Who We Are

At 8th Light, we bring life to the best ideas.

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Chicago, we are a technology solutions provider that partners with organizations to solve meaningful challenges and drive sustainable growth. From early-stage startups to global enterprises, we work across industries to optimize our clients’ digital products through product strategy innovation, experiential design, AI solutions, and deep engineering expertise.

Our commitment to quality means we deliver solutions we’re truly proud of, while our curiosity sparks innovation and breakthrough thinking. 8th Lights thrive in an environment that champions continuous education, fueling our growth through mentorship and hands-on work. We foster an open, collaborative culture grounded in honesty that builds trust, and believe true success is measured by the outcomes we create for our clients.

If this kind of work and our kind of people energizes you, you’ve found the right place.

Who You Are

You are a quality-driven, experienced engagement leader with a strong track record delivering complex, custom software and design engagements in consulting environments, over 10 years. You bring together delivery rigor, product thinking, client partnership, and people leadership enabling high-performing teams while driving meaningful outcomes for clients and for 8th Light.

You operate comfortably in increasingly data-intensive and AI-enabled environments, applying sound judgment to build trust, align stakeholders, and drive meaningful outcomes in complex delivery contexts.

You also have:

• Deep hands-on experience with a variety of delivery methodologies and frameworks, including fluency with Agile (Scrum, Kanban), and the judgment to adapt PDLC and SDLC practices to context, scale, risk profile, and client maturity.
• Proven experience integrating AI-enabled tools and workflows to rethink discovery, delivery, and decision-making.
• Demonstrated success leading and overseeing multiple software engagements across a variety of clients, products, and industries.
• A history of building trusted, long-term relationships with senior client delivery, product, and technology leaders.
• Led inclusive, cross-functional forums that support discovery, alignment, decision-making, and problem-solving.
• Made thoughtful recommendations and set clear direction in the face of ambiguity, risk, and competing priorities.
• Served as a career manager and coach, supporting the growth, performance, and engagement of team members.
• Communicated clearly and empathetically with executives, clients, and colleagues, balancing advocacy, transparency, and accountability.

What You’ll Do At 8th Light

As an engagement leader, you’ll oversee multiple client accounts, partnering closely with account and practice leaders to drive delivery excellence, client outcomes, and business growth. You’ll be accountable for engagement health, delivery quality, client relationships, utilization, and people leadership.

You’ll also:

• Serve as an embedded, trusted advisor to client executives and senior leaders, providing guidance on delivery strategy, organizational dynamics, and decision-making in complex, evolving environments.
• Act as the day-to-day orchestrator of client engagements, aligning teams, stakeholders, and delivery practices to ensure clarity, momentum, and consistent progress toward outcomes.
• Participate in account planning, opportunity identification, and business development activities in partnership with account leadership.
• Develop and maintain multi-horizon roadmaps, delivery plans, and release strategies across complex or long-running engagements.
• Absorb complexity and work with teams and clients to resolve blockers, so teams can stay focused on outcomes.
• Monitor and evolve engagement operating models as teams, clients, and products mature, adapting ways of working to support learning, scale, and long-term outcomes.
• Build AI and agentic workflows into how you run engagements day to day, including status reporting, delivery planning, risk tracking, and client communications.
• Coach direct reports and work with fellow career managers on consistent feedback and career growth, while modeling our Values and supporting an inclusive, collaborative culture.

• Contribute to 8th Light by serving as a mentor, leading or designing workshops internally or for clients, representing 8th Light in the tech community, or supporting our hiring processes.

Strongly Preferred Skills

We work across many domains and encourage candidates with relevant experience to apply. We are particularly interested in candidates who bring experience in:

• Account leadership, including participation in account planning, opportunity shaping, and client growth initiatives.
• A strong technical background that enables effective partnership with senior engineers, architects, and designers.

How You’ll Be Supported

At 8th Light, we believe our people are our greatest asset. Their growth, well-being, and success shape our future.

Our wellness package is designed with the Whole YOU in mind and includes:

• A robust L&D program featuring unlimited access to thousands of books, courses, and expert-led training on the O'Reilly learning platform.
• Annual financial stipend and time allotment for learning & development
• Coworking support for our global team
• Flexible PTO
• 12 weeks of new parent leave available for eligible employees

See our full list of Benefits.

A Note on Compensation

At 8th Light, we are committed to a compensation philosophy that is transparent, fair, and helps us attract and retain top talent in alignment with our company’s strategic growth goals and clients’ needs.

We benchmark our salaries using Geographic Structures to establish competitive pay ranges within the regions where 8th Lights live. Base compensation for our Engagement Manager position within our four US structures are as follows:

• Structure 1 (Tampa Metro, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin)
• RANGE: $139,462 - $174,327 USD
• Structure 2 (Chicago Metro, Miami Metro, Philadelphia Metro, Raleigh Metro)
• RANGE: $146,553 - $183,191 USD
• Structure 3 (Austin Metro, Boston Metro, DC Metro)
• RANGE: $156,008 - $195,010 USD
• Structure 4 (Los Angeles, Seattle, New York City)
• RANGE: $162,627 - $203,283 USD

This role is also eligible for our client service bonus plan. Reach out to [email protected] for more relevant information pertaining to your local market.

8th Light Hubs and Geographies

As a remote-first company, 8th Light's culture is rooted in strong connections that extend across our teams, regions, and beyond client work. We are a distributed team across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, with hubs in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle.

If you are hired into a hub, you will be a part of a team with regular rituals around coworking and community building. For team members outside of those cities, we offer access to coworking spaces to foster continued collaboration and connection across our global team.

In most cases, our consulting engagements do not require travel.

We hope to see you apply!

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