VP, Product Engineering

Coates Group; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 242,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

Coates Group, a global technology company, seeks a Vice President of Product Engineering to own the software products and development platform, guiding the CMS, Web products, and deployment tooling with a unified, scalable roadmap. You will report to the CTO and partner with regional leaders to drive platform investment and architectural standards.

You will lead a distributed engineering organization, shaping technical strategy with senior stakeholders, ensuring reliability, security, and growth

Qualifications

• 12+ years in software or product engineering, including 5+ years in senior technical leadership.
• Experience owning platform strategy for enterprise-scale SaaS, CMS, or digital experience platforms.
• Strong background in cloud-native architecture (AWS preferred) and modern web development.
• Success leading distributed, cross-regional engineering organizations.
• Experience partnering with C-level stakeholders on technical strategy.
• Track record delivering platform-level initiatives at scale.
• Strong grasp of Agile/Lean delivery practices across distributed teams.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical vision and roadmap for Coates’ core products, including the CMS, Web products, and deployment tooling.
• Partner with regional engineering and product leaders to align platform investment with global and regional needs.
• Set architecture standards and technical governance across all core products on the roadmap.
• Ensure support and deployment tools used by internal teams and clients stay reliable and scalable.
• Translate CTO and executive strategy into an actionable product engineering plan.
• Build and lead a high-performing, globally distributed engineering organization.
• Keep platform reliability, security, and scalability ahead of a growing global client base.

Skills

Strategic vision

Executive presence

Cross-regional influence

Ownership & accountability

Talent development

Adaptability

Education

Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Computer Science/Engineering

Tools

AWS

Job description

Be Part of Our Next Chapter

For over almost 60 years, our solutions have enabled impactful connections between some of the world’s leading brands and their customers. And while we’ve already done a lot of work we’re proud of, we’re just getting started!

Be Part of Our Next Chapter

For over almost 60 years, our solutions have enabled impactful connections between some of the world’s leading brands and their customers. And while we’ve already done a lot of work we’re proud of, we’re just getting started!
We’re a global technology company focused on creating dynamic, smart, personalized and engaging customer experiences powered by our range of digital hardware, our proprietary content management system and our industry leading signage solutions. (For example: If you’ve ordered in-store or in the drive-thru at McDonald’s somewhere in the world in the last few years, chances are you’ve interacted with our digital solutions.) We work in over 50 global markets and have 9 offices around the world, with a global headquarters proudly located in our founding home of Sydney, Australia.
Coates Group has the values of a family-owned business and the innovative spirit of a start-up, both which fuel our purpose – Creating Connections. Empowering Partnerships. Always Evolving. Through hard work, dedication and creativity, we’ve become industry leaders who have won awards and set records while remaining focused on continual growth and evolution. We are a 2x Australia Good Design Award winner and successfully completed the largest hardware deployment in Quick Service Restaurant history.
We are curious, charismatic, authentic and we value and leverage the diversity of our crew. We are imaginers, kindness enthusiasts, experts, creators, thinkers, challengers, collaborators and over-achievers. And together, as a Crew, we are revolutionizing the way the world’s leading brands leverage technology to drive the best customer experiences.
The Vice President, Product Engineering is accountable for Coates’ Software Products and Development Platform, owning the technical vision and roadmap behind the CMS, Web products, and the support & deployment tools used by internal teams and external clients alike. Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, this role partners with regional engineering and product leadership to keep a unified, scalable platform strategy across all core products in Coates’ development roadmap.

Responsibilities

• Platform Strategy & Roadmap: Own the technical vision and roadmap for Coates’ core products, including the CMS, Web products, and deployment tooling.
• Cross-Regional Alignment: Partner with regional engineering and product leaders to align platform investment with global and regional needs.
• Platform Governance: Set architecture standards and technical governance across all core products on the roadmap.
• Internal & External Tooling: Ensure support and deployment tools used by internal teams and clients stay reliable and scalable.
• Executive Partnership: Translate CTO and executive strategy into an actionable product engineering plan.
• Talent & Culture: Build and lead a high-performing, globally distributed engineering organization.
• Risk & Quality Oversight: Keep platform reliability, security, and scalability ahead of a growing global client base.
  

Capabilities

• Strategic Technical Leadership: Sets a clear technical vision and inspires teams to deliver against it.
• Executive Presence: Communicates technical strategy clearly to senior leadership and the CTO.
• Cross-Regional Influence: Builds alignment across global stakeholders without direct authority.
• Ownership & Accountability: Owns the health and success of Coates’ core platform end-to-end.
• Talent Development: Mentors and retains high-performing engineering leaders.
• Adaptability: Navigates ambiguity across a global, multi-brand client base.
  

Required

Qualifications

• 12+ years in software or product engineering, including 5+ years in senior technical leadership.
• Experience owning platform strategy for enterprise-scale SaaS, CMS, or digital experience platforms.
• Strong background in cloud-native architecture (AWS preferred) and modern web development.
• Success leading distributed, cross-regional engineering organizations.
• Experience partnering with C-level stakeholders on technical strategy.
• Track record delivering platform-level initiatives at scale.
• Strong grasp of Agile/Lean delivery practices across distributed teams.
  

Preferred

• Experience in digital signage, QSR, or retail technology.
• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• Experience with global, multi-region engineering team structures.
  

$242,000 - $275,000 a year

Full Salary Range: $242,000/year (minimum), $258,500/year (midpoint), $275,000/year (maximum).

Pay is based on relevant experience, skills, education, internal equity, and market data. Well-qualified candidates can generally expect offers around the midpoint. Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications but have more limited directly relevant experience for this specific role are typically placed nearer the minimum, while highly experienced candidates with strong role alignment may be placed closer to the maximum.

About Coates

We are industry leaders who have won awards and set records. We are a 2x Australia Good Design Award winner and we successfully completed the largest hardware deployment in Quick Service Restaurant history. We are led by a forward-thinking CEO who has demonstrated a true passion for people and making Coates a place where people genuinely enjoy working. Our growth plans enable a focus on providing rapid career advancement opportunities for our talent. Together, we are creators, allowing us to make our purpose a reality – to create immersive brand experiences for everyone.

Join a Crew that Cares

Be part of a global team of talented, ambitious, creative people that value integrity, individuality and inclusivity. (Ask us about our Equality + Empowerment Initiatives). The benefits include an annual market competitive bonus program and our “Thrive Program” which includes a suite of flexible work options because we’re strong believers that you should never miss an important life or work moment. Thrive also provides dedicated time to prioritize our health and wellbeing (think virtual Yoga or meditation sessions), a Global Wellness paid day off to recharge as well as a “Give Back Day” to allow our Crew an opportunity to make an impact in the community.

Be inspired To Be More

We skip the red tape and aim to always stay nimble. We’re proud of where we’ve been and are energized by where we’re going. We encourage ideas and perspectives because we know the more we have, the better we are. We work hard but have fun along the way. We push the boundaries but keep it real and authentic. We believe in the values that got us here are the ones that will continue to lead us forward. We are excited by what we’ve accomplished, but know the best is yet to come.

Coates Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, gender, religion, disability, age, political affiliation or belief, disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam Era, or citizenship status (except in those special circumstances permitted or mandated by law).

Fraud Alert: Employment Scam Advisory

It has come to our attention that unauthorised individuals are impersonating our company and reaching out to job seekers through fraudulent emails, falsely claiming to represent Coates. These emails often request personal information and appear to come from domains that are not affiliated with our organisation, such as coatesgroupcareer.com.

Please Be Advised Of The Following

• Coates does not operate or communicate through any domain resembling "@ coatesgroupcareer.com "
• Wedo not contact employment candidates via email to solicit personal or financial information
• All emails from us will come from our official domain, which is [at]coatesgroup[dot]com or via our Applicant - Tracking System (ATS) email address, which is no-reply[at] hire.lever [dot]co

If you receive any suspicious communications purporting to be from Coates, we urge you not to respond, do not click any links, and do not provide any personal information. Your safety and trust are of the utmost importance to us. Thank you for your vigilance.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.