Head of Engineer, Product

OpenKrill; United States; On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive executive-level salary

Equity in a fast-growing startup

Comprehensive health benefits

Monthly stipends

Job summary

Pika is seeking a Head of Engineer, Product Engineering to lead the strategy, architecture, and execution of our core product engineering initiatives. You will define the technical roadmap and drive alignment across product, design, and ML leadership for millions of users.

You will mentor multiple engineering teams, shape system architecture, and champion reliability, security, and innovation while prioritizing growth and collaboration across functions.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive engineering leadership with product focus.
• Experience building and scaling distributed cloud-based systems.

Responsibilities

• Set and communicate the technical vision for product engineering across platforms.
• 0,

Skills

Engineering leadership

Distributed systems

Cloud infrastructure

APIs

Software architecture

Mentorship

Executive collaboration

Tools

AWS

GCP

Kubernetes

Docker

PostgreSQL

Python

Go

Node.js

Job description

About Pika

At Pika, we’re building the next generation of AI creative tools to empower human creativity. Our mission is to make video creation seamless, intuitive, and accessible to everyone, leveraging the power of advanced AI. We believe that AI should amplify creative expression-enabling everyone to create, collaborate, and communicate across media. Our team includes engineers, artists, and product thinkers, all passionate about building tools that unlock new creative possibilities.

Pika has raised significant funding and is backed by leading investors, with a collaborative culture based in Palo Alto, CA. We prefer hybrid in-office, sharing ideas and launching products together.

About the Role

We are seeking a Head of Engineer, Product Engineering, to provide visionary leadership for the strategy, architecture, and execution of Pika’s core product engineering initiatives. In this executive-level role, you will define and drive the execution of our technical roadmap for all user-facing products.

You will lead and mentor high-performing engineering teams, working closely with product, design, and ML leadership to deliver features that are robust, scalable, and innovative for millions of users. Your technical expertise and leadership will shape product direction, ensuring exceptional engineering standards and prioritizing team growth and cross-functional alignment.

What You’ll Do

• Set and communicate the technical vision and strategy for product engineering across all Pika platforms and user-facing features
• Lead, mentor, and scale multiple engineering teams, fostering a culture of technical excellence, ownership, and innovation
• Architect and oversee the delivery of scalable, high-performing systems, ensuring best practices in system reliability, security, and efficiency
• Partner deeply with product, design, and ML teams to define technical solutions aligned with business and user needs
• Guide technical decision-making at both strategic and architectural levels, including technology selection and process improvement
• Champion standards for software quality, rapid iteration, and best-in-class product experience
• Own the technical roadmap, including resource planning and milestone delivery for major product launches and iterations
• Represent engineering in executive discussions and drive cross-functional alignment

What We’re Looking For

• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience, with significant time spent managing and scaling product engineering teams
• Strong record of technical leadership in developing and launching complex, high-impact, user-facing products (web/mobile)
• Proven experience in building and scaling distributed systems, APIs, and cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP, Kubernetes, etc.)
• Mastery of system and software architecture for high-traffic, media-rich, or AI-powered applications
• Emotional intelligence and mentorship skills, with a track record of developing engineering leaders and high-performing teams
• Deep experience collaborating with executive leadership to shape organizational vision and drive business outcomes
• Outstanding communication and organizational abilities, thriving in a collaborative, dynamic environment

Nice to Have

• Experience with generative AI, creative tools, or large-scale collaboration platforms
• Background in high-growth startups or high-ambiguity environments
• Open source, hackathon, or competitive coding experience

Our Stack

Python, Go, Node.js, Postgres, Redis, Docker, Kubernetes, AWS/GCP

What We Offer

• Competitive executive-level salary in the AI industry
• Substantial equity in a fast-growing startup defining the future of AI and creativity
• Comprehensive health benefits, monthly stipends, and company retreats
• A collaborative leadership environment-we’re all building and launching together