Jahnel Group’s mission is to provide the absolute best environment for software creators to pursue their passion by connecting them with great clients doing meaningful work. This is a full time position with one of our closest clients.
Who we are looking for
We’re looking for a hands-on Head of Engineering who thrives in early-stage environments and is excited to lead from the front. This is not a purely managerial role — you’ll be actively contributing code while overseeing a small, high-impact team (up to 5 engineers).
The ideal candidate is either:
A product-minded engineering leader who can take ownership of the roadmap, scope effectively, and drive execution on a core platform, or
A GM-style operator who runs a tight, efficient team, ensures platform stability, and delivers consistent outcomes
You are resourceful, accountable, and outcome-driven — someone who takes full ownership, removes blockers, and gets things done without excuses.
You should be comfortable balancing hands-on development, team leadership, and product thinking, while helping stabilize and scale a platform that is critical to the business.
Responsibilities
- Lead and mentor a small team of engineers while remaining hands-on in development
- Own execution and delivery of the core platform roadmap
- Drive platform stability, scalability, and performance improvements
- Balance new product development with reducing technical debt and production issues
- Scope and prioritize engineering work with a strong product and business mindset
- Establish and maintain high standards for code quality, testing, and system design
- Collaborate closely with leadership to align engineering efforts with company goals
- Improve development processes to maximize team efficiency in a lean environment
- Act as a key technical decision-maker across architecture, tooling, and infrastructure
Some Must-Haves
- 8–12+ years of professional software engineering experience
- Experience as a Principal Engineer, Tech Lead, or Head of Engineering in a startup or high-growth environment
- Strong hands-on coding ability — actively contributing, not just managing
- Proven experience working in early-stage startups (ideally Series A or similar)
- Ability to operate with high ownership, accountability, and minimal oversight
- Strong product intuition — able to take broad problems and turn them into clear execution plans
- Experience leading small, high-performing engineering teams
Technical Requirements
- Strong experience with Next.js and modern frontend development
- Backend experience with Python and/or Go
- Solid understanding of PostgreSQL and data modeling
- Experience building and maintaining scalable production systems
- Familiarity with debugging, performance optimization, and system reliability
Nice-to-Haves
- Experience in inventory systems, supply chain, or retail tech
- Background in data-heavy or forecasting systems
- Experience working at larger tech companies (e.g., Amazon-style data or inventory systems), combined with startup success
- Exposure to ML-driven or agentic systems
Where We’re Looking For It
- Remote (U.S.-based preferred)
- NYC is a plus, but not required
- Ability to travel onsite approximately once per month
Compensation Package (Salary Transparency for US-Based Employees)
- Salary Range: $220,000 – $240,000
- Salary is negotiable and the range can be increased based on qualifications, certifications and experience