Head of Internal Tools Engineering

Protingent; Washington; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Protingent Staffing is recruiting a Head of Internal Tools Engineering for a fully remote client engagement. You will architect, scale, and deliver internal platforms with API-first design, driving productivity and reducing friction across the organization.

Lead a high‑performing team, partner with stakeholders, and translate business needs into robust technical roadmaps. Focus on AI/automation, developer experience, reliability, security, and measurable ROI in a cloud‑native environment.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of software engineering experience with at least 5 years in engineering leadership.
• Deep cloud, APIs, microservices, data pipelines, and modern infrastructure understanding.
• Proven track record building and scaling internal tools or platforms for cross-functional teams.
• Experience making build-vs-buy decisions and managing a portfolio of tools.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end internal platform strategy and roadmap, treating internal technology as a product.
• Architect and maintain the full engineering lifecycle for internal platforms with API-first design.
• Lead AI and automation integration into internal workflows and platforms.
• Improve developer experience with standardized workflows and self-service capabilities.
• Build and mentor a high-performing engineering team; foster ownership and psychological safety.
• Collaborate with People, Finance, Legal, and Operations to align investments with company strategy.

Skills

Software engineering

Engineering leadership

Cloud architecture

APIs & microservices

Internal tools

Roadmap strategy

Executive communication

Tools

AWS

GCP

Azure

Microservices

CI/CD

Job description

Head of Internal Tools Engineering

Protingent Staffing has an exciting direct hire Head of Internal Tools Engineering with our client that is fully remote.

Job Overview

You will architect, build, and scale the internal technology ecosystem that accelerates workforce productivity, eliminates operational friction, and gives the company a compounding infrastructure advantage. Treat internal tools with the same product rigor and user‑centricity as any external product – the quality of internal systems directly determines organisational velocity.

Responsibilities

• Internal Platform Strategy & Roadmap: Own the end‑to‑end strategy and roadmap for all internal tools, platforms, and automation – treating internal technology as a product, not a cost centre. Make strategic build‑vs‑buy decisions, map current and next‑state process flows across the entire internal toolchain and lead systems transformation for internal teams.
• Systems Architecture & Engineering: Architect and maintain the full engineering lifecycle for internal platforms – from ideation and design through deployment, iteration, and deprecation. Build seamless, API‑first ecosystems that integrate internal tools across HR systems, finance platforms, knowledge management, CRM, and developer infrastructure. Own system reliability and operational resilience: establish success metrics for uptime, performance, and employee productivity. Design scalable, secure architectures using cloud‑native principles, microservices, and modern integration patterns.
• AI & Automation: Lead the strategy for integrating AI and LLMs into internal workflows – reimagining how knowledge is shared, decisions are supported, and work is executed across the organisation. Deploy intelligent automation tools, evaluate and integrate AI‑assisted troubleshooting, proactive recommendations, and intelligent automation into the internal platform layer. Stay ahead of technology trends and drive continuous experimentation – you build prototypes, not slide decks.
• Developer Experience & Productivity: Reduce cognitive load for internal users by providing golden paths, standardised workflows, and self‑service capabilities. Ensure frictionless onboarding and seamless integration across the tool ecosystem. Measure platform success through adoption rates, user satisfaction, DORA metrics, and productivity impact – not feature count.
• Team Leadership: Build, lead, and mentor a high‑performing team of engineers and engineering managers. Cultivate a collaborative engineering culture rooted in ownership, speed, and craftsmanship. Provide technical mentorship and create growth paths for individual contributors and managers alike. Foster psychological safety and a feedback‑driven environment that empowers people to do their best work.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Partner with People, Finance, Engineering, Legal, and Operations leadership to translate complex business needs into a unified technical vision. Serve as the bridge between business stakeholders and the engineering team – you speak both languages fluently. Align internal platform investments with broader company strategy and demonstrate measurable ROI.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 5 years in engineering leadership (managing teams or managing managers).
• Strong hands‑on technical background: you’ve built production systems and can still credibly review architecture, code, and system design.
• Deep understanding of cloud‑based systems (AWS, GCP, or Azure), APIs, microservices, data pipelines, and modern infrastructure.
• Proven track record of building and scaling internal tools or platforms that serve cross‑functional business teams – not just engineering.
• Experience making build‑vs‑buy decisions and managing a portfolio of custom‑built and third‑party tools.
• Strong experience designing and building internal platforms and automation systems.
• Strong product thinking: you define success in terms of user outcomes and business impact, not technical output.
• Experience navigating the full SDLC from ideation through deprecation – you know when to build, iterate, and retire.
• Excellent communication skills: you can articulate complex technical concepts to non‑technical executives and translate business problems into engineering roadmaps.
• Nice To Have: Experience at a high‑growth technology or AI‑native company that scaled rapidly; background in platform engineering, developer experience, or internal developer platforms (IDPs); familiarity with HRIS, ERP, and business systems integration (Workday, Salesforce, NetSuite, etc.); experience with cybersecurity best practices and compliance frameworks for internal systems; prior experience leading internal technology through M&A integrations or multi‑entity consolidation; exposure to knowledge management systems, internal search, and enterprise AI assistants; experience integrating AI/LLMs into internal workflows or productivity tools.

Job Details

Job Type: Direct Hire
Pay Range: Market Rate
Location: Fully Remote