Global Head - Engineering

Mercans; Dubai; On-site; AED 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Mercans is seeking a Global Head of Engineering to lead the worldwide development organization. The role oversees the IT department, sets strategy, drives engineering excellence, and aligns resources with product roadmaps and business goals.

The ideal candidate has strong leadership, 5+ years in relevant roles, and experience managing large-scale software teams across regions. English proficiency is essential; a structured, metrics-driven approach is valued.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Develop a clear vision and strategy for the global development organization that is best in class and promotes innovation.
• Daily operational management and the governance of global software development teams.
• Conduct periodic resource planning of development resources and ensure availability of required resources for meeting the Product Roadmap objectives.
• Provide operational supervision and guidance to the development organization leadership team and ensure performance meets objectives.
• Participate in recruitment planning in cooperation with HR manager and/or line manager.
• Develop detailed organizational procedures and process maps for the global development organization.

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Job description

The Global Head of Engineering is responsible for overseeing and managing Mercans' IT department. This role involves establishing, organizing, and implementing key processes, setting the strategic direction, selecting and managing personnel, and ensuring the effective daily operation of development teams. The position requires a strong leadership vision, technical expertise, and the ability to drive continuous improvement in organizational performance, processes, and engineering excellence.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Organizational leadership

• Develop a clear vision and strategy for the global development organization that is the best in class and promotes innovation.
• Daily operational management and the governance of global software development teams.
• Conduct periodic resource planning of development resources and ensure the availability of the required resources for meeting the strategic objectives of the Company, including Product Roadmap;
• Provide operational supervision and guidance to the development organization leadership team and ensure that their performance meets the established objectives;
• When planning the work of the teams, the competence and role of its members is taken into account by:
• Daily development activities
• Development of competence
• Defining the department and team structure considering the future perspectives of the company, resource requirements and the competence of the team members;
• Participate in the recruitment process. The recruitment plan is prepared in cooperation with the HR manager and/or line manager.

Performance management:

• Develop and implement organizational performance measurement metrics that are aligned with the industry best practices;
• Ensure that individual performance goals are aligned with the organizational performance metrics and goals;
• Ensure that the performance metrics are tracked and reported to all development team members;
• Analyze the performance metrics and understand the underlying drivers and inefficiencies;
• Develop and monitor performance goals for team leads and other team members in conjunction with relevant team leads and/or HR manager, while taking into account department and the wider business goals;
• On the basis of performance discussions, make reasonable conclusions regarding professional progress, work results and feasible goals.

Process management:

• Develop detailed organizational procedures and process maps for the global development organization;
• Align the processes with the industry best practices and other company-wide processes;
• Designing, implementing and monitoring strategic processes of the IT/development unit;
• Consulting with other department heads on processes affecting multiple departments;
• Participation in the drafting of company policies;
• Information and communication management.
• Cost budgeting, forecasting and reporting for respective work discipline;
• Finding opportunities to optimize IT cost base;
• Additional tasks assigned by the line manager have been performed in a timely and correct manner. Tasks shall be within the business area of the employee;
• Actively support business development and marketing activities by participating in client/sales calls and providing input to marketing related activities;
• Ensure that all development processes are aligned with the industry security and quality standards including ISO 9001, 20001, 27001, 27017, 27018, OWASP, SOC 1 and SOC 2;
• Support Compliance and Data Security teams during the periodic certification and audit processes by providing the required documentation and inputs;
• Develop a development organization related Risk Management Framework, Risk Register and Risk Matrix;
• Ensure active mitigation of all risks associated with the development organization;
• Develop and maintain an overview of Mercans development related processes and standards for external stakeholders, including current and potential clients;
• Develop an annual strategic plan for the development organization and ensure the implementation of the plan.

Education and Experience:

• 5+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency in English with strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Hands-on experience with IT management, resource planning, and process optimization.
• Experience in leading global software development teams and managing large-scale engineering projects.

Nice to Have:

• Experience in enterprise-level software development and architecture.
• Familiarity with cloud technologies, DevOps methodologies, and security frameworks.
• Knowledge of HR and payroll-related software solutions.

Performance Goals:

• Ensure continuous performance improvement of at least 10% year-on-year by analyzing performance data, identifying inefficiencies, and implementing improvement plans.

Ensure that at least 75% of the development resources' time is spent on development-related activities.

Specific: Maximize the time development resources spend on actual development tasks.

Measurable: Ensure that at least 75% of development resources’ time is dedicated to development-related activities.

Achievable: Reduce administrative overhead, eliminate unnecessary meetings, and optimize task prioritization.

Relevant: Enhances productivity and aligns engineering efforts with company goals.

Time-Bound: Maintain 75% development-focused time quarterly, with regular monitoring and adjustments as needed.

Reduce time spent on rework and reuse tasks by 30% by the end of the year.

Specific: Improve code quality and reduce rework by implementing code reviews, automated testing, and adherence to coding standards, aiming to minimize the need for reuse or rework tasks.

Measurable: Decrease the time spent on rework and reuse tasks by 30% compared to the previous review period.

Achievable: Conduct regular code reviews, enforce best practices, and use tools like static code analysis and automated tests to catch issues early.

Relevant: Enhances overall code quality, reduces technical debt, and improves development efficiency by minimizing redundant tasks.

Time-bound: Achieve the 30% reduction by the end of the year. Reduce the total number of backlog items by 30% by the end of the year, ensuring 100% of remaining items have clear priorities and acceptance criteria.

Specific: Conduct a comprehensive review and cleanup of the product backlog, prioritizing tasks based on business value, urgency, and feasibility.

Measurable: Reduce the total number of backlog items by 30%, ensuring that 100% of remaining items are assigned clear priorities and acceptance criteria.

Achievable: Collaborate with product managers, stakeholders, and engineering teams to assess and refine backlog items.

Relevant: Streamlines the development process, allowing teams to focus on the most critical tasks and improving overall project delivery speed.

Time-bound: Reduce the total number of backlog items by the end of year.