VP R&D

MetalBear; Greater London; Remote; GBP 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

High autonomy & ownership

Flexible remote-first environment

Opportunity to shape open-source projects

Job summary

A fast-growing developer tools startup in London is seeking a VP of R&D to lead their engineering team and shape the technical roadmap. The ideal candidate has over 8 years of engineering leadership experience, strong cloud-native system knowledge, and a background in scalable teams. This role offers the opportunity to influence company strategy and culture in a remote-first, flexible environment. Join a team that's passionate about transforming developer productivity and making a significant impact with their open-source product.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of engineering leadership experience.
• Hands-on background in systems or infrastructure.
• Experience in fast-paced, early-stage environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead and scale the R&D department.
• Own and evolve the technical strategy.
• Mentor engineering managers and foster technical culture.

Skills

Leadership

Cloud-native systems

Kubernetes

Rust

C++

DevSecOps

Mentorship

Job description

MetalBear is a fast‑growing, product‑led startup in the developer tools space. We build tools that help developers move faster and safer in cloud‑native environments. Our flagship open‑source product, mirrord, lets developers run local code as if it’s already deployed — bridging the gap between local development and production reality. We’re backed by world‑class investors, loved by a fast‑growing OSS community, and our paid offering is generating significant revenue. Now, we’re expanding our leadership team to take our R&D organization to the next level.

We’re looking for a VP of R&D to lead the department. You need to be both strategic and deeply technical, thriving in an environment where speed, excellence, and creativity intersect. You’ll shape our technical roadmap, scale our team, and help us grow from an early‑stage product to a category‑defining company in developer tools. This is a rare opportunity to join early, lead an elite engineering team, and play a defining role in building a developer‑first company that changes how engineers ship code.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and scale MetalBear’s R&D department, currently composed of the Core, Integrations, and Windows teams, as well as architecture and DevSecOps functions.
• Own and evolve the technical strategy, ensuring strong alignment with MetalBear’s product vision and business objectives.
• Mentor and empower engineering managers, fostering a culture rooted in technical excellence, autonomy, and accountability.
• Guide architectural direction and system design decisions, ensuring mirrord and future products are scalable, reliable, and delightful for developers to use.
• Build and retain exceptional talent, helping MetalBear attract and grow world‑class engineers who thrive in high‑impact, low‑ego environments.
• Partner cross‑functionally to deliver developer‑centric solutions at startup speed.
• Stay close to the technology — providing technical direction, reviewing critical code and designs, and setting the bar for engineering excellence.

Requirements

• A seasoned engineering leader (8+ years) with hands‑on systems or infrastructure background.
• Proven experience building and scaling R&D or engineering organizations in fast‑paced, early‑stage environments.
• Strong understanding of cloud‑native systems, Kubernetes, developer tools, or distributed infrastructure.
• Experience leading teams working in Rust, C++, or similar systems‑level languages — with the ability to dive deep technically when needed.
• Thrives in open, asynchronous, remote‑first cultures — balancing autonomy with alignment.
• Deep care for developer experience, both for your own teams and for end users.
• Excitement about scaling a product loved by developers, not just building software.

Why MetalBear

• Technical depth: Lead some of the smartest engineers solving the toughest problems in developer productivity.
• Open‑source impact: Shape a product and community used by thousands of developers worldwide.
• High autonomy & ownership: Influence company strategy, culture, and direction at an early stage.
• Remote‑first, async‑friendly: Flexible environment designed for focus and deep work.
• Growth‑stage momentum: Backed by top investors with a strong runway, now entering a phase of scaling and expansion.

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London, England, United Kingdom