Head of Engineering

MerchantSpring; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 360,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

MerchantSpring is seeking a Head of Engineering to own the engineering function, guiding 11 engineers across ETL, API and AI/MCP squads, and to shape architecture, roadmap and culture as we scale.

You will report to the CEO, lead from within architecture, and evolve toward organizational leadership while maintaining hands-on contribution where it helps the team move fast. Kuala Lumpur presence preferred.

Qualifications

• Experience leading 8–15 engineers and shaping architecture.
• Hands-on leader who can code when it adds value.
• Strong track record in data platform or API-driven environments.
• Commercial mindset with focus on cost and efficiency.
• Customer-focused with ability to align tech with user needs.

Responsibilities

• Define technical vision and roadmap for the platform.
• Scale API and data platform across channels and users.
• Own infra costs and optimize database usage and performance.
• Mentor engineers and build a cohesive, high-performing team.
• Bridge Engineering with Sales and Client Success to inform the roadmap.

Skills

Node.js

TypeScript

AWS

Leadership

Architecture

Tools

Postgres

MongoDB

TimescaleDB

Job description

Global marketplaces — Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Shopify and over a hundred others — are the engines of modern commerce. But the data sits locked inside each channel, fragmented and rarely adding up to a clear picture.

MerchantSpring is the API‑first data infrastructure for the businesses that operate, advise on, and build for digital commerce. We consolidate cross‑channel marketplace data into a single source of truth that our customers reach through a visualisation platform, an API gateway, MCP tools and embeddable widgets.

We are profitable, self‑funded, and seven years in — scaling on our own revenue rather than someone else’s runway. We are headquartered in Australia with a growing presence in Kuala Lumpur, and we operate as a single team across sites.

Today the platform spans 120+ e‑commerce channels, manages roughly 12TB of data across 35,000 seller accounts in 29 countries, serving agencies, enterprise brands, and ecosystem and technology partners.

The role

We are looking for a Head of Engineering to take full ownership of our engineering function and lead the next chapter: our evolution into a true API‑first data platform. You will inherit a team of 11 engineers across our ETL, API and AI/MCP squads, report to our CEO, and own the technical vision, the architecture, and the culture that carries us from startup to scale‑up.

This is a builder’s leadership role. We want someone who leads from within the architecture — setting direction, making the hard technical calls, and rolling up their sleeves to code when it helps the team move or unblocks a problem. As the team grows, the role is expected to evolve further toward organisational leadership, and we say so openly because we want someone who wants that trajectory.

What you’ll own

• Technical vision and architecture. Translate business goals into a technical roadmap, set direction across the squads, and own the architectural bets — with our API‑first data layer as the centrepiece.
• Platform scale. Take our API and data platform from where they are today to scale: more channels, more volume, and more external builders relying on our endpoints, MCP tools and widgets.
• Infrastructure economics. Own the unit economics of the platform. A large and growing share of our cost base sits in database and infrastructure spend, and you will be accountable for managing and driving it down as we scale with a focus on database cost:
• TimescaleDB compression, retention and continuous aggregates
• Postgres query and index optimisation and right‑sizing
• MongoDB indexing and sharding.
• Data integrity and reliability. 35,000 accounts depend on financially accurate data. Own incident practices and resilience that keep serious problems rare — and provide visible, decisive leadership on the rare occasions they aren’t.
• The team culture. Hire, mentor and grow engineers; set delivery standards and best practices from documentation to deployment; and build a team where engineers want to do their best work.
• Set direction. Provide oversight and guidance to talented, junior teams in AI/MCP to DevOps and infrastructure.
• Partnership and foresight. Bridge Engineering with Sales and Client Success so feedback, escalations and market signals reach the roadmap, and engage the CEO and co‑founder proactively on technical strategy.

Requirements

• Tech Stack & Architecture: Node, TypeScript, AWS. Deep, current credibility in data and platform engineering: relational and document databases (Postgres and MongoDB), time‑series data at scale, API platform design, and AWS.
• A hands‑on leader: You have led a team of roughly 8 to 15 engineers and are still close to the architecture. You code when it matters, and add value with breadth to give direction across squads.
• Commercially minded about infrastructure. You think in unit economics and have a track record of optimising and reducing database and infrastructure costs at scale.
• A people‑first leader. You sit with your team, champion them, take an active interest in their development, and are the role model the junior engineers around you learn from
• An owner. You take end‑to‑end accountability and step up decisively when things go wrong.
• A culture builder by instinct. You make team cohesion happen proactively: we fund it, and you drive it. We should never have to tell you to invest in your team.
• Pragmatic and data‑driven. You welcome rigorous debate, explain the rationale behind technical trade‑offs, and tackle problems head‑on with commercial awareness.
• Grounded in the customer. You are curious about the problems our customers face so that technical priorities stay tied to user needs.
• Resilient in ambiguity. You manage competing priorities and do not give up when the path is unclear.
• Transferable domain experience. Scaled a multi‑tenant, high‑volume data and API platform through rapid growth in any industry.
• Relevant experience. Exposure to marketplaces, e‑commerce, or the Amazon SP‑API ecosystem is valuable, though not required, as sharp leaders pick it up in months.

Benefits

Why join MerchantSpring?

• Own the function: How we build, what gets prioritised, and where we place our bets are yours to call and defend.
• A leadership seat: You have a direct line to the CEO and a hand in company strategy and direction.
• Hard problems, high stakes: Your work directly shapes the platform’s reliability, scalability and cost, and therefore our competitive advantage and commercial outcomes.
• Build a lasting legacy: Define the architecture, culture, processes and standards that guide engineering as we scale, and lead a talented team within a modern, cloud‑native stack.
• Stability with autonomy: Be part of a profitable, self‑funded business scaling on its own terms. Experience the freedom of a startup without the runway anxiety.
• Travel: Occasional trips to Melbourne a few of times a year, with colleagues including the CEO and co‑founder travelling to KL for face‑to‑face time. You will need to be able to travel to Australia, personally and with a valid visa.