Head of Engineering
- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Posted 5 days ago
About the role
Head of Engineering
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Experience: 10–15+ years
Employment Type: Full-time
About the Role
We are looking for a Head of Engineering to lead our technology function and drive the development of scalable, secure, reliable, and high-performing SaaS and AI platforms for the maritime industry.
The role combines technology leadership with hands-on technical oversight, working closely with the Founder & CEO, Product, AI, QA, Customer Success, and maritime domain teams.
The ideal candidate will have strong experience in software architecture, engineering leadership, AWS/cloud infrastructure, DevOps, cybersecurity, AI, and enterprise software delivery.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and execute the company's technology strategy and roadmap in alignment with business and product goals.
- Lead and mentor frontend, backend, mobile, AI, DevOps, and QA teams, establishing clear ownership and engineering standards.
- Own the architecture and scalability of web, mobile, backend, database, analytics, integrations, and AI platforms.
- Review code, architecture, infrastructure, and technical decisions to ensure quality, security, maintainability, and scalability.
- Drive predictable and timely product delivery, including sprint planning, development, testing, releases, and production support.
- Own AWS infrastructure and DevOps, including EC2, RDS, S3, CloudWatch, IAM, CI/CD, monitoring, backups, disaster recovery, and cloud cost optimisation.
- Strengthen software quality through code reviews, automated testing, release processes, defect management, and reduction of technical debt.
- Lead cybersecurity and data protection initiatives, including access control, encryption, vulnerability management, and readiness for ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, and VAPT.
- Guide AI and data initiatives, ensuring AI solutions are reliable, secure, scalable, and commercially useful.
- Work directly with enterprise customers on technical requirements, integrations, deployments, security assessments, and complex technical issues.
- Evaluate technology vendors and partners and ensure appropriate documentation, knowledge transfer, and ownership of technical assets.
Technical Experience
Strong experience with several of the following:
React / Next.js | React Native | Node.js / Express | PostgreSQL | REST APIs | AWS | CI/CD | Docker | Git | Automated Testing | Sentry / Mixpanel | AI APIs / LLMs / RAG | Cybersecurity
Requirements
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, IT, or a related field.
- 10–15+ years of software engineering, technology management, or product development experience.
- 4–6+ years leading engineering or technical teams.
- Proven experience building and scaling SaaS, enterprise, analytics, or operational platforms.
- Strong understanding of architecture, cloud, databases, APIs, DevOps, cybersecurity, and QA.
- Experience managing multiple technical functions including web, mobile, backend, cloud, QA, and AI.
- Strong experience working with enterprise customers and complex technical requirements.
- Maritime, offshore, logistics, industrial, HSE, or operational technology experience is an advantage.
- Experience with ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, VAPT, or enterprise security assessments is highly desirable.
What Success Looks Like
The successful candidate will improve:
- Engineering delivery and release predictability
- Platform scalability, uptime, and performance
- Code quality and automated test coverage
- Production stability and incident resolution
- Cybersecurity and compliance readiness
- Cloud reliability and cost efficiency
- Engineering team productivity and accountability
- Customer satisfaction with technical delivery
Why Join Us?
- Lead technology for a fast-growing maritime AI and SaaS company.
- Work directly with leadership on strategic technology and product decisions.
- Build technology serving leading maritime and offshore organisations.
- Opportunity to make a direct impact on maritime safety, efficiency, compliance, and sustainability.
- Significant leadership responsibility and long-term growth opportunity.
How to Apply
Please submit your CV, relevant technology leadership experience, examples of SaaS/enterprise platforms you have built or scaled, team size/functions managed, notice period, current and expected compensation, and a brief overview of how you would assess and strengthen an existing technology platform in your first 90 days.
Application Question(s):
- How many years of experience do you have leading engineering/technology teams?
- Please describe the SaaS/enterprise platforms you have built or scaled and their approximate scale (users, customers, or revenue, if applicable).
- Which technical functions have you directly managed?
- Notice period?
- How would you assess and strengthen an existing technology platform during your first 90 days?
- Visa Status, Visa Expiry Date?
- Current Salary
- Expected Salary
Work Location: In person