Head of Product Engineering
Head of Product Engineering: AI-First Builder Driving Product & Engineering Innovation
Workplace Type: Remote anywhere in the USA or Hybrid in Arlington, VA.
Work Auth requirement: US Citizen or Green Card holder
Comp: $200k-$250k + 20% bonus + excellent benefits
Vocator has been retained by a high-growth, venture-backed company to hire a Head of Product Engineering to partner directly with the CTO and operate at the intersection of product, engineering, and AI-enabled development.
This is not a traditional Director of Engineering role.
We’re looking for a builder/operator - someone who can take high-level ideas, work through ambiguity, and turn them into real, shipped products, while also building systems that accelerate engineering velocity through AI and automation.
The Opportunity
Our client is at a pivotal inflection point, evolving how product and engineering work together in an AI-first environment.
This role will act as a force multiplier across the organization - helping define what gets built, how it gets built, and how quickly teams can execute.
You’ll split your time between:
- Hands-on technical work (prototyping, architecture, automation)
- Guiding engineering direction, tooling, and systems at scale
What You’ll Do
- Turn high-level ideas into working prototypes and clear execution paths
- Operate across product and engineering, bridging business needs with technical solutions
- Design and implement AI-assisted development workflows (coding, PRs, DevOps, security)
- Build systems and automation that increase team velocity and output
- Help teams prioritize effectively and move quickly without unnecessary overhead
- Stay hands-on through prototyping, architecture, and solving critical technical challenges
- Shape product direction by turning ambiguous ideas into scalable solutions
- Provide technical leadership and elevate engineering standards across teams
- Help lay the foundation for future product + engineering leadership hires
What We’re Looking For
- Builder mindset (0→1 experience) - you’ve taken products from concept to production in fast-moving environments
- Strong product intuition - you can define what should be built, not just how
- Deep technical expertise - comfortable prototyping, architecting, and diving into code (TypeScript/React and/or Python preferred)
- AI-forward mindset - experience leveraging AI tools to improve development workflows and/or build AI-powered features
- Systems thinker - you focus on leverage (automation, tooling, scalability)
- Comfortable operating in ambiguity without detailed specs
- Strong execution skills - you move fast and prioritize impact
- Clear communicator with strong ownership and leadership presence
Preferred Background
- Founding Engineer, early-stage startup leader, or product-minded engineering lead
- Experience building AI-enabled systems, workflows, or product features
- Experience rapidly prototyping and iterating on new ideas
- Familiarity with cloud-native environments (AWS, Terraform, CI/CD)
- Experience working with distributed teams and/or external partners
The Team & Environment
You’ll partner closely with the CTO and work across a growing engineering organization (~15 engineers today, scaling to ~20+), helping evolve both the product and the way it’s built.
This is a high-impact, high-autonomy role for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments and wants to shape both product and engineering outcomes.
Why This Role
This role sits at the center of how the company builds and scales technology.
You won’t just influence what gets built - you’ll fundamentally improve how it gets built, leveraging AI and automation to unlock speed, quality, and scale.