Head of Engineering

Our client is an AI-powered collaborative workspace designed for biopharma's commercial and clinical teams. They are tackling a critical problem in the biopharma industry: the heavily manual process of gaining insights from fragmented data. Their platform automatically gathers company research, user context, and other biopharma data to deliver comprehensive insights in a fraction of the time. Founded in 2024, our client is a small but rapidly expanding team of 8, backed by $5.5M in funding. The co-founders bring a wealth of experience, including expertise in enterprise pharma sales and building 0-to-1 products at both pre-seed and unicorn startups. Our client is seeking a Head of Engineering to join their founding executive team. This is a pivotal leadership role where you will set the technical vision, drive the product roadmap, and build an elite engineering culture from the ground up. You'll be instrumental in shaping the future of their AI-powered workspace and will have a direct impact on how biopharma companies gain critical insights. You will be responsible for: Defining Vision & Strategy: Setting the product and technical vision for their AI-powered workspace. Technical Leadership: Continuously scanning emerging AI research (LLMs, RAG, agentic AI, vector DBs) to implement cutting-edge techniques and align resources for prioritization and execution. Cross-functional Alignment: Acting as the "cross-functional glue" to align engineering, product, and business goals. Execution & Excellence: Leading execution, writing and reviewing code across the stack (React, TypeScript, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Python), and driving rapid prototyping. Infrastructure Ownership: Owning their cloud-native infrastructure, including Kubernetes/EKS, ECS, SQS, VPC networking, and Tailscale. Team Building: Attracting, onboarding, and mentoring A+ engineering talent, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. Representation: Engaging with customers, partners, and investors, and evangelizing the company's mission and AI approach at industry events. Requirements We are seeking an experienced engineering leader with a strong technical background and proven success in managing early-stage teams. You should be a hands-on leader who is passionate about building rapid prototypes and ensuring top-notch performance and scalability. Must-Haves: 6–15 years of experience as an engineering leader. A strong technical background with proven experience managing an early-stage team. Expertise in their tech stack: React, TypeScript, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Python. Deep understanding and practical experience with LLMs, RAG systems, multi-step agents, and vector databases. Experience with cloud-native infrastructure, including Kubernetes/EKS, ECS, SQS, and VPC networking. A "gold standard" for code quality and engineering excellence. Proven ability to recruit and mentor high-performing engineers. Willingness to work in-person, 5 days a week, in NYC (Flatiron). Bonus Points: Experience in the biopharma or healthcare industry. Prior experience building 0-to-1 products. Benefits Salary: $200,000–$250,000 Equity: 0.5%–5% Visa Sponsorship: H1B transfer and TN sponsorships are available Due to the high volume of applications we anticipate, we regret that we are unable to provide individual feedback to all candidates. If you do not hear back from us within 4 weeks of your application, please assume that you have not been successful on this occasion. We genuinely appreciate your interest and wish you the best in your job search. Commitment to Equality and Accessibility: At MLabs, we are committed to offer equal opportunities to all candidates. We ensure no discrimination, accessible job adverts, and providing information in accessible formats. Our goal is to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace with equal opportunities for all. If you need any reasonable adjustments during any part of the hiring process or you would like to see the job-advert in an accessible format please let us know at the earliest opportunity by emailing human-resources@mlabs.city. MLabs Ltd collects and processes the personal information you provide such as your contact details, work history, resume, and other relevant data for recruitment purposes only. This information is managed securely in accordance with MLabs Ltd’s Privacy Policy and Information Security Policy, and in compliance with applicable data protection laws. Your data may be shared only with clients and trusted partners where necessary for recruitment purposes. You may request the deletion of your data or withdraw your consent at any time by contacting legal@mlabs.city.