Director of Engineering, Operator Tools

MarginEdge Co.; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 185,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO

Health insurance

Dental/Vision

401(k) with match

Stock options

Parental leave

HQ meals in Arlington

Wellness program

Commuter benefits

Job summary

MarginEdge is seeking a Director of Engineering to lead the Operator Tools division, driving AI-enabled features to help thousands of independent restaurants across the US and Canada. You will manage engineering managers and directly lead teams, delivering high-quality software and setting strategic direction with product and design leadership.

You will stay at the cutting edge of AI, ensure delivery excellence, and partner closely with customers and executives to prioritize investments that

Qualifications

• 12+ years software engineering experience with 6+ years leadership.
• Proven track record building and scaling multi-team orgs.
• Experience shipping AI/ML features to production.
• Strong Java/JavaScript (React) background and architecture evaluation.
• Experience partnering with product/design in a product-driven environment.

Responsibilities

• Set vision and engineering strategy for Operator Tools.
• Lead and grow a team of engineering managers and engineers.
• Stay at AI cutting edge and ensure quality, security, and judgment.
• Own delivery and operational excellence across systems.
• Guide technical strategy and architecture for the division.
• Stay close to customers using data to drive investments.

Skills

Leadership

AI/ML experience

Java/JavaScript

AWS cloud

Product partnership

Tools

React

DynamoDB

PostgreSQL

AWS services

CI/CD

Job description

We are looking for a Director of Engineering to lead our Operator Tools division, the group that builds the AI-driven features restaurant operators use every day. These tools show operators how their restaurants are performing, surface opportunities to save costs, and give them what they need to improve how they run their business. You will manage a group of engineering managers and also lead one of the division's teams directly. You'll own delivery, quality, and technical direction across Operator Tools, and you'll be a senior partner to product and design leadership in deciding what we build and how. This is a chance to shape how AI changes restaurant operations for thousands of independent restaurants across the US and Canada.

MarginEdge is a SaaS platform for independent restaurants that simplifies complex operations and delivers actionable insights. Our system runs on AWS. Our services are built with Java/Spring Boot, and our front ends use React and React Native. For data, we use both NoSQL (DynamoDB) and relational (Postgres) databases. We also have a growing portfolio of IoT hardware products and integrations, like our SmartScale, that simplify kitchen tasks and collect real-time data in restaurants. That data feeds the insights Operator Tools delivers.

MarginEdge: Where hospitality meets technology

As a team built by former (and current!) restaurant operators, our mission is to bring operators the same energy, attention to detail, and passion that they bring to their guests. Our culture is deeply rooted in service, partially because that’s where so many of our team come from (including everyone on our Business Development team), but also because we believe it is just the right way to run a business. We design our software with profound empathy for the complexity of running a restaurant, and the goal of making the magic just a little easier for operators by taking the complex (read: very annoying) back office tasks off their plate, while empowering them with real-time data.

Our founders share a deep history in both owning and operating restaurants and in building successful tech companies. We are venture-backed and serve 12,000+ restaurants across the US and Canada.

We enable restaurants to make magic while knowing we are doing the same for them.

We have the utmost respect for our clients and because of this, we are unable to hire their current employees.

What type of responsibilities will I have?

• Set the vision and engineering strategy for Operator Tools. Work with product and design leadership on a roadmap that brings cutting-edge AI capabilities into practical, reliable features operators trust. Turn business goals into clear priorities, and make sound calls on where to invest, what to build, and what to leave out.

• Lead, coach, and grow a team of engineering managers while also managing a team of engineers directly. Hire strong leaders, develop them, and build depth on the bench. Create a high-performance culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement across the division.

• Build an organization that stays at the cutting edge of what's possible. Keep a close eye on the latest advances in AI, and look for ways to use them in our products and to improve how your teams work. Hold a high bar on quality, security, and technical judgment throughout.

• Own delivery and operational excellence for every system in Operator Tools. Put planning and execution practices in place that work across multiple teams, manage dependencies with the rest of the organization, and make sure your teams ship high-quality software on predictable timelines.

• Guide technical strategy and architecture for the division. Help teams balance moving fast against the long-term health of the platform, and work with other engineering leaders to keep the approach consistent across MarginEdge.

• Stay close to customers and the business. Use customer feedback, product analytics, and operational data to measure impact and find recurring pain points, and push for the investment needed to fix them. Clearly report progress, risks, and outcomes to executive leadership.

What qualifications or skills are required?

• 12+ years of software engineering experience, including 6+ years in engineering leadership and at least 3 years managing managers.

• A proven track record of building and scaling multi-team engineering organizations with a strong focus on delivery, quality, and culture.

• Experience shipping AI/ML or LLM-powered features to production, with a practical understanding of what it takes to make them reliable, measurable, and cost-effective.

• A strong software development background in Java and/or JavaScript (React), with the technical depth to evaluate architecture and challenge technical decisions.

• Experience partnering with product and design leadership in a product-driven environment, including shaping roadmaps together and prioritizing against business outcomes.

• The ability to set strategy and lead through ambiguity, balancing technical excellence with business goals when priorities compete.

• Excellent communication skills. You can get stakeholders aligned, report status and risk to executives, and explain technical ideas to non-technical audiences.

• Experience with cloud-based systems, distributed architectures, and AWS infrastructure.

Nice to Haves:

• A background in restaurant technology or hospitality software.

• Experience at a fast-growing SaaS startup, especially scaling an engineering organization through growth.

• Experience with data platforms, analytics products, or real-time insights and reporting.

• Experience with IoT device management or hardware-integrated products.

• Hands‑on experience using AI coding agents such as Claude Code to speed up software development.

Compensation:

The anticipated salary range for this role is $185,000–$230,000 annually. Where a candidate falls within that range depends on a variety of factors, including experience, skills, qualifications, geographic location, and internal equity. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for bonus opportunities and our comprehensive benefits package.

What’s it like to work for MarginEdge?

Imagine the fun of a great restaurant - surrounded by a team of people (including some that you help to manage!) who care about hospitality, care about quality, and care about each other - then subtract the long nights, weekends, drunk customers at the bar...et voila, MarginEdge!

We work hard, we work fast and we fuel our work with a commitment of transparency from leadership, straight talk and trust between teams. We believe that the best people do their best work when they feel empowered - so whether you are remote or in our office (likely eating a catered lunch from our clients in our baller, brand new penthouse HQ in Ballston) you get to work with your manager to call your shot on what works best for you. Did we mention it has a full commercial kitchen and is walking distance (covered walking, that is) from the metro?

Benefits (Shut the Front Door, They are Amazing)

• Unlimited Paid Time Off (and we mean it, we encourage your healthy work life balance!)

• Medical, Dental, Vision, and Short/Long-Term Disability Insurance (preventative care for the win)

• Health Savings Account with employer match (dependent upon your medical plan selection)

• Commuter benefits with employer contribution (excluding limos and helos - for now)

• Generous Life Insurance Plan

• Short- and Long-term Disability

• Company-Paid Holidays

• 401(k) and matching

• Stock Options to buy into everything we are doing to support this industry

• 12-week fully Paid Parental Leave

• Lunch catered twice a week at our HQ in Arlington (we exclusively cater from our clients, too!)

• A wellness program that sponsors healthy activities such as step challenges and provides discounts to gyms and fitness classes.

Check out our 100% “Recommend to a Friend” rating from anonymous employee reviews on Glassdoor.

Oh, and our recognition in the Washington Post as a top small businesses to work for in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025!

And most important, what our customers think about our work on Capterra and G2 Crowd.

Our Fine Print is Bold:

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran, marital, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law. You be you. While we are proudest of our commitment to exceptional culture and creating a truly excellent work environment, we see our benefits as an extension of that belief. Our benefits package is designed to be exceptionally competitive and a reflection of our commitment to a best-in-class workplace for all.