Manager, Engineering, SecureAI

Secure Every Identity, from AI to Human Identity is the key to unlocking the potential of AI. Okta secures AI by building the trusted, neutral infrastructure that enables organizations to safely embrace this new era. This work requires a relentless drive to solve complex challenges with real-world stakes. We are looking for builders and owners who operate with speed and urgency and execute with excellence. This is an opportunity to do career-defining work. We're all in on this mission. If you are too, let's talk. About Okta Secures AI Team The Okta Secures AI Team is building the future of digital identity management. The way companies are using agents and allowing them access is undergoing a fundamental shift, enabling teams to move fast while staying secure. Our North Star is clear: To get AI right, you have to get identity right. We are not just managing identities; we are building the industry's first Identity Security Fabric for the agentic era. As organizations rapidly deploy AI, these non-human entities are acting with access to critical tools, often bypassing traditional perimeters and creating a 'Shadow AI' crisis. Our mission is to move identity from a reactive gatekeeper to a unified control plane, transforming AI risk into business ROI. We are tackling this by implementing a comprehensive four-pillar maturity model: Discover, Onboard, Protect, and Govern. We are driving innovation by defining the standards for Agentic Identity—including pioneer work with securing AI Agents and support for protocols like MCP. You will be helping us build the infrastructure that allows enterprises to scale AI safely, ensuring every access decision—whether made by a human or an automated agent—is authenticated, authorized, and audited at scale. We are a diverse team of engineers, product managers, and designers who are bringing Okta’s expertise in identity to define the future of Agent Identity management, focusing on enablement while staying secure. About the role We’re looking for an Engineering Manager to lead the Agent Access Policies sub-team. Operating under the larger Okta Secures AI group, the Agent Access Policies team owns Agent Access Policies and enables least-privilege agentic access to enterprise resources, giving administrators per-agent control over which tools an agent may call and which employees it may act for. This team works on policies that replace broad, connection-level agent access with per-agent, per-resource, per-tool policy decisions and enforcement evaluated at runtime on every request, including which employees a delegated agent is allowed to act for. What you’ll be doing • Manage the team’s performance, goals, and career development, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment where engineers can do their best work. • Partner with product management and technical leads to define the strategic direction and roadmap for the team • Ensure the team maintains a high bar for quality, security, and operational excellence through effective processes, mentorship, and a focus on testing and automation. • Lead the team in adopting new technologies and practices, including the integration of AI into the software development lifecycle. • Drive key projects from inception to delivery, ensuring effective cross-functional collaboration and clear communication with stakeholders. • Recruit, hire, and retain top engineering talent, building a diverse and high-performing team for the long term. Minimum Requirements: • Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop a team of engineers, including performance management and career growth planning. • Demonstrated experience managing technical projects from planning to execution, with a strong understanding of Agile methodologies (Scrum/Kanban) and CI/CD. • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional and geographically distributed teams. • Strategic mindset with experience contributing to product and technical roadmaps. Technical Qualifications: • A strong technical background in building scalable, secure, and high-performance web applications. • Familiarity with emerging AI standards, agentic interaction protocols (such as Model Context Protocol / MCP), and AI identity governance frameworks. • Familiarity with server-side software architecture and frameworks including Java/C# and the Spring Framework. • Understanding of web security principles, secure coding practices, and accessibility standards (WCAG). • Knowledge of IAM protocols (e.g., OAuth, OIDC, SAML) and identity management concepts is a strong plus. • Knowledge of cybersecurity principles and secure coding practice is a strong plus • Prior experience as a Tech Lead or in an architecture-focused role is highly desirable. • Prior experience leading a team of engineers through a meaningful shift in ways of working around AI adoption, developer tooling, or engineering culture change. • Prior hands-on technical background in building, scaling, or securing AI-powered applications and agentic platforms is a strong plus. Education and Training: • Bachelor’s or Master's degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience • 10+ years of software development experience, with at least 5 years of experience designing and building enterprise grade software • 2+ years managing engineering teams, balancing new feature/product development and maintaining existing features. Okta’s Top 5 Core Leadership Competencies It’s our expectation that our managers and leaders embody these core competencies: • Builds Effective Teams: Building strong-identity teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve common goals. • Demonstrates Self-Awareness (EQ): Using a combination of feedback and reflection to gain productive insight into personal strengths and weaknesses. • Develops Talent: Developing people to meet both their career goals and the organization’s goals. • Dri