Vice President of Software Engineering (Northern Ireland)

Enso Recruitment are currently recruiting on behalf of a leading product development team in Belfast as they seek to add a VP of Engineering to their team throughout a period of rapid expansion.

The Opportunity

Our client is looking for a VP of Engineering to lead, scale, and inspire a world-class engineering team. This role is both strategic and hands-on, responsible for delivering the next generation of their SaaS platform. As the VP of Engineering, you’ll oversee architectural decisions, product scalability, and AI/ML integration while working cross-functionally with product, design, and go-to-market teams.

Ideal for a tech leader who thrives in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment, this role offers the chance to make a lasting impact on product innovation, engineering culture, and customer success.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Team Management:

• Lead, grow, and mentor a high-performing distributed engineering team.
• Define goals, manage performance reviews, and support career development.
• Drive recruitment efforts, from drafting job descriptions to conducting interviews.
• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, and operational excellence.

Technology & Delivery Oversight:

• Shape the technical roadmap, ensuring scalability and AI/ML integration.
• Provide hands-on guidance in sprint planning, backlog refinement, and daily standups.
• Oversee architecture, code quality, performance, and security standards.
• Promote engineering best practices including automated testing, documentation, and agile adherence.

AI & Machine Learning Integration:

• Champion the integration of AI/ML into core products and workflows.
• Collaborate with product leaders to deliver robust, ethical AI-driven features.
• Drive innovation in AI-powered customer-facing solutions and internal tools.

The ideal candidate profile

You bring expertise in:

• Leading diverse, distributed teams across geographies.
• Full-stack development and scalable SaaS architectures.
• Communicating technical ideas to stakeholders of all backgrounds.
• Agile/Scrum methodologies, continuous integration, and test automation.

You have experience with:

• AI/ML product lifecycle and cloud-based infrastructure (preferably AWS).
• Tools and platforms like Git, CI/CD pipelines, containerisation, and message queues.
• Scaling platforms from startup through growth stages.

Nice to have:

• Experience in developing AI-enabled go-to-market features.
• Familiarity with non-relational/NoSQL databases and AI compliance (e.g., data privacy, model governance).
• Domain knowledge in sectors such as cybersecurity, fintech, or enterprise SaaS.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 10+ years in software engineering, including 5+ years in senior leadership roles.
• Proven success in leading high-impact engineering teams.
• Agile or Scrum certification preferred.