VP of Engineering

VP of Engineering - Ephemera (XMTP + Convos)

Build the Future of Private Communication

Ephemera is building the future of messaging—secure, decentralized, and private.
Our open protocol (XMTP) powers the next generation of communication, while
Convos brings that vision to life as a privacy first chat app.
We’re hiring a Vice President of Engineering to build and lead our engineering
organization from the ground up. This is a foundational leadership role responsible
for driving organizational structure, technical strategy, and team performance
across both the XMTP protocol and Convos app.
Were looking for a seasoned technical leader who can think strategically about
how to structure teams for speed and quality, make smart architectural decisions,
and hold a high bar for execution and accountability. You should have deep
experience navigating technical trade-offs, leading protocol or infrastructure
teams, and inspiring engineers through clarity, mentorship, and decisiveness.
You’ll report directly to the CEO and be a key partner in shaping product direction,
culture, and roadmap execution.
Key Responsibilities

Strategic Planning and Vision
Define and evolve our engineering strategy in alignment with company goals

Shape and execute on technical product roadmap

Champion technical excellence while making pragmatic decisions for velocity and scale

Organizational Leadership
Design and grow the engineering org from early stage through intentional growth

Hire and manage top-tier engineering talent across protocol and app

Develop a culture of ownership, quality, and high performance

Execution and Delivery
Ensure consistent, high-velocity delivery of complex projects

Oversee technical roadmap execution with a focus on resilience, speed and quality

Build and enforce strong QA and testing practices

Technical Leadership
Provide architectural direction, particularly on protocol and backend infrastructure

Guide trade-off discussions, balancing short-term needs with long-term maintainability

Be the voice of engineering in product and company strategy conversations

Communication and Collaboration
Act as the primary liaison between engineering and executive leadership

Communicate priorities, progress, and blockers with clarity and transparency

Foster cross-functional collaboration across Product, Design, Protocol, and Ops

What We’re Looking For

Minimum of 10+ years of engineering experience, including 5+ years leading and scaling high-performing teams

Experience building and growing an engineering org from early stage to 50+ people

Deep understanding of technical trade-offs, protocol design, and system architecture

Strong preference for leaders with experience in developer infrastructure, developer tools, or protocols (e.g., Cloudflare, Datadog, GitHub, Vercel, Buf, etc.)

Comfortable overseeing both protocol-level complexity and consumer app execution

Proven track record of shipping production-grade software in complex environments

Skilled at creating clarity from ambiguity and driving execution across teams

High EQ leadership

Nice-to-Haves

Experience with secure messaging, cryptography, or open-source protocol development

Contributions to open-source developer platforms or infrastructure

Background as a founder or early technical leader in a fast-growing startup

Familiarity with React Native, Swift, Go, Rust, or Kotlin

Why This Role Matters

You’ll be responsible for architecting how our entire engineering function operates - from how we hire and onboard, to how we plan and execute.
You’ll work on technologies that touch millions of users and help define what privacy and interoperability look like in the next era of communication. Your leadership will shape the standards others adopt and the team culture that drives us forward.
You Might Be a Fit If...

You’ve led protocol, infrastructure, or developer tool teams through growth and change

You care deeply about high-quality engineering practices and user trust

You understand how to structure teams for speed and scale

You can operate in ambiguity and make confident, high-leverage decisions

You’re passionate about privacy, open systems, and durable architecture

Compensation & Benefits

Base Salary : $280–300K USD

Equity : Competitive ownership in a high-conviction, early-stage company

Benefits :
Fully paid Medical, Dental, and Vision

Parental Leave

Monthly wellness + life

IT equipment + WFH setup

Personal assistant support

Unlimited time off

Remote-first team, with semi-annual IRL gatherings

Our Stack

React Native, Swift, Kotlin

Typescript, Go, Rust

XMTP Protocol

Onchain identity + wallet-based auth

Secure messaging, E2E encryption

Apply Now:

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