VP of Engineering (hands-on)

LinuxRecruit; Greater London; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

LinuxRecruit is building an AI-focused platform in London and seeks a hands-on VP of Engineering to shape the technical direction while influencing business strategy. In the early days, you’ll code alongside defining the engineering roadmap, hiring decisions, and setting the foundation for scalable systems.

You’ll balance technical excellence with executive communication, partnering with founders to turn ambitious AI concepts into a reliable, growing product.

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading engineering teams in fast-paced environments.
• Experience shipping software products at scale.
• Strong communication with founders and executives to shape product strategy.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the technical vision for the company.
• Build and lead the engineering organization as it scales.
• Contribute code when needed while guiding architectural decisions.

Skills

Tech leadership

Code ability

System architecture

Hiring and mentoring

Job description

Most AI companies are building products. This team is building an AI department. While the largest technology companies race towards the frontier, thousands of ambitious businesses are still trying to answer a much simpler question: how do we actually use AI to make our business better? That's the problem this startup exists to solve. Backed by an experienced founding team from some of Europe's most respected technology, consulting and product businesses, they're building a platform that helps organisations identify, deploy and scale AI across their operations. The company is still early, around 10 people today, which means the next few hires will have an enormous influence on what it becomes. One of those hires is a hands-on VP of Engineering.

Not the kind of VP who spends their week in meetings and planning sessions. The kind who still enjoys building. Someone who can discuss customer challenges, shape product direction with the founders, review architecture with engineers and jump into the code when needed. You'll help define the technical vision of the company while building the foundations that allow it to scale.

In the early days, you'll be close to everything: product, customers, engineering, hiring and delivery. Over time, you'll build and lead the engineering organisation. For now, you'll be as comfortable writing code as you are setting direction.

You'll probably enjoy this if...

• You've helped build something before, whether that's a startup, product, team or business.
• You naturally move between technical detail and big-picture thinking.
• You enjoy hiring exceptional people and helping them do their best work.
• You're commercially minded and enjoy understanding why a problem matters, not just how to solve it.
• You're endlessly curious about AI and spend far too much time experimenting with new tools and ideas.
• You like being surrounded by smart people who challenge your thinking.

This role would suit someone who sees engineering as a strategic function but still gets genuine satisfaction from building. Someone capable of earning credibility in the boardroom and in a pull request. If you're looking for a large team, established processes and a clearly defined lane, this probably isn't the role for you. If you'd like to join early, build alongside exceptional people and have a meaningful influence on both the technology and the business, I'd love to tell you more.