple: to simplify and improve people’s lives and build an awesome organisation that inspires.
Since 2012, Careem has enabled earnings for over 2.5 million Captains, simplified the lives of more than 70 million customers, and built a platform where the region’s best talent and entrepreneurs thrive. We operate in 70+ cities across 10 countries, from Morocco to Pakistan.

We’re now entering our next chapter — one powered by AI. We’re looking for AI talent: curious problem-solvers who know how to apply AI to build tools, automate workflows, and create real impact. Whether it’s streamlining operations, enhancing customer experience, or reimagining internal systems — we want people who can make Careem work smarter and move faster.

About the team

At Careem, the mission of the NextGen Programme is to develop our next generation of engineers through a structured learning journey in Clean Code, SOLID design principles, and scalable system architecture. This programme spans all areas of engineering at Careem, including Backend, Frontend, Web, Mobile, Data Analysis, MLOps, Infrastructure, Cyber Security, and QA. The goal is to build a strong foundation of engineering excellence from day one.

We are looking for a Senior Software Engineering Manager to lead a team of talented engineers and graduates who are embarking on their journey in software engineering. You’ll play a critical role in shaping the learning and technical growth of the team, mentoring them through real-world projects and helping them become world-class engineers.

You will be responsible for leading and scaling highly distributed systems, mentoring engineers in best practices, and continuously improving engineering processes. The systems you oversee will be core to Careem’s operations — powering everything from user interactions to payment processing.

What you'll do:

• Lead a team of engineers within the NextGen Programme, focusing on high-quality service delivery and strong engineering foundations.

• Drive the design, development, and deployment of scalable distributed systems in a microservices-based architecture.

• Guide and mentor engineers in applying Clean Code, SOLID principles, and test-driven development.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to solve technical challenges and improve engineering efficiency.

• Partner with other leaders to shape the technical roadmap and evolve the programme structure.

• Foster a strong team culture of learning, accountability, and engineering excellence.

• Maintain a high level of engagement and support across the team through regular feedback and coaching.

What you'll need

• 10+ years of experience in software development, min 3 years in a management/senior engineering team lead role.

• You have strong software engineering skills with strong competencies in data structures, algorithms, software design and OOP.

• Working knowledge of at least one of these Java, Go, Python, .NET.

• Deep understanding of how to build scalable distributed systems.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or related field, or equivalent training, fellowship, or work experience.

• You’re a leader who is passionate about growing talent.

• Demonstrate ability to run and improve technical development processes.

• Passion for developing people and building strong, collaborative teams.

• Demonstrated ability to run and improve technical development processes.