Head of Engineering (Data & SWE)

THE MISSION: BUILD THE MACHINE THAT BUILDS THE PRODUCT At Hilbert’s AI, we shorten "months" to "minutes." We build the AI Growth Engine that Fortune 500 enterprises and iconic B2C brands use to navigate their revenue drivers in real-time. We are at an inflection point. We are scaling from a "fast-response" early-stage team to a multi-department engineering organization (Data & Software Engineering as your department) of 20+ people across San Francisco and Istanbul. We are looking for an Engineering Leader to own the technical heart of Hilbert. You will lead the infrastructure and software that powers our engine, working in parallel with our AI/ML department to turn predictive models into production-grade enterprise outcomes. THE HARD PROBLEMS: SCALE, SYSTEMS, AND THE "HUMAN INTERFACE" This role will deliver more than managing people; it’s about architecting an organization. You are the bridge between raw data, agentic AI, and the customer experience. OUR CURRENT HURDLES: - Multi-Deployment Architecture: Build once and ship consistently across our Cloud SaaS (ClickHouse), enterprise on-prem deployments, and warehouse-native zero-extract model, ensuring a unified experience for engineering and forward-deployed data teams. - The Distributed Engine: Our team is split between SF and Istanbul (an 11-hour gap). You need to build a high-sync culture that thrives despite the distance, ensuring speed doesn't sacrifice quality. - Building the Roadmap from Scratch: We are in the process of hiring our first Product Managers and Customer Success teams. You will define the "working ways" between Engineering and these new functions, moving us from "reactive features" to a "strategic roadmap." - The Hiring Sprint: You are responsible for growing a talent-dense team to 20+ members by year-end. This requires a leader who treats recruitment as a core engineering discipline. WHO YOU ARE (THE PROFILE) - The Systems Thinker: You have a deep conceptual grasp of the entire stack: from K8s and Secret Management to ClickHouse optimization. You can debate architecture tradeoffs with a senior engineer and then explain the business impact to a non-technical founder. - The Talent Scout: You have a "nose" for high-agency talent. You will be the primary engine for hiring, vetting, and retaining the top 1% of engineers. - The Customer-Centric Engineer: You understand that "Enterprise Ready" isn't just a checkbox; it's a relationship. You can earn technical trust with a Fortune 100 CTO in minutes. - The Organizational Architect: You’ve seen the "messy middle" of scaling a team from 5 to 20+. You know how to build a culture of high ownership, intellectual honesty, and speed. WHAT YOU’LL OWN - Departmental Leadership: Own the strategy and execution for the Data (Forward Deployed) & Software teams. - Cross-Departmental Sync: Act as the primary partner to the AI/ML department, ensuring the data infrastructure and software portals you build are perfectly aligned with our agentic AI outputs. - The Product/CS Triangle: Design and implement the communication loops between Engineering, Product Management, and Customer Success. You will lead the "First 90 Days" of our PM and CS integration. - Hiring & Mentorship: Lead the recruitment drive to double the engineering org. Mentor current leads into world-class managers. - Compliance & Security: Act as the final authority on SOC2 compliance, security posture, and infrastructure strategy. BONUS POINTS - Founder DNA: You’ve built a startup from 0 to 1 or led a department at a high-growth AI/Data company. - Distributed Team Mastery: Proven track record of managing high-performance teams across significant timezone gaps (e.g., US/Europe/MENA). - Hybrid Model Expertise: Experience managing both high-touch Enterprise custom development and high-velocity SaaS product cycles. LOCATION San Francisco, with occasional travel for team meets, off-sites or customer engagements. COMPENSATION Competitive salary + equity package, commensurat