Head of Engineering

Summary

Join Observador, a leading Portuguese digital newspaper, as their new Head of Engineering. Lead a team of 7 developers in a crucial growth and innovation phase, reporting directly to the CTIO. Translate strategic vision into operational reality, creating scalable processes, managing internal stakeholders, and maintaining technical excellence. Manage the team, product roadmap, processes and operations, and engage in stakeholder management and technical contributions. The ideal candidate possesses extensive software development and leadership experience, strong technical skills, and excellent communication abilities. Observador offers a competitive salary, flexible hours, remote work options, health insurance, and other standard benefits.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in software development
• 3+ years in technical leadership positions with teams of 5+ people
• Solid experience in web development (preferably: Go, PHP, JavaScript, React)
• Knowledge of cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP) and DevOps
• Proven track record in delivering complex projects
• Experience in stakeholder management and cross-functional communication
• Ability to create and implement effective processes
• Experience in scaling technical teams
• Skills in hiring and people management
• Excellent communication in Portuguese (written and oral)
• Ability to work in a fast-paced and startup environment
• Strategic thinking combined with pragmatic execution
• Adaptability and resilience in changing contexts
• Inspirational and empathetic leadership

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of 7 developers (1:1s, performance reviews, career development)
• Recruit and onboard new technical talent
• Create a culture of feedback and continuous improvement
• Define individual and team objectives aligned with the strategy
• Translate business objectives into technical milestones and deliverables
• Manage and prioritize the technical backlog
• Sprint planning and delivery management
• Coordinate with Editorial, Commercial, Growth, Data, SEO, and Design departments
• Implement and improve development processes (CI/CD, code review, testing)
• Technical and procedural documentation in articulation with Staff Engineer
• Management of technical debt and infrastructure in articulation with Staff Engineer
• Implement and improve Monitoring, alerting and incident response
• Regular communication with CTIO on progress and blockers
• Status reporting to the leadership team
• Managing expectations with internal stakeholders
• Close collaboration with the Staff Engineer in architectural decisions
• Hands-on participation in critical projects (30-40% of the time)
• Evaluation of new technologies and tools
• Special contribution to AI and machine learning projects

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in media, publishing or content management
• Knowledge of subscription business models
• Background in AI/ML or data science
• Experience with distributed teams
• Passion for journalism and media innovation

Benefits

• Competitive salary according to experience
• Flexibility of hours and remote work
• Health insurance and other standard benefits
• Budget for training and conferences
• Mentoring directly from the CTIO (international media consultant)
• Opportunity to build a track record in AI transformation