Remote Director of Engineering

The Opportunity Buildout is hiring a Director of Engineering to lead the performance and execution of our engineering organization. You’ll manage a team of engineers and technical leads, creating the clarity, accountability, and support they need to do their best work. You will own the people and operating systems behind a healthy engineering organization, from coaching and performance management to staffing, planning, delivery, and cross-functional partnership. You’ll help the team thoughtfully adopt AI-assisted development practices that improve developer productivity, software quality, and delivery speed. This role is an important partner to our SVP of Engineering. While the SVP of Engineering remains focused on technology strategy, architecture, and long-term direction, you will turn that direction into an effective, predictable, and high-performing engineering operation. What You'll Own Engineering Leadership & Talent Lead the day-to-day performance and development of our engineering organization, making sure every engineer knows what good looks like, where they stand, and how they can grow. Manage and coach engineers and technical leads, giving them the context and support to make good decisions without needing you in the middle of every one. Recognize and grow strong performers, develop future technical leaders, and address performance concerns directly and early. Own engineering hiring and onboarding, building the talent and team structure we need to meet the needs of the business. Create clear accountability for engineering delivery across teams, with enough structure to make execution predictable without slowing people down. Maintain a clear view of capacity, commitments, dependencies, and risk so problems surface early and leadership isn't surprised. Step into cross-team dependencies, competing priorities, and delivery challenges when teams need help getting unstuck. Use AI as a force multiplier for the engineering organization, setting clear expectations for adoption and turning what works into repeatable practices across coding, testing, documentation, automation, and the broader development lifecycle. Drive measurable improvements in developer productivity and team effectiveness while maintaining strong standards for software quality and responsible AI use. Product & Business Partnership Serve as Product's primary partner for engineering execution, bringing a clear view of capacity, feasibility, risk, and tradeoffs into roadmap and prioritization decisions. Help turn product priorities into realistic engineering commitments—and make the tradeoffs clear when everything can't be a priority. Communicate risks early and honestly, bringing problems forward with enough context to make good decisions. Understand team structures, responsibilities, delivery processes, and technical ownership. Observe planning, delivery, and cross-functional interactions before making major changes. Understand individual career goals, concerns, and performance histories. Establish visibility into delivery risks, team health, and organizational capacity. Identify Organizational Improvements Recommend targeted improvements to execution, planning, staffing, or team structure. Improve Organizational Execution Delivery risks are identified and addressed proactively. Product views the Director as the primary engineering execution partner. Engineers receive consistent coaching, feedback, and career development. Reduce SVP of Engineering Operational Involvement Personnel issues are handled without SVP of Engineering intervention. The SVP of Engineering is spending significantly less time on organizational and operational concerns. Build a High-Performing Engineering Organization Engineering delivery is predictable and transparent. Performance management is consistent and effective. Enable the SVP of Engineering Role The SVP of Engineering focuses primarily on technology strategy, architecture, executive leadership, and long-term planning. The Director serves as the trusted operational leader of the engineering organization. Engineering and Product leadership operate as effective partners. The organization scales successfully without increasing executive involvement in day-to-day operations. You see AI as a force multiplier and know how to turn it from a tool into a meaningful part of how an engineering team builds, solves problems, and delivers. You ask the right questions, give direct feedback, and help people build the judgment to solve the next problem themselves. You are comfortable addressing missed commitments, performance concerns, and difficult tradeoffs. You raise it early and help the right people act before it becomes an emergency. You translate between Product and Engineering. You can hear an ambitious product goal and identify the engineering choices beneath it. You help both sides understand capacity, risk, and tradeoffs. Experience with performance management, hiring, and career development. Enough technical depth to understand engineering tradeoffs and earn the trust of experienced developers, without needing to be the primary architect. Demonstrated success improving organizational effectiveness while maintaining a strong engineering culture. Location: This is a fully remote role open across most of the US. Compensation: The targeted compensation range for this position is $160,000 - $180,000 plus bonus. Reporting To: Alan Spadoni, our SVP, Engineering Impactful insurance and benefit options, including 2 medical plans to choose from, 100% coverage of employee dental and vision insurance premiums, HSA seed, company-paid STD, LTD, life insurance, and telemedicine, and a wellness benefit of $400/year. Policies that support a healthy work/life harmony, including Flexible PTO, 14 paid company holidays, paid parental leave, and give back days 401(k) with 4% company match and immediate vesting A fully remote work culture with a monthly remote work reimbursement ($600/year) to support our distributed team and an annual, in-person company kickoff We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. For more information about our privacy practices please visit our Privacy Policy. By submitting your application, California residents consent to Buildout processing your personal information for the purpose of assessing your candidacy for this position in accordance of our Privacy Notice for Prospective California Employees.