Head of Engineering

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CAT Labs is a fast-paced technology startup specializing in building digital asset recovery and cyber defense tools for government and private sector to fight crypto crime. We develop cutting-edge encryption technology for crypto key management to prevent digital asset theft. Our digital asset recovery tools help law enforcement and intelligence to address the pervasive and rapidly growing illicit use of cryptocurrency by transnational criminal organizations, terrorists, drug cartels, and malicious nation-states, which poses a significant threat to our nation’s safety and security.

The CAT Labs team is the “Special Forces” protectors of the crypto industry with unparalleled blockchain security experts, cryptographers, former U.S. Department of Defense computer scientists, ethical hackers, and U.S. Department of Justice investigators, who spent the past decade taking down some of the most prolific crypto criminals.

CAT Labs' flagship software tool Recovery CAT automates and scales the process of discovery and recovery of digital assets from digital data collected in the context of criminal investigations, intelligence collection, and civil case litigation where asset recovery is at stake, such as bankruptcy, restructuring, estate disputes, and divorce law.

CAT Labs seeks a highly technical and visionary Head of Engineering to lead and mentor our growing engineering team. This person will provide hands-on technical leadership while working closely with the CEO to align product direction with technical execution. The role is critical in scaling the team, optimizing engineering output, and ensuring a balance between meeting deadlines and maintaining code quality.

Join us at a pivotal moment in our growth as we scale our technical capabilities and expand our team. The Head of Engineering will have the unique opportunity to shape the future of our tech organization, mentor a highly talented team, and collaborate with leadership to deliver a world-class product.

As Head of Engineering, you will:

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to the engineering team and ensure coding best practices Collaborate with the founder/CEO on product direction and provide regular status updates on deliverables.
• Drive technical output by making critical architecture decisions, conducting code reviews, and unblocking engineers when necessary.
• Own quality and reliability across our products and tech stack.
• Manage and scale the engineering team from its current size to at least 20 engineers, ensuring it operates productively and efficiently.
• Balance trade-offs between product timelines and technical debt, making informed decisions on quality and deadlines.
• Create a technical roadmap (3-9 months) that includes refactoring and infrastructure improvements to stay ahead of the product curve.
• Establish sustainable engineering processes that promote long-term growth without major organizational overhauls.
• Manage coach and mentor individual contributors and have weekly 1:1 meetings.
• Foster a collaborative engineering environment to align product goals with technical execution while safeguarding the integrity of the codebase.

What you bring to the role:

• Proven experience leading and scaling engineering teams at an early-stage startup.
• A test-driven development methodology to ensure the quality and reliability of all CAT Labs products.
• Strong technical background with the ability to dive deep into code, review architecture, prototype solutions, and write code if necessary.
• Ability to estimate effort and provide accurate timelines without constant input from the tech team.
• Skilled in managing tech debt while delivering new features and functionality on aggressive schedules.
• Experience managing and developing engineering managers and senior engineers.
• Ability to articulate a clear technology vision and align the team towards shared goals.
• Comfortable working in a dynamic environment, with an ability to manage timeline /quality tradeoffs in collaboration with product teams.

You have a reputation for:

• Experience working seamlessly with product teams to establish a balance between feature development and maintaining codebase integrity.
• Ability to develop a scalable engineering organization that can grow without major retrofitting.
• Leadership capabilities to maintain team productivity while keeping schedules aggressive yet realistic.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience with scaling a startup engineering team through Series A funding.
• Deep understanding of technical strategy and hands-on experience with architectural decisions.
• Ability to adapt to changing business needs and guide the engineering team through growth phases.

$200,000 - $240,000 a year

We believe in taking care of our employees, with a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, dental, and vision insurance, a generous 401(k) match, and unlimited vacation time to recharge and explore your passions.

At CAT Labs, we believe in the power of diverse perspectives and are dedicated to building an inclusive and equitable workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. We actively seek candidates from all backgrounds and encourage you to apply regardless of whether you meet all the qualifications listed. We understand that different experiences and skill sets can contribute significantly to our team's success.

CAT Labs is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate bas ed o n race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic.