VP, Product Engineering

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

Job summary

Coates Group seeks a Vice President, Product Engineering to own the technical vision for the CMS, Web products, and deployment tools, leading a global engineering organization. Reporting to the CTO, you will partner with regional leaders to unify platform strategy across core products.

You will drive platform governance, architecture standards, and scalable solutions, ensuring reliability, security and performance for clients worldwide.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in software or product engineering
• 5+ years in senior technical leadership
• Experience owning platform strategy for enterprise SaaS
• Strong cloud-native architecture background (AWS preferred)
• Experience leading distributed cross-regional engineering
• Experience partnering with C-level on technical strategy
• Track record delivering platform-level initiatives at scale
• Strong Agile/Lean practices across distributed teams

Responsibilities

• Own the technical vision and roadmap for CMS, Web products, and deployment tooling
• Align platform investment with global and regional needs
• Set architecture standards and governance across 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

Technical leadership

Platform strategy

Cross-regional alignment

Cloud-native AWS

Stakeholder partnership

Distributed teams

Education

Bachelor's or higher in CS/Engineering

Tools

AWS

Web technologies

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!

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

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 leaders 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.

Qualifications

Required:

• 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.

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$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).

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).