VP of Product Engineering

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a VP of Product Engineering based in the United States.

Lead the engineering organization behind a widely used education technology platform that connects schools with digital learning applications. As VP of Product Engineering, you will oversee five engineering teams comprising approximately 40 engineers, shaping products that support secure identity management, single sign-on, and developer integrations. Partnering closely with the VP of Product and reporting to the CTO, you will jointly define product and engineering strategy while ensuring reliable, scalable, and secure customer experiences. You will drive the integration of AI throughout the software development lifecycle, from design and coding to testing and deployment. This role combines deep technical leadership, organizational development, and direct engagement with senior customer stakeholders. You will have the opportunity to influence product direction, strengthen engineering execution, and advance technology that supports students and educators worldwide.

Accountabilities:
As VP of Product Engineering, you will lead engineering strategy, technical architecture, team development, and product delivery across a complex, customer-facing platform. Working in close partnership with Product, Infrastructure, Data, and Security teams, you will ensure engineering priorities align with customer needs and long-term business objectives.

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Product and engineering strategy: Partner with the VP of Product to define and own the product and engineering roadmap, balancing immediate customer priorities with long-term scalability, resilience, and security.

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Engineering leadership: Lead five product engineering teams comprising approximately 40 engineers, developing a strong organization through effective management, coaching, hiring, and leadership development.

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Technical direction and architecture: Establish technical direction for products built on a container-based microservices architecture in AWS, and engage directly with complex systems, design decisions, and architectural tradeoffs.

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AI-driven development: Lead the adoption of AI across the software development lifecycle, integrating AI into design, coding, testing, code review, and release processes to improve engineering productivity and delivery quality.

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Product delivery and execution: Establish predictable delivery practices, focus teams on high-impact customer needs, and strengthen collaboration between Product and Engineering.

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Platform reliability and security: Ensure customer-facing SaaS products meet high standards for availability, resilience, security, and performance across a two-sided platform serving school districts and application partners.

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Customer engagement: Build relationships with school district CIOs, application partner CTOs, chief customer officers, and technical teams to understand their needs and translate feedback into product and architecture decisions.

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Cross-functional collaboration: Work closely with Infrastructure, Data, and Security platform teams to maintain a cohesive, reliable, and scalable technology ecosystem.

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External representation: Represent the organization in customer business reviews, industry events, and education technology standards groups.

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Engineering culture: Build an inclusive, high-performing engineering organization where managers and engineers take ownership, contribute to strategic decisions, and continuously improve technical practices.

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International and ecosystem growth: Where relevant, support product evolution for international markets, developer ecosystems, and external application integrations.

Requirements:

The ideal candidate is a technically accomplished engineering executive who has successfully led multiple teams through managers, partnered with Product at the strategic level, and built reliable customer-facing SaaS platforms at scale. You should combine architectural depth with strong executive communication, customer engagement, and a demonstrated ability to modernize engineering practices through AI.

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Engineering leadership experience: At least 10 years of experience as an engineering leader, including at least 3 years at Director level or above.

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Organizational leadership: Proven experience leading a multi-team engineering organization of approximately 30 or more engineers through managers.

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Manager development: Demonstrated ability to hire, coach, and develop engineering managers while building an inclusive, high-performing culture.

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Technical expertise: A strong software engineering background and the ability to review technical designs, challenge architecture decisions, and engage deeply with complex systems.

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AI adoption: Experience leading an engineering organization in applying AI across the software development lifecycle, with measurable results in how teams design, build, test, review, and ship software.

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Customer-facing SaaS: Experience building and operating external SaaS products that require high availability, resilience, security, and scalability.

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Strategic product partnership: Experience working as a peer to a senior Product leader to define product strategy and roadmaps, rather than simply executing an established plan.

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Executive and customer engagement: Experience working directly with technical decision-makers, including CIOs, CTOs, and IT leaders, and translating their feedback into product and architecture decisions.

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Communication skills: Ability to communicate technical strategy, architectural tradeoffs, and business implications clearly to executives, customers, and engineering teams.

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Travel availability: Willingness to travel one to two times per quarter for company and customer meetings.

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Preferred identity expertise: Experience with single sign-on, identity lifecycle management, directories, student rostering, or access management products.

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Preferred platform experience: Experience building two-sided platforms, developer ecosystems, or APIs used by external companies.

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Preferred international experience: Experience adapting products for international customers, including regional requirements, languages, and data privacy regulations.

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Preferred industry background: Experience in education technology, K–12 or higher education, or another regulated industry such as healthcare or finance.

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Preferred technical stack: Familiarity with AWS, Go, Node.js, TypeScript, and container-based microservices.

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Preferred scale and industry engagement: Experience supporting platforms with millions of daily users and participating in industry standards bodies, technical speaking engagements, writing, or advisory boards.

Benefits:

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Competitive base salary:

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$325,000–$350,000 annually for candidates based in the United States outside New York City and San Francisco, California.

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$340,000–$375,000 annually for candidates based in New York City or San Francisco, California.

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Final offers depend on experience and level of expertise.

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Flexible paid time off: Flexible PTO to support work-life balance.

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Paid parental leave: Paid leave for eligible new parents.

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Comprehensive healthcare: Medical, dental, and vision coverage.

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Mental health support: Access to mental healthcare services.

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Professional development: A dedicated budget for learning and career growth.

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Company gatherings: An annual company retreat and team events.

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Inclusive culture: A commitment to diversity, belonging, and creating an environment where employees can contribute authentically and feel supported.