About the role

As Head of Engineering, you will play a key role in shaping and executing our technical strategy, overseeing the full software lifecycle and the delivery of our products and features. You will guide the direction of our software engineering practices, product development, and resource planning across multiple initiatives. This role provides the opportunity to lead a growing team and help define the future of our engineering organization in a collaborative and empowering environment.

What you'll do

• Team Leadership: Provide direction and support for a team of about 30 engineers, taking full responsibility for the day-to-day operations and team development. As the team continues to expand, you will foster a growth-oriented culture. Partner with Employee Experience to coach and mentor both team leads and individual contributors, cultivating talent and offering guidance for improvement when needed.
• End-to-End Software Lifecycle Ownership: Own and evolve our technology stack, services, and components in collaboration with the Software Architecture team. Guide the development and refinement of best practices throughout the software development lifecycle - from technical design and code review to testing, deployment, and incident response. Continuously refine processes to improve team efficiency, system performance, and product quality.
• Collaborative Operations: Ensure smooth communication across cross-functional teams. Maintain oversight of ongoing projects and resource allocation to ensure timely delivery. Work closely with Software Architecture, Technical Support, Product Management, Product Design & UX Research, Data Platform, and IT Operations on joint initiatives.
• Resource Allocation: Collaborate with product management to ensure realistic planning and allocation of engineering resources. Lead engineering budget oversight, including software licenses, R&D equipment, and team travel, to support effective decision-making and goal setting.

We are looking for someone with

• Extensive experience leading and managing engineering teams, including mentoring both team leads and individual contributors, especially during times of technical or strategic change.
• A successful track record of delivering user-facing products at scale, ideally within cloud-based environments.
• Strong capability in implementing and optimizing modern engineering practices and methodologies (e.g., CI/CD, automated testing, DevOps, agile methodologies) to drive productivity, reliability, and quality.
• Demonstrated skill in analyzing and improving engineering operations, with a focus on sustainable, scalable solutions tailored to evolving Cropster’s business needs.
• Ability to thoughtfully weigh business needs against technical constraints, and to clearly communicate complex trade-offs with clarity and empathy.
• Enthusiasm for understanding customer needs and finding meaningful solutions to their problems, beyond just the technical aspects.
• Confidence in making informed short- and long-term decisions under uncertainty and leading teams through ambiguity.
• A people-centered approach combined with a commitment to implement and champion transparent, and continuously improving engineering processes.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to convey technical and strategic topics across all levels of the organization.

That said, we’d be particularly delighted to hire someone with

• Experience managing large, distributed, or remote engineering teams.
• Familiarity with budgeting responsibilities within an engineering context, including software licensing and infrastructure planning.
• Previous involvement in high-growth environments and experience scaling teams or systems effectively.
• Exposure to product management or product design collaboration processes.
• An interest in the intersection of sustainability and technology, or experience in mission-driven organizations. At this point, Cropster will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in Austria for this opening - now and in the future. For Non-EU applicants: please attach your work permit to your application.

What you can expect

The salary range for this position is € 85K to € 95K gross/year and we look at factors like your experience and individual qualifications to determine our offer, which includes benefits like an educational and wellness budget, remote work possibilities, and working from home, flexible working hours, paid time for volunteer work, an endless stream of really great coffee, and much more. We also make our best possible offer upfront - no games.