Head of the Engineering

A US-based company is a private equity-backed portfolio specializing in health and wellness coaching, dedicated to helping gym owners reach more people, change lives, and build highly profitable businesses. They achieve this through effective coaching, intuitive software, and industry-leading fitness nutrition.

The companys focus is to deliver impactful results while upholding values like innovation, integrity, and support for their clients.

The team is seeking an experienced Head of Engineering (or Director of Engineering) to lead and scale the technical vision of our fast-growing gym management software.

In this player-coach role, youll oversee the development team, manage technical processes, and spend 10-15% of your time on hands-on technical development. Youll bridge the gap between product goals and technical execution while building a high-performing team to deliver innovative solutions that empower gym owners worldwide.

As a strategic leader, youll collaborate closely with the product team to understand customer needs, translate them into actionable plans, and prioritize features to drive business impact. Youll manage both local and offshore teams, optimize resources, and scale our technology strategy to support company growth. This role is ideal for someone eager to thrive in a startup environment, innovate at pace, and lay the foundation for long-term technical leadership.




RESPONSIBILITIES:
      Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Translate customer needs into implementable feature sets and flows 
  - Customers almost never know what they actually want and never understand the implications of what they describe)
• Design features in ways that fit cohesively into the architecture of the application
  -Should limit "workarounds" and hack jobs
  - Should make sure the feature makes sense inside the application
• Oversee the architecture and technical design of our gym management software, ensuring scalability, performance, and reliability.
  -Need to be able to know what is good code vs bad code
• Provide hands-on technical development and guidance (10-15% of time) to set best practices, resolve key challenges, and mentor team members in our current stack (AWS, MySQL, React, Python/Flask).
• Drive system enhancements and innovation by staying current with emerging technologies and industry trends.
  
  
  Product Collaboration & Customer-Centric Focus
  
  • Work closely with the product team to deeply understand customer needs and translate feature requirements into actionable engineering plans.
  • Define and prioritize solutions that are user-friendly while addressing complex technical problems.
  • Ensure alignment between technical execution and product goals, prioritizing features that drive revenue growth and customer retention.
  • Break down systems, processes, and application flows to identify areas for improvement and provide clarity for developers.
  
  
  Project & Resource Management
  
  • Give some level of guidance (+- 30%) on time to complete features and effort required
    
  • Lead the execution of engineering projects by breaking down features into deliverable sprints, establishing clear milestones, and tracking progress effectively.
  • Prioritize engineering tasks based on business impact, balancing must-have vs nice-to-have features, bug fixes, and enhancements
  • Manage and optimize the engineering budget, ensuring efficient use of resources while delivering high-value solutions.
  • Drive consistent reporting on project status, velocity, and key performance indicators.
    
    
    Team Leadership, Hiring, and Offshore Management
  • Identify talent needs ahead of time, define roles effectively, and recruit top developers who align with the companys culture and goals.
  • Manage both local and offshore development teams, ensuring clear communication, well-defined specs, and timely delivery.
  • Hold team members accountable to performance standards, swiftly addressing poor performance while fostering a culture of ownership and growth.
  • Oversee onboarding processes to ensure new hires are integrated effectively into the team.
  
  
  Quality Assurance & System Reliability
  
  • Establish and maintain high standards for code quality, testing, and deployment processes.
    
  • Implement robust monitoring and alerting systems to ensure reliability and performance of all applications.
    
  • Drive a culture of continuous improvement to proactively identify and address bugs, bottlenecks, and technical debt.
  
  
  Strategic Technology Leadership
  
  • Develop and execute the technical vision and roadmap, ensuring alignment with overall company goals and customer needs.
  • Provide technical input to business decisions, balancing short-term execution with long-term scalability and growth.
  • Contribute to the overall scaling of the company, leveraging startup experience to navigate tight budgets and generalized roles while driving innovation and impact.
    
    
    RESULTS:
    
    
    Technical Architecture & Scalability
    
    • Deliver a scalable, reliable, and high-performance software architecture that supports enterprise-level functionality within 6-12 months.
    • Optimize database design patterns to improve system performance by at least 20%.
      
    • Ensure 99.9% uptime and system reliability through robust monitoring, alerting, and QA Processes.
    
    
    Product Delivery & Business Impact
    
    • Successfully deliver prioritized product features on time and within scope, meeting established milestones in 90% of sprints.
    • Launch user-friendly solutions that improve customer retention by 15% and contribute to revenue growth.
    • Collaborate with the product team to translate customer needs into a technical roadmap, achieving at least 80% alignment on priorities.
    
    
    Team Performance & Growth
    
    • Build and scale a high-performing engineering team, achieving 100% of planned hiring goals within 6 months.
    • Improve team velocity and delivery efficiency by at least 20% within the first 6 months through clear processes, accountability, and sprint tracking.
    • Develop team members by implementing mentoring, training, and performance standards to increase team satisfaction and reduce turnover.
    
    Resource Optimization
    
    • Manage the engineering budget effectively, ensuring projects are delivered on time and within 100% of resource allocations.
    • Optimize resource allocation between local and offshore teams, maintaining clear communication and timely delivery.
    
    
    Code Quality & Technical Debt Reduction
    
    • Implement coding standards, testing protocols, and CI/CD processes that reduce production bugs by at least 30% over 12 months.
    • Drive continuous improvement by reducing technical debt through planned refactoring and process enhancements.
    
    
    Strategic Technical Leadership
    
    • Develop and execute a 12-month technical roadmap aligned with company growth goals.
    • Proactively identify emerging technologies that can accelerate innovation and improve product functionality.
    
    
    
    REQUIREMENTS:
    
    
    Technical Expertise:
    
    • Strong background in enterprise software architecture, including permissions, user management, performance optimization, and process flow.
    • Experience with accounting systems and database design patterns for scalability and performance.
    • Proficiency in our tech stack: AWS, MySQL, React, and Python/Flask.
      
    • Preferable experience with payment systems and integrations.
      
      
      
      
    Product & Customer Focus:
    
    • Deep understanding of customer needs and the ability to translate them into user- friendly solutions for complex problems.
    • Strong skills in breaking down systems and processes, understanding application flow nuances, and prioritizing high-impact features.
    • Ability to balance must-have vs. nice-to-have features to drive revenue retention and Growth.
      
    Project Management & Execution:
    
    • Proven experience in managing and executing engineering projects, including breaking down features into deliverable sprints and tracking progress consistently.
    • Ability to prioritize tasks, manage deadlines, and deliver projects on time with consistent communication and reporting.
    • Excellent decision-making, prioritization, and problem-solving abilities.
      
      
      
      
    Team Leadership & People Management:
    
    • Experience in hiring, onboarding, and managing development teams, including identifying talent needs and holding team members accountable.
    • Experience working with offshore development teams, managing across time zones, defining clear specifications, and quickly addressing underperformance.
    • Proven ability to mentor and guide developers, fostering a culture of accountability, growth, and innovation.
    • Strong communication and collaboration skills to work cross-functionally with product, leadership, and engineering teams.
    
    
    Startup Experience & Resource Management:
    
    • Comfortable operating in a startup environment with generalized roles, tighter budgets, and fewer resources.
    • Willing to contribute hands-on as needed while scaling processes, teams, and technology strategy.
    • Experience managing budgets effectively, prioritizing high-value features, and optimizing resource allocation.
    • A proactive leader who thrives in fast-paced, high-growth environments.