Head of Software Engineering

Koop; New York (NY); On-site; USD 210,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental coverage

Flexible time off

Equity options

Job summary

Koop is seeking a Head of Software Engineering to own our software platform and drive architectural decisions from the ground up. You will work directly with the founders to translate strategy into scalable technical execution, lead and grow the engineering team, and set standards for architecture, testing, and release processes.

The role combines hands-on coding with strategic leadership, requiring deep experience in backend systems, microservices, and cloud infrastructure.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience building production-grade software systems.
• 3+ years of experience leading engineers or major technical initiatives.
• Proven track record hiring and retaining engineers.

Responsibilities

• Own Koop’s engineering strategy, technical roadmap, architecture, and execution.
• Lead, manage, and grow a high-performing software engineering team.
• Collaborate with founders and product team to translate needs into engineering plans.
• Remain hands-on with architecture, reviews, and critical projects.
• Design and scale modern microservices using Go, Java, Kubernetes, and cloud infra.
• Establish high-velocity, high-quality engineering culture with strong testing and observability.

Skills

Leadership

Go/Java

Kubernetes

Cloud architecture

NoSQL

Security/compliance

Tools

AWS

Job description

Company:Koop

Position:Head of Software Engineering

Type:Full-Time

Location:Greater New York City Area (in-person)

You must be a U.S. citizen to qualify

Who We Are:

Koop lets B2B and B2G startups and growth-stage companies unlock growth by taking care of regulatory and contractual compliance, security, and insurance requirements in a single, AI-powered platform. Companies in AI, Robotics, Energy & Climate, Aerospace & Defense, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Fintech, and more industries rely on Koop daily to satisfy all kinds of requirements from enterprises and the government. Our value proposition is to help engineering, finance, ops, and legal teams at early-stage companies to speed up procurement, free up resources, and showcase trust within a single, easy-to-use platform that delivers an amazing user experience.

The world is accelerating: new products and services in AI & Software 2.0, Robotics, Energy & Climate, Aerospace & Defense, Manufacturing, and other verticals are already getting adopted at an increasing rate. However, private enterprises and the government impose stringent contractual requirements on companies bringing those new products and services into the world. In turn, startups have to carry the burden of compliance certifications, custom security questionnaires, and high-limit insurance policies. Koop’s mission is to make it simpler to innovate while protecting the world from a new generation of risks that comes with new and highly technical products and services.

We are post-product-market-fit, post-traction, with a clear execution roadmap and strong support from our growing customer base. Koop is backed by leading investors, including Ubiquity Ventures, AlleyCorp, Fusion Fund, Bee Partners, and Hyundai and Kia. Currently, we are growing our insurance team to reach ambitious milestones over the next 12-24 months. We value a strong work ethic, meritocracy, the ability to think from the first principles, creative problem-solving, excellent communication skills, and technical mindsets.

More about Koop Technologies: website, LinkedIn, X.

The Role:

As Head of Software Engineering, you will own software engineering at Koop. You will work directly with the founders to translate company and product strategy into technical execution, lead and grow the engineering team, and establish the architecture, systems, and development practices required to scale the platform.

You will be expected to operate as both an engineering leader and a senior technical contributor. You should be comfortable moving between organizational design, architecture decisions, code reviews, recruiting, production issues, and hands-on development.

This role is ideal for someone with a founder mindset who wants significant ownership over the product, team, and technical future of a rapidly growing company.

Responsibilities:

• Own Koop’s engineering strategy, technical roadmap, architecture, and execution
• Lead, manage, mentor, and grow a high-performing software engineering team
• Work directly with the founders and product team to convert customer needs and business priorities into clear engineering plans
• Remain hands-on with architecture, implementation, code reviews, debugging, and critical technical projects
• Design and scale modern microservices using Go, modern Java, Kubernetes, Terraform, and cloud infrastructure
• Make difficult architectural and technical decisions while clearly communicating the associated tradeoffs
• Establish a high-velocity, high-quality engineering culture with strong standards for testing, deployment, observability, security, and reliability
• Own the complete software-development lifecycle, from product requirements and system design through implementation, deployment, monitoring, and iteration
• Introduce AI-native development practices using tools such as Claude Code and Codex to increase engineering speed and leverage
• Recruit exceptional engineers and build the organizational structure required for Koop’s next stage of growth
• Partner with compliance and security professionals to ensure that Koop’s own systems meet the standards expected of a mission-critical trust platform
• Evaluate and adopt new technologies when they create a meaningful product or engineering advantage
• Build products at the cutting edge of security compliance, risk management, AI, and insurance

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience building complex, production-grade software systems
• 3+ years of experience leading engineers, engineering teams, or major technical initiatives
• A record of hiring, developing, and retaining exceptional software engineers
• Experience owning engineering execution in a startup, high-growth technology company, or similarly fast-moving environment
• Strong systems-design and software-architecture capabilities
• Willingness and ability to remain deeply hands-on with the codebase
• Experience building backend systems with Go, Java, or comparable strongly typed languages, with the desire to work in both Go and Java
• Experience designing and operating microservices using Kubernetes, AWS ECS/EKS/Fargate, or comparable container infrastructure
• Experience with NoSQL databases, distributed systems, APIs, and event-driven architectures
• Experience operating secure, reliable, and observable cloud-based production systems
• Experience incorporating AI-native development tools such as Claude Code or Codex into real engineering workflows
• Strong product judgment and the ability to balance technical quality, speed, customer needs, and business priorities
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Founder mindset, tremendous work ethic, high standards, and a strong sense of ownership

Bonus Qualifications:

• Experience with AWS
• Experience with Temporal or other workflow orchestration engines
• Experience with HashiCorp Terraform
• Experience building enterprise SaaS, security, compliance, fintech, insurtech, or other mission-critical platforms
• Experience scaling an engineering organization through a significant growth stage
• Experience with machine learning infrastructure or production AI systems
• Familiarity with security and compliance frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST 800-171, or CMMC

Why Koop Technologies?

• We are building a category-defining product that will uniquely protect the world of emerging technology companies and enterprises
• Work with an energetic team coming from diverse professional backgrounds in product development, software engineering, quantitative modeling, compliance, and sales
• Join a fast-paced, rewarding work environment that will bring the best out of you and experience tremendous professional growth in a short period of time
• Join the mission to help protect the world from a new generation of risks

Administrative:

• In-person work setting (Greater NYC Area)
• Competitive salary and equity options
• Health and dental package
• Flexible time off and paid holidays
• Tremendous growth opportunity (professionally, personally, and financially)

You will join a team of product builders, software engineers, quantitative modelers, compliance professionals, and emerging risks visionaries, all bound together by an incredible drive to define, build, and scale the world’s smartest insurance platform.

How to Apply:

Please apply on our website or on LinkedIn. For additional information, please feel free to contact [e-mail].

Koop Technologies is an equal opportunity employer, inclusive of people from all walks of life who are willing and able to commit themselves to the required job in full.