The Opportunity :

Strategic Leadership : Newly created senior-most role responsible for building the leadership layer, establishing engineering culture, and designing the operating model.

Transformational Goal : Shift the engineering function from being "delivery-focused" to "capability-driven."

Scope :

Lead a 30+ person organization across three product teams, each managed by a Technical Manager.

Reporting Structure : Sit on the leadership team and report directly to the Business Unit Head (BUH).

Ideal Candidate Profile : A seasoned leader with a track record of "scars and wins," seeking full ownership and executive backing to drive strategic change.

Key Responsibilities :

- Lead three product teams through Technical Managers, focusing on both team and individual capability growth.

- Define and instill engineering values, norms, and a culture of accountability and craft.

- Design and implement career ladders, performance frameworks, and development plans.

- Drive active, structured hiring (sourcing to onboarding) to build a high-performing team.

- Foster an environment that prioritizes retention and professional growth.

Strategy & Long-Term Architecture :

- Translate product vision and business goals into multi-quarter engineering plans.

- Proactively identify and address structural risks, technical debt, and capability gaps.

- Partner with Solution Architecture to define long-term platform strategy.

- Represent engineering in strategic discussions, balancing immediate delivery with long-term investment.

Delivery Excellence :

- Establish and enforce delivery standards, release cadences, and engineering KPIs.

- Transition the organization from reactive firefighting to proactive, planned delivery.

- Manage cross-team dependencies, resource allocation, and risk.

- Drive quality and engineering hygiene without becoming a bottleneck.

- Ensure predictable delivery that aligns with business commitments.

Leadership Team Contribution :

- Serve as a peer and thought partner to heads of Product Management, Customer Success, and Data Services.

- Communicate technical tradeoffs, costs, and timelines with clarity and confidence.

- Act as a stabilizing, visible leader during periods of organizational growth and change.

- Contribute to the broader organizational culture and operating model.

Success Milestones (First 12 Months) :

- 30 Days : Observe and diagnose; build relationships with key stakeholders; map the current state and risks; provide a written assessment.

- 60 Days : Stabilize the structure; identify Technical Managers; clear accountability structures in place; reduce escalation noise.

- 90 Days : Establish operating rhythm (standups, planning, retrospectives, metrics); launch active hiring; shift from managing to leading.

- 6 Months : Career frameworks and development plans active; improved delivery predictability and morale; shift focus from firefighting to strategy.

- 12 Months : Organization is high-performing and self-directed; engineering is no longer a constraint for new product lines; mentoring the next generation of leaders.

Requirements :

Non-Negotiable :

- Experience : 14 to 20 years in software engineering, with 5 to 8 years in people leadership (specifically managing managers).

- Scale : Proven success leading engineering organizations of 25+ across multiple teams/product lines.

- Domain : Background in B2B SaaS or enterprise product companies with a history of shipping customer-facing products.

- Transformation : Demonstrated ability to build or rebuild engineering culture from scratch or dysfunction.

- Hiring : Direct experience building talent pipelines, interviewing at scale, and closing candidates.

- Communication : Exceptional ability to translate technical complexity for business stakeholders.

Strongly Preferred :

- Domain Expertise : Exposure to manufacturing, supply chain, ERP, or industrial enterprise software.

- Growth Mindset : Experience guiding an organization through growth, restructuring, or transformation.

- Seniority : Prior experience as Director, VP, or Head of Engineering with tangible org-building accountability.

- Modern Practices : Familiarity with CI/CD, platform thinking, developer experience, and observability.

- Architecture : Experience setting up or maturing a Solution Architecture function.