Engineering Director at high-growth AI cybersecurity startup

Jack and Jill AI; Remote; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A high-growth AI cybersecurity startup is seeking an Engineering Director to co-lead the engineering organization alongside the CTO. The role involves scaling the team significantly, focusing on operational excellence, and ensuring engineering decisions prioritize customer value. Ideal candidates should have extensive experience in leading engineering teams within fast-paced environments and possess a solid background in ML/AI leadership, emphasizing revenue impact and customer satisfaction over traditional metrics.

Benefits

Significant equity upside

Opportunity to build AI-native engineering culture

Partnership with CTO

Qualifications

• Extensive leadership experience scaling engineering teams from 20 to 100+ people.
• Proven background in ML/AI engineering leadership.
• Business-minded leader focused on revenue impact and customer value.

Responsibilities

• Drive day-to-day engineering operations across multiple product teams.
• Directly manage technical leads and engineers, focusing on performance.
• Build scalable systems and processes for fast delivery while ensuring excellence.

Skills

Leadership

ML/AI Engineering

Team Management

Operational Excellence

Customer Value Focus

Job description

Engineering Director

Company Description

High-growth AI cybersecurity startup

Job Description

As Engineering Director, you will co‑lead the engineering organization in daily partnership with the CTO. You will scale the team from 10 to 25+ engineers while maintaining a high‑performance culture. Your focus is on operational excellence, people management, and ensuring engineering decisions prioritize customer value and revenue over traditional delivery metrics.

Location

Remote, EU/UK

Why this role is remarkable

• Rare opportunity to co‑lead an engineering organization in a true daily partnership with the CTO rather than a traditional reporting structure.
• Well‑funded startup backed by top‑tier VCs, operating at the cutting edge of generative AI and cybersecurity automation.
• Significant equity upside and the chance to architect an AI‑native engineering culture from the ground up during a hypergrowth phase.

What you will do

• Drive day‑to‑day engineering operations across multiple product teams to ensure seamless collaboration and clear technical priorities.
• Directly manage technical leads and engineers, focusing on performance management, career development, and maintaining high‑quality code standards.
• Navigate hypergrowth challenges by building scalable systems and processes that enable fast delivery without sacrificing technical excellence or customer impact.

The ideal candidate

• Extensive leadership experience scaling engineering teams from 20 to 100+ people within high‑growth technical product environments.
• Proven background in ML/AI engineering leadership, with hands‑on experience managing teams building core ML/AI features and architecture.
• Business‑mindful leader who measures success through revenue impact and customer value rather than internal process metrics or delivery timelines.