Sr Engineering Lead - Tech R&D

AAA • Costa Mesa, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Sr Engineering Lead - Tech R&D ClubLabs is the digital acceleration team for the Automobile Club of Southern California (AAA). We design and deliver intuitive digital experiences across insurance, membership, financial services, emergency roadside, and travel. As a team of engineers, designers, researchers, and product managers, we bring modern technology and forward-looking innovation to 17 million AAA members. This hybrid role is part of Futures Innovation team and blends technical leadership, applied R&D, product-oriented experimentation, and hands-on engineering. You will be leading a team focused on exploring, validating, and piloting emerging technologies while also guiding engineering teams responsible for turning promising concepts into scalable solutions. You will be both a builder and a strategic leader—comfortable designing prototypes, writing code when needed, running experiments, and coaching other leaders to deliver at scale. Success in this role is measured by the quality of discovery, the strength of technical decisions, the maturity of teams you grow, and the real-world impact of the R&D portfolio.

Requirements

• Proven experience leading software engineering teams and developing other engineering leaders.
• Demonstrated ability to build prototypes, write code, and engage deeply in technical problem-solving.
• Strong product instincts with a history of running experiments and driving concepts from idea → pilot → measurable impact.
• Experience owning or contributing to applied R&D, innovation labs, or advanced technology exploration.
• Comfort operating in fast paced, iterative environments with evolving priorities.
• Exceptional communication, influencing, and cross functional partnership skills.
• High integrity, strong decision-making skills, and the ability to operate both strategically and tactically.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in AI/ML, IoT, autonomous systems, data platforms, mobility, fintech, or insurtech is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership Stay actively engaged in architecture, design reviews, prototyping, and experimentation.
• Write code for high impact prototypes, technical spikes, or complex system components when needed.
• Break down ambiguous, exploratory concepts into testable experiments and incremental technical paths.
• Ensure solutions are cloud native, secure, observable, and aligned to long-term ClubLabs engineering standards.
• R&D, Product Discovery & Experimentation Lead the applied R&D function, overseeing discovery, technology scouting, prototyping, piloting, and structured experimentation.
• Establish a repeatable R&D methodology: hypothesis driven research, rapid iteration cycles, and clear criteria for progression or sunset.
• Explore emerging technologies (AI/ML, IoT, autonomous systems, data science, mobility, fintech/insurtech advancements) and assess strategic relevance.
• Build strong transition frameworks ensuring successful handoff of prototypes and pilots to production engineering teams.
• Leadership & Organizational Impact Lead, mentor, and grow engineering leaders—developing both technical and people leadership capabilities.
• Partner with Product, Design, QA, and operational teams to align priorities and sequence R&D pipelines.
• Identify systemic risks, dependencies, bottlenecks and drive resolutions.
• Culture & Craft Champion an engineering culture rooted in context sharing, iteration, continuous improvement, and shared ownership.
• Foster a psychologically safe environment with direct, constructive feedback and a growth mindset.
• Strengthen cross team alignment and elevate the overall engineering craft.

Benefits

• Health coverage for medical, dental, vision
• 401(K) saving plans with company match AND Pension
• Tuition assistance
• Floating holidays and PTO for community volunteer programs
• Paid parental leave
• Wellness programs
• Employee discounts (membership, insurance, travel, entertainment, services and more!)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed