Head - Product Engineering - ERP/B2B SaaS

The Opportunity:

Strategic Leadership: Newly created senior-most role responsible for building the leadership layer, establishing engineering culture, and designing the operating model.

Transformational Goal: Shift the engineering function from being "delivery-focused" to "capability-driven.

Scope:

• Lead a 30+ person organization across three product teams, each managed by a Technical Manager.
• Reporting Structure: Sit on the leadership team and report directly to the Business Unit Head (BUH).
• Ideal Candidate Profile: A seasoned leader with a track record of "scars and wins," seeking full ownership and executive backing to drive strategic change.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead three product teams through Technical Managers, focusing on both team and individual capability growth.
• Define and instill engineering values, norms, and a culture of accountability and craft.
• Design and implement career ladders, performance frameworks, and development plans.
• Drive active, structured hiring (sourcing to onboarding) to build a high-performing team.
• Foster an environment that prioritizes retention and professional growth.

Strategy & Long-Term Architecture:

• Translate product vision and business goals into multi-quarter engineering plans.
• Proactively identify and address structural risks, technical debt, and capability gaps.
• Partner with Solution Architecture to define long-term platform strategy.
• Represent engineering in strategic discussions, balancing immediate delivery with long-term investment.

Delivery Excellence:

• Establish and enforce delivery standards, release cadences, and engineering KPIs.
• Transition the organization from reactive firefighting to proactive, planned delivery.
• Manage cross-team dependencies, resource allocation, and risk.
• Drive quality and engineering hygiene without becoming a bottleneck.
• Ensure predictable delivery that aligns with business commitments.

Leadership Team Contribution:

• Serve as a peer and thought partner to heads of Product Management, Customer Success, and Data Services.
• Communicate technical tradeoffs, costs, and timelines with clarity and confidence.
• Act as a stabilizing, visible leader during periods of organizational growth and change.
• Contribute to the broader organizational culture and operating model.

Success Milestones (First 12 Months):

• 30 Days: Observe and diagnose; build relationships with key stakeholders; map the current state and risks; provide a written assessment.
• 60 Days: Stabilize the structure; identify Technical Managers; clear accountability structures in place; reduce escalation noise.
• 90 Days: Establish operating rhythm (standups, planning, retrospectives, metrics); launch active hiring; shift from managing to leading.
• 6 Months: Career frameworks and development plans active; improved delivery predictability and morale; shift focus from firefighting to strategy.
• 12 Months: Organization is high-performing and self-directed; engineering is no longer a constraint for new product lines; mentoring the next generation of leaders.

Requirements:

Non-Negotiable:

• Experience: 14-20 years in software engineering, with 5-8 years in people leadership (specifically managing managers).
• Scale: Proven success leading engineering organizations of 25+ across multiple teams/product lines.
• Domain: Background in B2B SaaS or enterprise product companies with a history of shipping customer-facing products.
• Transformation: Demonstrated ability to build or rebuild engineering culture from scratch or dysfunction.
• Hiring: Direct experience building talent pipelines, interviewing at scale, and closing candidates.
• Communication: Exceptional ability to translate technical complexity for business stakeholders.

Strongly Preferred:

• Domain Expertise: Exposure to manufacturing, supply chain, ERP, or industrial enterprise software.
• Growth Mindset: Experience guiding an organization through growth, restructuring, or transformation.
• Seniority: Prior experience as Director, VP, or Head of Engineering with tangible org-building accountability.
• Modern Practices: Familiarity with CI/CD, platform thinking, developer experience, and observability.
• Architecture: Experience setting up or maturing a Solution Architecture function.