Head of Engineering

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