At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a high-velocity engineering team and drive innovation in product development.
- Company: Dynamic startup focused on open-source solutions and collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible work environment, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Embrace a culture of iteration and continuous learning.
- Why this job: Join us to shape the future of engineering and make a real impact.
- Qualifications: Proven leadership in fast-paced environments and strong technical expertise.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 € per year.
We’re seeking an exceptional Head of Engineering / Engineering Manager to partner closely with our CTO and lead the next stage of our engineering organisation. We want a deeply technical leader who still loves to build, leads from the front, and thrives in high-velocity, high-ownership environments. Your mission: build the fastest engineering team on the planet.
Who you are:
- You’re a top-tier engineer with proven leadership experience in fast-moving startups or scaleups.
- You’re comfortable making imperfect decisions quickly, you’ve built products under pressure, and you know that momentum beats perfection.
- You might be a seasoned engineer who has already stepped into a Head of Engineering / Engineering Manager role at a venture-backed startup.
- You might be an ex-founder who has built and shipped products under real pressure.
- You might be a startup tech lead who thrives on ownership and bold decisions.
- You might be a pragmatic builder who values time-to-value over “the right way”.
What makes you perfect for this role:
- Engineering leadership: You’ve coached and unblocked engineers in high-velocity, high-pressure environments.
- Deep technical expertise: You have strong architecture instincts and solid security knowledge, but you’ll cut through complexity to keep shipping.
- Startup operator mindset: You’ve taken products from 0→1 or through hyper-growth and know how to build systems that evolve with the company.
- Velocity obsession: You believe iteration > perfection, and your instinct is always to get value in front of users as fast as possible.
- AI-first: You’re bullish on AI, vibe-coding daily, and always looking for ways to push velocity through AI-assisted workflows.
- DevX focus: You obsess over developer experience because you know great tooling = more speed.
- Execution focus: Monitoring, observability, and performance aren’t “nice to haves”, they’re how you ship fast without breaking trust.
What you'll do:
- Set the bar for engineering velocity: coaching, mentoring, and unblocking the team every day.
- Make architectural and security calls fast, balancing speed with long-term resilience.
- Build and own best-in-class developer experience - tooling and workflows that eliminate drag.
- Monitor and protect reliability and SLAs, while still moving at startup speed.
- Establish a culture where iteration is celebrated and perfectionism is challenged.
How we work at Lightdash:
- We build in public. Open source means moving fast with shared context.
- We challenge problems, not people. No blame, just solutions.
- We’re highly collaborative. Independent, but we win as a team (and with our community).
- We bias hard toward impact. We’d rather ship the wrong thing quickly and learn, than waste weeks polishing what nobody needs.
Our tech stack:
- Primary: TypeScript, React, Node, SQL
- Frameworks: Express, React-hooks, Redux, RTK, Mantine
- Infrastructure: Docker, GCP, Kubernetes, Tracing, Prometheus
While familiarity with our stack is helpful, we value your ability to learn and adapt over specific technical experience. We’re deliberately looking for ambitious leaders from startups and high-growth companies. If you want predictability, long roadmaps, and “the right way” over speed, this isn’t the role for you.
Research shows that women and underrepresented groups often don’t apply unless they meet 100% of the requirements. Even if you don’t tick every box, if you have startup experience and a hunger for velocity, we’d love to hear from you.
Head of Engineering in London employer: Energy Jobline ZR
At Lightdash, we pride ourselves on fostering a dynamic and inclusive work culture that empowers our employees to thrive in a fast-paced environment. As the Head of Engineering, you'll not only lead a talented team but also benefit from our commitment to open-source collaboration, continuous learning, and a focus on impactful results. Located in London, we offer unique opportunities for professional growth and innovation, making us an exceptional employer for those eager to make a difference in the tech landscape.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of Engineering in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, attend meetups, and engage with communities online. The more people know you’re on the hunt for a Head of Engineering role, the better your chances of landing that dream job.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repository showcasing your projects and contributions. This is your chance to demonstrate your technical expertise and leadership experience in a way that a CV just can’t capture.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for those interviews! Research common questions for engineering leadership roles and practice your responses. Be ready to discuss how you’ve built teams, made tough decisions, and driven velocity in past projects.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! We love seeing candidates who are genuinely interested in joining us at StudySmarter. Tailor your application to highlight your startup experience and passion for speed – we want to hear your story!
We think you need these skills to ace Head of Engineering in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for Engineering:Let your love for engineering shine through in your application. Share specific examples of projects you've led or contributed to, especially in high-pressure environments. We want to see that you’re not just a techie, but someone who thrives on building and innovating.
Highlight Your Leadership Experience:Make sure to emphasise your leadership skills and experiences. Talk about how you've coached and mentored teams, and how you've made quick decisions under pressure. We’re looking for someone who can lead from the front, so show us how you’ve done that!
Embrace the Startup Mindset:We love candidates who understand the startup hustle! Share your experiences of taking products from 0 to 1 or navigating hyper-growth. Show us that you value speed and iteration over perfection, as that’s what we’re all about at StudySmarter.
Apply Through Our Website:Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way for us to get your application and for you to stay updated on the process. We can’t wait to see what you bring to the table!
How to prepare for a job interview at Energy Jobline ZR
✨Know Your Tech Stack
Familiarise yourself with the primary technologies mentioned in the job description, like TypeScript, React, and Node. Even if you’re not an expert, showing that you understand how they fit into the bigger picture will impress your interviewers.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Style
Prepare examples of how you've coached and unblocked engineers in high-pressure environments. Highlight your ability to make quick decisions and how you’ve fostered a culture of iteration over perfection in your previous roles.
✨Emphasise Your Startup Experience
Be ready to discuss your experience in fast-moving startups or scaleups. Share specific instances where you took products from 0 to 1 or navigated through hyper-growth, demonstrating your understanding of the unique challenges these environments present.
✨Demonstrate Your AI Enthusiasm
Since the role values an AI-first mindset, come prepared with ideas on how AI can enhance engineering velocity. Discuss any relevant projects or tools you've used that leverage AI to improve workflows or developer experience.
