VP of Engineering

At Wave Talent, we don't want to consume any more of your time trying to decipher job descriptions to identify the information you need. Instead, we spoke with you all to understand the key information you'd like to know about a job position before you enter the process.

Hopefully, you'll find this listed below and if the job role sounds like it could be up your street; we'd love to arrange a chat to give you more info.

We've partnered with a fast-moving, AI-native SaaS startup that's building a category-defining platform for technical teams. They've recently rebuilt their product from the ground up, secured seed funding from a leading European VC, and are now rolling out to their first enterprise users, where real usage is shaping the roadmap. The business is ready to bring in a VP of Engineering to lead delivery, scale the team, and set a new bar for engineering excellence.

Here's everything you need to know:

Salary and equity: £160,000 – £180,000 + 2-3% equity

Industry / Type of business: AI-native SaaS platform focused on multi-agent systems, specification tooling, and dev-productivity innovation.

Work location: Hybrid - 2 days per week in their Central London office.

Interview process: Screening & AI-native workflow deep-dive → Technical workshop (live coding + system design) → Product/vision alignment → Team fit & references.

Reporting to: Founder/CEO (former CTO)

Company size: Early-stage team of engineers (3), growing rapidly over the next 12-18 months.

Working on: Leading engineering delivery while remaining 50-60% hands-on initially; shaping architecture, velocity, and culture; driving the evolution of an AI-enabled development platform used by PMs and engineers to collaborate in a world of automated workflows.

We'd love to chat with you about this position if:

You've scaled engineering teams in early-stage startup environments (Seed → Series A/B).

You've recently been hands-on, with strong full-stack capability across React, TypeScript, Python, SQL, and experience shipping AI-native systems (multi-agent workflows, LLM tooling, evals, etc.).

You know how to set technical standards while leading through influence, not micromanagement.

You have real AI-native development habits (Claude, Copilot, agent-driven workflows) and can model high-velocity coding practices.

You communicate clearly, operate autonomously, and thrive in ambiguity.

You're comfortable with a hybrid environment and flexible hours, including occasional evening collaboration sessions.

Based on the client's criteria, any of the following would make you a top applicant for this role:

Experience leading engineering at a high-growth startup from Pre-seed to Series A/B

Strong background in AI-native or dev-productivity platforms

Exposure to multi-agent architectures, async job systems, or on-prem enterprise deployments

A relevant STEM degree (CS/Maths/Engineering/Physics)

Experience defining engineering culture in an early team, especially where clarity, pace, and product intuition matter

Due to a high number of applicants across our platforms, and the criteria specifically outlined by our client, only candidates who have recent experience in a leadership role within a start-up environment (10-50 employees, Pre-seed to Series-B) can be considered.

Unfortunately, sponsorship is not available for this role.