VP, Head of Engineering

About the role

We are seeking a Vice President of Engineering with a proven track record of building and scaling engineering teams. The ideal candidate will lead the engineering organization from a small team to a larger one, ensuring the team maintains high quality while moving quickly. This role requires a deep understanding of distributed systems, API design, cloud architecture, and the operational realities of running production AI systems at scale.

What You'll Own

• Engineering organization design and growth — build a world-class team from :10 to 50+ engineers, including hiring for Staff, Senior, and mid-level roles across platform, AI, and frontend

• Technical vision and architecture — partner with Bruce Kim to define the platform strategy, drive architectural decisions, and ensure our systems scale with our ambitions

• Engineering velocity and quality — establish the processes, tooling, and culture that let teams ship fast without accruing technical debt that kills momentum

• Cross-functional leadership — serve as the engineering voice in product, design, and executive conversations; translate business priorities into engineering roadmaps and vice versa

• Agentic AI and conversational AI platform — own the evolution of the platform layer that powers our real-time AI products, including LLM orchestration, retrieval systems, and integration infrastructure

• AI-native engineering culture — embed AI development tools (Claude Code, Cursor) as standard practice, and build a team fluent in building on top of frontier AI models

• Recruiting and talent brand — make interface.ai the place top SF engineers want to work; own the technical interview process, the offer strategy, and the employer brand in the market

• Eng/Ops excellence — drive incident response, observability, reliability targets, and the engineering rituals (planning, retrospectives, tech reviews) that keep a fast-moving team aligned

What We're Looking For

• 10+ years of software engineering, with the last 4–6 in engineering leadership roles at high-growth startups or scale-ups
• Proven track record of building and scaling engineering teams — you've grown a team through a funding transition and have the org design scars and wins to show for it
• Deep technical credibility — you can hold your own in a system design conversation with a Staff Engineer, review a PR meaningfully, and debate architectural trade-offs without deferring to someone else's opinion
• Hands-on platform engineering background — you understand distributed systems, API design, cloud architecture, and the operational realities of running production AI systems at scale
• AI engineering fluency — you know how LLMs work, how to build reliable systems on top of them, and what "agentic AI" means at the infrastructure level, not just the product level
• Experience with TypeScript, Python, or both at a production scale; comfort across the backend/frontend divide
• Exceptional people leadership — engineers want to work for you, not just with you; you develop talent, resolve conflict cleanly, and make hard calls without drama
• Strong product intuition — you understand why decisions get made, not just what was decided; you can push back on the roadmap and propose better paths without losing the relationship
• BS/BA in Computer Science required; MS or PhD in CS, AI, or related field is a strong plus

Bonus Points

• Domain experience in conversational AI, voice AI, or agentic systems at production scale
• Background in fintech, banking, or regulated financial services
• Experience as a VP or Director of Engineering at a company that went from Series A to Series C+
• Track record of building high-performing engineering teams (US + international)
• Published writing, conference talks, or open-source contributions in AI systems, platform engineering, or engineering leadership

Why Interface.ai

• Series A $30M raised
• Cash-flow positive — we're not burning cash hoping the product works. It works.
• Clients are live, revenue is real, and the mission — bringing intelligent financial services to everyday Americans — is one you can explain to your family without a slide deck
• You'll work directly with Bruce Kim (Co-Founder) and Srinivas Njay (CEO) — founders who understand engineering deeply and give their VP the authority and trust to actually run the function
• We offer top-of-market base, significant early-stage equity, comprehensive benefits, and a modern SF office that's worth showing up to
• The team we're building is small enough that your judgment shapes everything
• The market we're in is large enough that what you build will matter for a long time

Benefits

• 100% paid health, dental & vision care
• 401(k) & financial wellness perks
• Discretionary PTO + paid parental leave
• Mental health, wellness & family benefits
• S🚀 A mission-driven team shaping the future of banking

Compensation Range

$400K - $500K