Founding Engineering Manager

We are seeking a Founding Engineering Manager to build and scale the technology function for a fast-growing, operations-heavy marketplace startup. This is a high-ownership leadership role for a builder who can translate business vision into scalable technology, build products from scratch, and eventually grow into the technology leader of the organization. This is not a traditional Engineering Manager or Tech Lead role. We are looking for someone who combines strong technical depth with business understanding, thrives in ambiguity, and has experience scaling products and teams through early-stage growth journeys.

Responsibilities:

• Own and define the end-to-end technology vision, architecture, and engineering roadmap.
• Lead the 01 and 110 journey of building scalable products, platforms, and internal systems from scratch.
• Design and build systems supporting marketplace workflows, supply chain operations, inventory management, pricing engines, and business-critical processes.
• Partner directly with founders to shape product strategy, execution priorities, and long-term technology direction.
• Build, hire, mentor, and scale the engineering organization over time.
• Act as a strategic technology partner in discussions with leadership, investors, and key stakeholders.

Requirements:

• 8-13 years of experience in software engineering, product engineering, or technology leadership roles.
• Proven experience building products and platforms from 01 and scaling them through 110 growth stages.
• Prior experience as an Engineering Manager, Director of Engineering, Founding CTO, or equivalent high-ownership role.
• Experience hiring, managing, and scaling engineering teams.
• Demonstrated ability to operate in startup environments with limited resources and high ambiguity.
• Strong understanding of product thinking, business strategy, and translating business requirements into technology solutions.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, including interaction with founders, leadership teams, and investors.

Preferred Background:

• Experience in marketplace, mobility, logistics, supply chain, automotive commerce, inventory-led businesses, or other operationally complex domains.
• Exposure to scaling businesses from early-stage startup to growth-stage environments.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong builder mentality and long-term ownership orientation.

Skills

CTO, director, engineering, manager, product, software