About the job Head of Engineering
Who We Are
Ministry of Programming is a dynamic startup studio and a change maker dedicated to empowering global startups with innovative product strategies and robust software solutions on their journey to success. Over the past 9 years, we have partnered with more than 100 startups, driving their growth through a product-centric approach that integrates branding, design, and technical solutions to build successful products and, ultimately, sustainable business models. Our team of 160 professionals brings together expertise in product strategy, product design, software development, and strategic consulting, all specifically tailored to support startups and innovative products. We go beyond delivering code; we help startups build resilient business models that maximize product-market fit and long-term success. By leveraging our extensive international networks, we establish strategic partnerships with top-tier startups worldwide, nurturing ventures from concept to scale.In addition to our consulting services, we actively invest in startups, with a portfolio of over a dozen investments to date. This dual role as both a development partner and investor allows us to support founders not just with technical execution but with insights into sustainable product growth.Our success is recognized on a global stage: Ministry of Programming is featured on the FT1000 list of the fastest-growing European companies by the Financial Times and has secured the 21st spot in Deloitte's annual list of the 50 fastest-growing companies in Central Europe, earning the prestigious Deloitte Impact Star Award.
Role Overview
Were seeking an experienced Head of Engineering to lead our technical organization and drive product-aligned engineering excellence.
This is not just a technical leadership role its a strategic product partner position. Youll be expected to deeply understand how engineering impacts product success, how to prioritize value delivery over technical complexity, and how to build systems and teams that serve both innovation and usability.
Reporting to the CPTO, you will be responsible for owning our engineering strategy, building a high-performance culture, and ensuring that everything we ship from MVPs to mature products creates real business value.
What Youll Do
Technical Leadership & Engineering Strategy
Own the engineering vision and architecture across 19+ digital products
Drive technical decision-making, architectural alignment, and tooling strategies
Ensure the scalability, performance, and long-term sustainability of all engineering efforts
Product Understanding & Alignment
Prioritize product success over technical perfection
Actively participate in product discovery and design sessions to ensure engineering decisions are market-relevant
Translate business and product goals into pragmatic technical plans and MVPs
Promote a holistic view of product development balancing feasibility, viability, and desirability
Foster a culture of agility, iteration, and experimentation, with rapid prototyping and lean delivery
Collaborate closely with Product Managers and Designers to align roadmaps, define trade-offs, and co-own outcomes
Team Growth & Mentorship
Build and lead a high-performing, distributed engineering team
Develop career paths, mentorship programs, and growth opportunities for engineers
Set the tone for accountability, ownership, and excellence in execution
Project Delivery & Technical Oversight
Provide technical support throughout the entire SDLC planning, execution, QA, deployment, and maintenance
Intervene in complex engineering challenges and offer hands-on architectural guidance
Monitor project delivery metrics and ensure consistent product quality
Lean Thinking & Continuous Improvement
Implement lean engineering practices and reduce inefficiencies across all teams
Define KPIs and use data to guide decisions and improvements
Facilitate retrospectives, knowledge-sharing, and experimentation
Cross-functional Collaboration
Partner with product, design, delivery, and client stakeholders to ensure alignment
Communicate technical risks, timelines, and expectations with clarity and transparency
Ensure teams are equipped to deliver with autonomy and purpose
What Were Looking For
Core Qualifications
Previous experience in senior engineering leadership (Engineering Manager, Head of Engineering, VP, CTO, etc.)
Track record of building and scaling engineering teams in a fast-paced, product-driven environment
Deep understanding of software architecture, cloud platforms, and full-stack development
Strong knowledge of agile product development lifecycles
Experience with DevOps, CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, and automation tools
Product Understanding Competencies
Strong product mindset: always focused on delivering user and business value
Skilled at balancing innovation with practicality know when to build fast and when to build right
Clear understanding of product viability, not just technical feasibility
Able to participate in discovery, validation, and user feedback cycles alongside product teams
Promote engineering decisions that serve long-term product health, not just short-term velocity
Advocate for cross-functional alignment between technical execution and user outcomes
Bonus Points
Experience in software consulting, product agencies, or working with early-stage startups
Familiarity with AI technologies or tools
Strong understanding of SRE, platform engineering, and modern cloud-native practices