Director of Engineering

Placements24; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 1,800,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary & equity

Health insurance

Paid time off

Professional development

Home office stipend

Remote-friendly hours

Team events

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Director of Engineering for a fully remote fintech startup. You will shape technical direction, mentor engineers, and drive scalable software in a remote-first environment.

You will build and scale distributed teams, own architectural decisions, and partner with product leadership to deliver high-impact products. The role requires deep cloud-native experience, strong leadership, and a track record of delivering robust systems.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software engineering with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Experience building cloud-native, distributed systems.
• Proven track record scaling complex software systems.
• Strong remote leadership and communication skills.
• Fintech experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and strategic direction for all software development activities.
• Build, manage, and mentor high-performing, distributed engineering teams, fostering a positive and productive remote work culture.
• Oversee the entire software development lifecycle, from architecture and design to implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance.
• Drive the adoption of best practices in software engineering, including agile methodologies, CI/CD, automated testing, and code quality standards.
• Collaborate closely with product management, design, and other stakeholders to define product roadmaps and technical strategies.
• Ensure the scalability, reliability, and security of the platform through thoughtful architectural decisions and infrastructure planning.
• Manage technical debt and proactively identify opportunities for system improvements and refactoring.
• Champion a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and knowledge sharing within the engineering organization.
• Develop and manage the engineering budget, including resource allocation and technology investments.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and provide career development guidance for engineering team members.

Skills

Leadership

Remote team management

System design

Cloud architecture

DevOps

Communication

Agile methodologies

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/Engineering

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

Kubernetes

Docker

CI/CD

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a trailblazing tech startup revolutionizing the fintech space, is seeking a visionary Director of Engineering to lead their distributed engineering teams. This is a fully remote, high-impact role where you will be responsible for shaping the technical direction, fostering innovation, and ensuring the delivery of scalable, robust software solutions. You will build, mentor, and inspire a team of highly talented engineers, promoting a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and rapid iteration. This position is ideal for a strategic leader passionate about building high-performing teams and delivering cutting-edge products in a dynamic, fast-paced, and remote-first environment. You will play a critical role in the company's growth trajectory, driving technological advancements and architectural decisions that will define the future of our client's platform. The opportunity to build and scale engineering operations from the ground up in a remote setting makes this role exceptionally unique.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and strategic direction for all software development activities.
• Build, manage, and mentor high-performing, distributed engineering teams, fostering a positive and productive remote work culture.
• Oversee the entire software development lifecycle, from architecture and design to implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance.
• Drive the adoption of best practices in software engineering, including agile methodologies, CI/CD, automated testing, and code quality standards.
• Collaborate closely with product management, design, and other stakeholders to define product roadmaps and technical strategies.
• Ensure the scalability, reliability, and security of the platform through thoughtful architectural decisions and infrastructure planning.
• Manage technical debt and proactively identify opportunities for system improvements and refactoring.
• Champion a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and knowledge sharing within the engineering organization.
• Develop and manage the engineering budget, including resource allocation and technology investments.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and provide career development guidance for engineering team members.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 5 years in a leadership role managing engineering teams.
• Proven track record of building and scaling complex software systems in a cloud-native environment.
• Deep understanding of modern software architecture patterns, microservices, and distributed systems.
• Extensive experience with agile development methodologies and DevOps practices.
• Strong expertise in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to lead remote teams effectively.
• Demonstrated ability to attract, retain, and develop top engineering talent.
• Experience in the fintech industry is a significant plus.
• Must be comfortable working in a fully remote capacity, demonstrating self-discipline and strong communication skills.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary and equity package.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Generous paid time off and company holidays.
• Professional development budget for conferences, courses, and training.
• Home office setup stipend.
• Opportunity to work on groundbreaking technology with a passionate and talented team.
• Flexible working hours within a remote-first structure.
• Company-sponsored virtual team events and social activities.