Wallaroo

Head of Engineering [Remote, USA]

Wallaroo provides a platform for production AI that helps turn data into business results faster, simpler, and at lower cost. We enable data science teams to get models live against production data three times faster and at 80% lower compute costs, while giving them visibility into how the models are performing, and the power to make quick and easy iterations. Our tech runs as a service inside a client’s environment--whether in a cloud, on-prem, or at the edge--integrating with modern data ecosystems and ML frameworks. Backed by stellar enterprise VC’s, at Wallaroo we believe that we have a $60B market opportunity at the intersection of real-time (streaming) data, AI, and digital transformation. 

We’re looking for a VP of Engineering excited about joining a small, dynamic startup passionate about data engineering, distributed systems, and MLOps. You will steer the technical direction, lead the engineering teams to iteratively develop high quality software, and help deliver on the company vision. You will ensure that both the platform and the engineering organization are able to scale through rapid growth. We currently have 7 engineers and are looking to grow rapidly in the next year ahead of our Series A, and this is a great opportunity for the right person to grow rapidly with the company.

We’re fully distributed and we intend to stay that way. There’s no central office, and though the company was founded in NYC, we have employees ranging from California to Europe. 

VP of Engineering Responsibilities

• Develop, lead, and scale the engineering organization in line with our core engineering values (detailed below).
• Develop technical strategy, setting short and long-term goals, and plan the technical product roadmap.
• Provide architectural guidance and mentoring for engineers.
• Be accountable for product quality and performance.
• Serve as a member of the senior leadership team.
• Form a broad and deep understanding of the MLOps landscape in order to inform product and technical strategy.
• Represent the engineering organization and act as an advocate for Wallaroo to partners, clients, and potential clients.

VP of Engineering Requirements

• Able to align strategic business vision to engineering deliverables 
• Experience designing software architecture and implementing high-quality software.
• Experience managing teams of engineers. 
• Ability to successfully manage engineering teams at a distributed-first company.
• Know how to motivate your teams and instill them with a sense of ownership over their work.
• Know how to iteratively develop great solutions in a fast-moving environment.
• Demonstrate longevity in at least one recent job.

Engineering Values

Distributed First

We are a fully distributed team with a base of operations in NYC and engineers ranging from California to Europe. Our processes are always distributed first, with an emphasis on effective asynchronous communication.

Communication

One of our mottos is: “If it wasn’t communicated, it didn’t happen.” Communication is always crucial to effective collaboration, but in a distributed setting it becomes even more important.

Email, text chat, and documentation are important tools to communicate across time zones and geography. Voice conferences bring us together despite working in different countries.

We bring up concerns early, and share objectives, context, and work progress in public. We value clarity and making assumptions explicit.

Lifelong Learning

We value a commitment to learning and see the ability to quickly get up to speed on new languages, technologies, and ideas as just as important as specialized knowledge, if not more. We stress a growth mindset and know that listening can take effort but is crucial to understanding.

Self-motivation and Accountability

Our engineers excel at working independently and flexibly collaborating with the right people for the job. We proactively get involved when help is needed.

Respect and Openness

We know that we’re working with human beings with their own lives, concerns, and perspectives. We strive for charitable interpretation and empathy. We value constructive disagreement and challenging assumptions, but only when this is done with respect. We realize that even if you are an expert in some area, you can still learn from the fresh perspectives of novices, which means humility is not only reasonable, but essential to overcoming blind spots.

The Right Tool for the Job

We know that in software engineering, there are no silver bullets. No language, framework, tool, or process is “The One, True Way”. We look for the right tool for the job, and depending on the circumstances, this may or may not be Wallaroo!

Adaptability

Our engineers have to be ready to adapt to changing circumstances and temporarily take on roles that might be a bit outside their job description. We value comfort with uncertainty and an openness to experimentation.

Everyone a Teacher

In a smaller startup, we need everyone to be a generalist to some degree. That’s part of the reason we value sharing knowledge, skills, and perspectives so much. Our engineers are eager to keep learning, but they’re also eager to teach their colleagues what they know, and to experiment with more effective ways to make this kind of information readily available.

At Wallaroo we believe that the most diverse and inclusive teams build the best products! As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.