Engineering Talent and Operations Lead

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**Scene Set**:
We operate a business-focused Engineering organization, aiming to maximize impact by building a robust, flexible, and enjoyable tech stack. We love to exceed our business goals, have fun with the technology we use, and prefer doing it all alongside peers we respect and learn from every day. Our 35 engineers work in stream-aligned Mission Teams across iOS, Android, Web, Backend, and DevOps (currently there are five such Mission Teams). These teams thrive on taking full ownership of technical challenges, collaborating closely with Product Managers and stakeholders to ensure we're always aligned with the bigger picture.

By adopting a flat and lean structure without Engineering Managers, we promote agility, direct ownership, and a culture where everyone contributes to our shared success. The role of the **Engineering Talent and Operations Lead** is being introduced to support the CTO and the Mission Teams, helping them clear obstacles, stay focused, and ultimately enjoy the process of delivering great value together.

**Why This Role is Perfect for You**:
Are you a seasoned engineering leader who's ready to make a meaningful impact without the traditional managerial constraints? We are looking for someone who wants to step away from direct line management and focus their talents as a high-impact, expert / senior individual contributor. This role is perfect if you're not aiming to become a CTO but want to leverage your expertise to drive business outcomes and support engineering excellence. You will act as the right-hand person to the CTO, with an emphasis on creating value without being restricted by management hierarchy.

This role is ideal for someone who loves operational challenges, enjoys solving complex problems, and is interested in contributing directly rather than managing a team. If you want to be a trusted advisor to the CTO and the developers, understanding their technical challenges without needing to be hands-on coding, this role will provide exactly that opportunity.
- Takes ownership and doesn't get bogged down by traditional role boundaries, focusing on what needs to be done.
- Is driven by accountability for Engineering as a whole.
- Has empathy, excellent communication skills, and a genuine interest in team success.
- Enjoys working in a dynamic environment where proactive problem-solving is encouraged and valued.
- Believes in the power of constructive feedback to foster personal and team growth.

**What **You'll** Do**:

- **Talent Strategy and Acquisition**: Partner with the CTO on talent strategy, focusing on growth, engagement, and talent density. Lead efforts in identifying talent gaps, work closely with recruiters, and actively participate in hiring processes, including interviews and onboarding, to ensure we bring in top talent. Provide commercially sound suggestions for team composition, identify talent, and establish a mentoring system to facilitate mentoring opportunities that help developers grow their careers and impact.
- **People Operations & Culture**: Be the primary point of contact for all people-related needs within the engineering team. Establish at least one direct conversation with each engineer once a month to maintain strong connections and understand their progress and challenges. Help run performance and development cycles that are scalable and impactful.
- **Operational Enablement**: Facilitate regular tactical meetings with Technical Leads and the CTO to discuss progress, challenges, and next steps, ensuring discussions are focused on business priorities. Attend all team dailies and retros on a rotating basis to stay in touch with the teams and ensure they're progressing. Help drive initiatives to improve team efficiency, align capabilities with business needs, and ensure that operational tasks are handled effectively.
- **Hands-On Problem Solving**: Identify and address issues within teams proactively, removing obstacles that impede productivity and ensuring that solutions align with business objectives. Support Technical Leads in managing operational issues and resolving tensions within their teams.
- **Strategy Alignment**: Support the CTO with financial reporting, budgets, and ensuring progress on the engineering strategy. Maintain a clear overview of team contributions and ensure alignme