Head of Engineering
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Overview
Job Description
Jahnel Group’s mission is to provide the absolute best environment for software creators to pursue their passion by connecting them with great clients doing meaningful work. This is a full time position with one of our closest clients.
Who we are looking for
We’re looking for a hands-on Head of Engineering who thrives in early-stage environments and is excited to lead from the front. This is not a purely managerial role — you’ll be actively contributing code while overseeing a small, high-impact team (up to 5 engineers).
The ideal candidate is either:
A product-minded engineering leader who can take ownership of the roadmap, scope effectively, and drive execution on a core platform, orA GM-style operator who runs a tight, efficient team, ensures platform stability, and delivers consistent outcomes
You are resourceful, accountable, and outcome-driven — someone who takes full ownership, removes blockers, and gets things done without excuses.
You should be comfortable balancing hands-on development, team leadership, and product thinking, while helping stabilize and scale a platform that is critical to the business.
Responsibilities
- Lead and mentor a small team of engineers while remaining hands-on in development
- Own execution and delivery of the core platform roadmap
- Drive platform stability, scalability, and performance improvements
- Balance new product development with reducing technical debt and production issues
- Scope and prioritize engineering work with a strong product and business mindset
- Establish and maintain high standards for code quality, testing, and system design
- Collaborate closely with leadership to align engineering efforts with company goals
- Improve development processes to maximize team efficiency in a lean environment
- Act as a key technical decision-maker across architecture, tooling, and infrastructure
Some Must-Haves
- 8–12+ years of professional software engineering experience
- Experience as a Principal Engineer, Tech Lead, or Head of Engineering in a startup or high-growth environment
- Strong hands-on coding ability — actively contributing, not just managing
- Proven experience working in early-stage startups (ideally Series A or similar)
- Ability to operate with high ownership, accountability, and minimal oversight
- Strong product intuition — able to take broad problems and turn them into clear execution plans
- Experience leading small, high-performing engineering teams
Technical Requirements
- Strong experience with Next.js and modern frontend development
- Backend experience with Python and/or Go
- Solid understanding of PostgreSQL and data modeling
- Experience building and maintaining scalable production systems
- Familiarity with debugging, performance optimization, and system reliability
Nice-to-Haves
- Experience in inventory systems, supply chain, or retail tech
- Background in data-heavy or forecasting systems
- Experience working at larger tech companies (e.g., Amazon-style data or inventory systems), combined with startup success
- Exposure to ML-driven or agentic systems
Where We’re Looking For It
- Remote (U.S.-based preferred)
- NYC is a plus, but not required
- Ability to travel onsite approximately once per month
Compensation Package (Salary Transparency for US-Based Employees)
- Salary Range: $220,000 – $240,000
- Salary is negotiable and the range can be increased based on qualifications, certifications and experience
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