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Harper Group

AI-driven insurance brokerage for SMBs

Engineering Manager - Growth

Full-Time
$225k - $275k/yr
Mid
San Francisco, CA, USA
In PersonIn-office five days a week; must be based in San Francisco or willing to relocate.
Engineering ManagementEngineering Leadership

About the job

Requirements
  • Have at least two years of line-management experience, directly managing teams of six or more people.
  • Come from a product-first company and have held a product-first role.
  • Have optimized growth funnels end to end, from top of funnel to bottom.
  • Have worked in an operations-heavy environment and be comfortable partnering with non-technical stakeholders.
  • Be willing to dive into code when the team needs it, rather than only directing from above.
  • Be comfortable moving quickly and expecting the team to do so.
Responsibilities
  • Own the Growth organization and lead and grow a team from five to approximately ten people over the next three months, with day-to-day management and career development as core responsibilities.
  • Partner closely with growth and marketing on lead acquisition across web, aggregators, social, paid, and other organic and non-organic distribution surfaces.
  • Own intake capacity so every lead entering the funnel can proceed through intake and be completed to bound coverage.
  • Architect Voice AI systems that allow intake to keep up with demand.
  • Partner closely with growth marketing, sales, and operations as a primary stakeholder group.
  • Keep the team unblocked, shape architecture, dive into code when needed, and write code when required.
  • Hire and build out the team from five to ten, drawing on a personal network where possible.
Desired Qualifications
  • Have a track record of hiring and building out a team from scratch, with a personal network to draw from.
  • Have experience with Voice AI or other real-time or conversational AI systems.
  • Have experience partnering directly with growth marketing and sales in a high-velocity, operations-heavy business.
  • Have prior startup experience, especially at a company scaling through hypergrowth.

About the company

Harper Group is an AI-native commercial insurance brokerage that connects small- and mid-sized businesses with more than 160 insurance carriers for workers’ compensation and general and professional liability. Its product works by using AI to run almost all licensed agency workflows—routing submissions, following up with underwriters, collecting documents, and managing pipelines—so the brokerage can complete client placements in about one to two days instead of several days, and handle a larger volume of customers each month. Harper differentiates itself from competitors through its heavy use of automation to reduce manual work and speed, enabling it to serve thousands of customers efficiently while maintaining relationships with a broad carrier network. The company’s goal is to scale brokerage operations, grow its engineering and brand, and broaden access to coverage for more businesses by increasing speed, accuracy, and capacity in its processes.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Series A

Total Funding

$47.1M

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2024

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Harper raised $47 million on February 26, 2026, led by Emergence Capital.
  • Harper served more than 5,000 businesses in 13 months and 1,000 monthly customers.
  • Harper posted 14 San Francisco roles in May 2026, signaling aggressive scaling after funding.

What critics are saying

  • Harper depends on carrier appointments; a few major insurers can starve inventory by 2027.
  • Commercial insurance service failures trigger cancellations, E&O claims, and reputation damage immediately.
  • AI-native brokerage economics remain unproven; one bad loss ratio or compliance scandal can kill Harper.

What makes Harper Group unique

  • Dakotah Rice and Tushar Nair built Harper as the broker, not software, in 2024.
  • Harper automates submission routing, underwriter follow-ups, and document collection across 160-plus carriers.
  • The platform closes workers' compensation and liability quotes in 24-48 hours, not weeks.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Gym Membership
  • Commuter Benefits

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

33%

1 year growth

33%

2 year growth

56%
InfoTechLead
Feb 26th, 2026
Venture Capital Funding: Harper, Verley, Union.ai

Venture capital funding: Harper, Verley, Union.ai. 26/02/2026 Several tech startups - Harper, Verley, Union.ai, among others, have announced their venture capital funding to bolster innovation and business growth. Harper Raises $47 mn AI-enabled insurtech startup Harper raised approximately $47 million in a Series A financing led by Emergence Capital, with participation from Y Combinator and Peak XV Partners. Harper's autonomous brokerage platform automates quoting and issuing commercial insurance policies with minimal human intervention across more than 160 carriers. The funding will fuel product development, market expansion, and the enhancement of AI-based brokerage workflows. Founded by entrepreneurs with deep insurance and technology experience, the raise highlights growing investor confidence in AI solutions that streamline complex financial services operations. Verley Raises $38 mn French food tech startup Verley raised $38 million in a Series A round led by Alven, with backing from Blast Club and Bpifrance. Founded by food science and biotech innovators, Verley uses precision fermentation to produce sustainable whey protein alternatives with lower environmental impact. The capital will support scaling production and prepare for global commercial launches targeting nutrition and food manufacturing markets. The funding demonstrates VC interest in food technology that addresses sustainability and climate impact while meeting commercial demand. Union.ai Raises $38.1 mn AI infrastructure startup Union.ai closed a $38.1 million Series A round led by NEA (New Enterprise Associates), with participation from Nava Ventures and Mozilla Ventures. Union.ai is the developer of Flyte, an open-source platform that orchestrates AI and ML workflows, enabling scalable and production-ready pipelines for enterprise developers. The funding will be used to launch Union 2.0 and improve core platform capabilities, including full Python support and enhanced debugging tools. This investment underscores VC support for tools that help organisations operationalise AI at scale. THASNIYA VP Baburajan Kizhakedath is the editor of InfotechLead.com. He has three decades of experience in tech media. Discover more

Harper
Feb 26th, 2026
We're Announcing $47M to Build the Insurance Company Every Business Deserves | Harper News

Harper announces $47M in Seed and Series A funding led by Emergence Capital. Learn how we're building AI-powered insurance to serve every business in America.

TechCrunch
Feb 25th, 2026
Y Combinator grad Harper raises $47M for AI-native insurance brokerage

Harper, an AI-native insurance brokerage founded by Y Combinator graduate Dakotah Rice, has raised $46.8 million in combined Series A and seed rounds led by Emergence Capital. The company has raised $54 million to date, with backing from YC and Peak XV Partners. Launched in 2024 as part of YC's W'25 batch, Harper operates as an almost fully autonomous licensed commercial insurance agency, matching small and mid-sized businesses with over 160 carriers for workers' compensation, general liability and professional liability. The platform completes tasks in one to two days that typically take traditional brokers five to seven days. Harper handles over 1,000 customers monthly and has served more than 5,000 customers to date. The funding will expand Harper's engineering team and brand growth as it targets middle America businesses.

Abdalrahman Behairy
Feb 25th, 2026
Y Combinator grad and AI insurance brokerage Harper raises $47M

Y combinator grad and AI insurance brokerage Harper raises $47M. On February 25, 2026 Harper is an AI-native insurance brokerage that just raised a $45 million combined Series A and seed, after a member of YC's Winter 2025 cohort.