VP of Engineering, Applications

Axe Recruiting; Singapore; On-site; SGD 230,000 - 333,000; Full time

Job summary

Axe Recruiting seeks an experienced engineering leader to turn AI model capability into a dependable product across backend, mobile, and desktop platforms. You will own the application engineering strategy, guide a senior team, and ensure architecture supports scalable, reliable user experiences on multiple platforms.

You will collaborate with ML leadership to convert model capabilities into ship‑able features, balancing cost, latency, security, and quality.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience leading application engineering on complex systems.
• Hands-on record of building backend systems and shipping to production.
• AI-powered product delivery with model integration trade-offs understood.
• Strong system design across services, APIs, clients and data flows.

Responsibilities

• Set application engineering strategy for backend, mobile and desktop, and deliver on it.
• Lead a small, senior team of backend, mobile and desktop engineers, and grow it.
• Give architectural direction for AI product workflows, APIs and client integrations.
• See that AI capabilities arrive in the product behind clean abstractions, behave predictably and fail gracefully.
• Work with machine learning leadership to convert model capability into features that can ship.
• Take the big decisions on cost, latency, security, reliability and user experience.
• Draw clear ownership lines between backend, mobile and desktop so the architecture does not drift.
• Make the product production-ready (monitoring, observability, retries, fallbacks, privacy, cost controls) and keep speed in balance with long-term system quality.

Skills

Product leadership

Backend systems

APIs

Mobile development

Desktop platforms

AI product integration

High‑impact decisions

Shipping focus

Job description

Turn model capability into a product people trust: lead application engineering across backend, mobile and desktop.

The Opportunity

Our client has the models. They need the engineering leader who makes a dependable product out of them. A well-funded AI applications company, backed by an established technology company in Southeast Asia and building for a global market, they are building an AI assistant for everyday users, one that must keep working when the reasoning runs to many steps, tools are involved and the model’s output varies. The VP of Engineering, Applications owns the systems, the team and the execution behind fast, dependable user experiences on every platform. The seat is for a senior leader who has not drifted away from the product: someone who takes the difficult technical decisions personally and will not compromise on quality or delivery.

Role Snapshot

• Location: United States, United Kingdom, Singapore or China
• Work Model: Varies by location; confirmed on intro call
• Employment Type: Full-time
• Compensation: Competitive, shared on intro call
• Team: Engineering leadership, applications

What You'll Own

• Set application engineering strategy for backend, mobile and desktop, and deliver on it.
• Lead a small, senior team of backend, mobile and desktop engineers, and grow it.
• Give architectural direction for AI product workflows, APIs and client integrations.
• See that AI capabilities arrive in the product behind clean abstractions, behave predictably and fail gracefully.
• Work with machine learning leadership to convert model capability into features that can ship.
• Take the big decisions on cost, latency, security, reliability and user experience.
• Draw clear ownership lines between backend, mobile and desktop so the architecture does not drift.
• Make the product production-ready (monitoring, observability, retries, fallbacks, privacy, cost controls) and keep speed in balance with long-term system quality.

What You Bring

• Substantial experience leading product or application engineering on complex systems.
• A strong hands-on record of building backend systems and shipping them to production.
• AI-powered products you have delivered, and a deep understanding of the trade-offs in integrating models.
• Excellent system design across services, APIs, clients and data flows.
• Ease working across backend, mobile and desktop, even if your depth lies in one.
• A track record of high-impact technical decisions made under ambiguity.
• A strong pull toward shipping, iterating and learning from real usage.
• Low ego, sound judgment, and the ability to lift the technical standard of the whole applications organization.

Why This Role

• Full ownership of the application layer: strategy, architecture, team and delivery.
• A peer relationship with machine learning leadership, shaping how model capability becomes product.
• A small, senior team that ships frequently and owns what it builds, rather than a large organization to administer.
• Outcomes you can measure: low-latency experiences, stable systems and architecture that lets teams move without constant rewrites.

Not the Right Fit If

• You lead through layers of management and no longer make technical decisions yourself.
• You are looking for a large organization to run. This team is small and senior by design.
• You have not delivered AI-powered products. Model integration trade-offs are central to the role.