---
title: 'Engineering Manager, Growth at Harper'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-manager-growth-harper-san-francisco-fasf4sj96myf'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-12'
---

# Engineering Manager, Growth at Harper

- **Company:** Harper
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Compensation:** $225k–$275k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-31
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/harperinsure/fb090823-feb9-430f-b193-68dee922386b

## Job description

The Problem 36 million businesses in America need insurance—it's not optional. 77% are underinsured. 40% have no coverage at all. The distribution system failed them: too slow, too opaque, too confusing.

Over 90% of commercial insurance is still human-led. We're building the inverse: 90%+ AI-led, pushing toward the higher 90s. Not by patching legacy workflows—by building AI that makes humans more effective, improves the customer experience, and eliminates friction at every step. We're adding ~1,000 customers per month. We've grown 100x since last year. We're looking to do even more this year—and that's why we're hiring.

You own the engine that turns those 36 million problems into a full pipeline—from the first click to a bound policy.

The Thesis Growth is Harper's engine for turning demand into coverage. Leads come in through a dozen different surfaces—web, aggregators, social, paid, and everything in between—and every one of them needs to make it through intake to a completed policy. That means two problems that have to work in lockstep: consistently filling the top of the funnel, and having the capacity to carry every lead through to completion.

We're pushing to make this as AI-forward as the rest of Harper. The team has spent the last stretch architecting Voice AI systems that can run intake at the volume our funnel demands—this is where most of the technical complexity in the role lives, and where the leverage compounds. Get intake capacity right, and every channel you turn on downstream just works.

## The Role

You'll own Growth end to end: the acquisition side—web, aggregators, social, paid, and every other distribution surface, organic and non-organic—built in close partnership with our growth and marketing teams, and the intake side, where leads move through the requirements needed to get bound. The north star is simple: a consistent, reliable supply of leads across every channel, and the capacity to run every one of them through intake to completion. The team is 5 people today and we're aiming to roughly 2x it to around 10 over the next three months. Managing individuals and actively shaping their careers is core to this job, not a side responsibility—and you'll work in close partnership with growth marketing, sales, and operations, so stakeholder management matters as much as team management.

## What You'll Do

- Own the Growth org — lead and grow a team from 5 to ~10 over the next three months, with day-to-day management and career development as a core part of the job
- Drive lead acquisition — partner closely with growth and marketing on every distribution surface: web, aggregators, social, paid, and beyond, organic and non-organic
- Own intake capacity — make sure every lead that enters the funnel can be taken through intake and completed to bound coverage
- Architect Voice AI for scale — this is where most of the team's technical complexity sits; build the systems that let intake keep up with demand
- Partner across the business — work in lockstep with growth marketing, sales, and operations as a primary stakeholder group
- Stay hands-on — keep the team unblocked, help shape architecture, dive into code when they're stuck, and write code yourself when it's needed
- Hire the team — build out from 5 to 10, drawing on your own network where you can

You Might Be a Fit If...

- You've been a line manager for at least two years, directly managing teams of 6+ people
- You come from a product-first company, in a product-first role
- You've optimized growth funnels end to end, from top of funnel to bottom
- You've worked in an operations-heavy environment and are comfortable partnering with non-technical stakeholders
- You're not afraid to get your hands dirty—diving into code when the team needs it, not just directing from above
- You move fast, and expect your team to as well

## Nice to Have

- A track record of hiring and building out a team from scratch, with your own network to draw from
- Experience with Voice AI or other real-time/conversational AI systems
- Experience partnering directly with growth marketing and sales in a high-velocity, operations-heavy business
- Prior startup experience—especially at a company scaling through hyper growth

## Compensation & Logistics

- Salary: $225,000–$275,000
- Location: San Francisco, in-office. Based in SF or willing to relocate.
- Schedule: Monday–Friday, in-office five days a week.
- Benefits: Uber commuter benefits; breakfast, lunch, and dinner provided; snacks, drinks, and coffee daily; free gym membership; health, dental, and vision insurance.

The Process

- Hiring Manager screen - 30 min video chat.
- Technical screen — 60 min remote: project deep dive + system design
- Super Day on-site — meet the team, sit in on the operation, do real work alongside us.

## About Harper

## Company Overview

- **One-liner**: Harper is an AI-native commercial insurance brokerage that uses data and automation to help mid-sized businesses secure optimal coverage faster and at lower cost.
- **Entity Type**: Private startup (Y Combinator Winter 2025, raised $47 million)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Dakotah Rice (CEO) and Tushar Nair (CTO)

## Core Business

- Primary industry: Commercial insurance (Excess & Surplus lines brokerage)
- Target customers: Mid-sized businesses with complex insurance needs, spanning technology, life sciences, aerospace, construction, and consulting
- Mission: "We want to become the largest insurance brokerage in the world with the best NPS." (Source: [Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/harper))

## Products & Services

- **Harper Hub**: Proprietary AI-native platform that automates form filling, carrier matching, and client communications, cutting weeks from the traditional quoting timeline.
- **Brokerage Services**: Comprehensive commercial insurance products including General Liability, Professional Liability (tech E&O with no AI exclusions), Cyber Insurance, Commercial Auto, Commercial Property, Umbrella, and Bonds – all placed through an AI-enhanced workflow.
- **Specialty Expertise**: Deep coverage for regulated industries such as FDA‑regulated labs, aerospace contractors, and security guard firms.

## Market Standing

- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$47 million** (confirmed on company website and Y Combinator profile; some third‑party sources list a lower figure but official sources indicate $47M)
- **Notable Investors**: Y Combinator (pre‑seed lead); other investors not publicly detailed
- **Growth Signals**: Writing over **$6 million in annualized premiums** across 35 states (as of early 2025); **6,000+ clients** with **98.78% client retention**; headcount of 39 employees growing **353% year‑over‑year**; **19 open positions**; 100% success placing tech E&O without AI exclusions.

## Competitive Advantages

- **AI‑native infrastructure**: Proprietary technology automates quoting, binding, and service, enabling faster turnaround and lower overhead compared to traditional brokers.
- **Deep niche expertise**: Focus on complex, regulated industries (tech, life sciences, aerospace) where incumbents often struggle.
- **High retention**: 98.78% client retention rate and proven ability to place hard‑to‑cover policies (e.g., tech E&O with AI exclusions) signal strong customer trust.
- **Data‑driven underwriting**: Real‑time analysis of prior interactions and quote intelligence to match businesses with the best carrier.

## Strategic Focus

- Scaling the AI‑native brokerage to serve the mid‑market today and eventually all businesses (commercial insurance commissions represent a $100B+ market).
- Aggressively hiring across engineering, sales, operations, and partnerships to support rapid growth.
- Expanding carrier partnerships and geographic reach (currently licensed in 35 states).

## Why Work Here

- **Early‑stage impact**: Join a Y Combinator‑backed startup at its inflection point, building the AI‑native future of insurance.
- **High‑leverage roles**: Engineers and GTM professionals work directly on systems (LLMs, automation) that drive measurable business outcomes.
- **Culture**: "Human expertise amplified by AI" – domain knowledge meets cutting‑edge technology; teammates from Goldman Sachs, Coinbase, and other top firms.
- **Work environment**: San Francisco headquarters with both in‑office and remote roles available depending on the position.
- **Compensation**: Competitive startup salaries (e.g., $160K–$230K for engineering roles per job listings).
- **Career growth**: Fast‑growing company (353% headcount growth) with opportunities to shape processes and take on ownership early.

## Sources

1. [harperinsure.com](https://harperinsure.com/) – Company website (home page)
2. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/harperinsure](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/harperinsure) – Careers page
3. [ycombinator.com/companies/harper](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/harper) – Y Combinator company profile
4. [linkedin.com/company/harperinsure](https://www.linkedin.com/company/harperinsure) – LinkedIn company page
5. [builtin.com/company/harper-harperinsurecom](https://builtin.com/company/harper-harperinsurecom) – Built In company profile

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