Head of Engineering

Staffing Science; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

4-day workweek

High-growth environment

Strong funding

Opportunity for leadership

Job summary

A fast-growing Series A startup in San Francisco seeks a highly technical Director / Head of Engineering. The successful candidate will lead a small but expanding team, drive the architecture across multiple domains including AI systems, and continuously improve engineering practices. This role offers a unique opportunity to influence the technical direction in an environment focused on Generative AI and transformative software. The position features a 4-day work week at the San Francisco office.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years leading engineering teams in startup environments.
• Proven ability to manage full-stack development.
• Hands-on leader who codes and guides architectural design.

Responsibilities

• Own architecture across backend, frontend, infrastructure, and AI systems.
• Define and deliver scalable, secure foundations for growth.
• Make critical technical decisions with clarity.

Skills

Leadership in engineering

Full-stack development

React / Python

AI-driven product delivery

Strong partnership mindset

Job description

Director / Head of Engineering (On-Site, San Francisco – 4-Day Workweek)

US Citizen Required.

Must have experience working for Series-backed startups and ideally stints within "big tech".

Series A company needing a highly technical leader who can dive into technology with a small but expanding engineering team in San Francisco.

About the Opportunity

We’re partnering with a fast-growing Series A startup that’s using Generative AI to reinvent how complex organizations operate. They’re looking for a hands‑on technical leader who can shape engineering direction, scale a growing team, and help define how modern AI integrates directly into real‑world product experiences.

What You’ll Do

• Own architecture across backend, frontend, infrastructure, and AI systems.
• Define and deliver scalable, secure, and performant foundations for 10x growth.
• Make critical technical decisions with strong trade‑off analysis and execution clarity.
• Partner with product and design to bring Generative AI capabilities to life.
• Operationalize LLMs and data pipelines to deliver intelligent, reliable, high‑impact user experiences.
• Translate emerging research into differentiated, durable product features.
• Lead and mentor a team of 8+ engineers, with plans to nearly double in the next year.
• Cultivate an engineering culture built around speed, ownership, and continuous learning.
• Model technical excellence while creating an environment people love to build in.

Delivery & Quality

• Implement modern CI/CD pipelines, observability tools, and pragmatic workflows.
• Balance fast shipping with long‑term scalability, maintainability, and security.

What Great Looks Like

• 3–5+ years leading engineering teams (Director/VP/Head level) in startup environments.
• Proven ability to manage full‑stack development — ideally in React / Python or similar open‑source stacks.
• Hands‑on leader who still codes, reviews pull requests, and guides architectural design.
• Experience delivering AI‑driven or high‑growth SaaS products.
• Strong partnership mindset with Product and Design; outcome‑driven thinker.
• Deep understanding of scalable architecture, system design, and performance trade‑offs.

Nice‑to‑Have

• Exposure to LLM integration, AI/ML pipelines, or Gen AI features.
• Familiarity with modern DevOps, observability, and secure infrastructure practices.
• Experience across both startup and larger‑brand environments.

Why This Role

• 4-day on‑site workweek 🏙 (San Francisco)
• High‑growth Series A company with strong funding and momentum.
• Opportunity to lead end‑to‑end architecture, grow a world‑class team, and ship transformative AI‑driven software.