Vice President, Engineering

Civis Analytics; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 200,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

Civis Analytics is seeking a Vice President of Engineering to lead the company’s technical vision, architecture, and execution as we expand our platform and launch standalone AI products. Reporting to the CEO, the VP will act as a player–coach, guiding long-term direction while delivering concrete results across data, platform, and AI initiatives.

You will own Civis’s technical roadmap, lead architecture decisions, and build a cross-functional team of engineers, data scientists, and product

Qualifications

• Experience with AI systems in production.
• Led software/platform/data engineering teams.
• Own and evolve technical roadmaps across products.
• Architectural decisions for data-driven systems.
• Experience hiring and developing high-performing teams.
• Authorized to work in the United States.

Responsibilities

• Be the tech voice within our senior leadership and guide decision-making as we scale.
• Own and drive Civis’s technical roadmap across the Civis Platform and AI products.
• Lead architecture decisions across platform, data, and AI systems.
• Act as a player–coach and empower teams to execute with AI-centric practices.
• Lead and integrate a cross-functional team spanning product, engineering, data, and AI (≈15 people).
• Be the public face of Civis technology and data science; engage with press and partnerships.

Skills

AI systems in production

Technical leadership

Roadmap ownership

Architecture decisions

Hiring teams

Communication

Cloud platforms

Distributed systems

Job description

Please note that candidates must currently live in the following states: DC, Illinois, Maryland, New York or Virginia.

Civis Analytics is hiring a Vice President, Engineering to lead the company’s technical vision, architecture, and execution as we expand our platform and launch standalone AI products. Reporting to the CEO, the VP will play a critical player–coach role: setting long-term technical direction while staying close to systems, decisions, and delivery.

This role owns the cohesion between Civis’s core data platform and its growing AI product portfolio. As we scale our AI capabilities, the VP will ensure that our existing data infrastructure and IP remain strong, reliable, and extensible—while guiding teams toward an AI-centric development and product environment.

What You’ll Do

• Be the tech voice within our senior leadership team and guide decision-making and business planning as we scale;
• Own and drive Civis’s technical roadmap across both the Civis Platform and emerging AI products, ensuring alignment, cohesion, and long‑term scalability
• Lead architecture decisions across platform, data, and AI systems, balancing speed, reliability, and maintainability
• Act as a player–coach: stay close to systems, technical tradeoffs, and delivery while empowering teams to execute independently. Guide the organization toward an AI-centric product and development environment, including tooling, workflows, and engineering practices
• Lead and integrate a cross‑functional team spanning product, engineering, data, and AI, while serving as a visible, hands‑on leader and magnet for technical talent as the organization grows (approximately 15 people initially).
• Provide thought leadership within the company; research and evaluate cutting‑edge practices and enabling technologies for internal adoption; assess potential partnerships and acquisitions;
• Be the public face of Civis technology and data science; network, evangelize, and form relationships with press and peer organizations; participate in high‑level sales meetings; and give back to the community.

What We’re Looking For (Minimum Qualifications)

• Practical, real‑world experience working with AI systems and understanding their application in production environments - beyond theory or research
• Significant experience leading software, platform, or data engineering organizations in a hands‑on leadership capacity
• Demonstrated ability to own and evolve technical roadmaps across multiple product lines or platforms
• Experience making architectural decisions for complex, data‑driven systems
• Comfort getting into the technical weeds when needed to unblock teams or resolve critical issues
• Proven ability to hire, develop, and manage high‑performing technical teams
• Clear, direct communication style and comfort making and standing behind difficult technical decisions
• Familiarity with building and scaling AI products in production
• Hands‑on experience with modern cloud platforms and distributed systems
• Authorization to work in the United States

You Should Apply If

• You want to actively shape and build AI products, not just talk about them
• You enjoy owning technical strategy while staying close to execution and delivery
• You’re comfortable operating in ambiguity and making decisions with imperfect information