At Poka, we’re transforming how frontline teams operate, learn, and solve problems.

Our connected worker platform is purpose-built for manufacturing, empowering frontline workers to share knowledge, collaborate in real-time, and drive continuous improvement. Think of it as the missing digital link, bringing the human interface into the stack of the Smart Factory, generating the right data and insights that drive entirely new scales of process improvements.

We’re proud to support global leaders like Nestlé, Bosch, Mars, and Danone in their digital transformation journeys and as part of the IFS family, our reach and impact continue to grow globally.

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Director of Engineering (Product Engineering)

About the role

We are looking for a Director of Engineering (Product Engineering) to lead and scale our product engineering organization.

You will oversee approximately 8 to 10 feature squads and lead a team of Engineering Managers. Your mission is to design and continuously improve the engineering system that enables our teams to deliver high-impact product outcomes, predictably, sustainably, and at high quality.

This role focuses on product engineering. Platform engineering (infrastructure, security, reliability) sits outside of this scope, but you will collaborate closely with architecture and platform leadership to ensure long-term system coherence.

This is a senior leadership role requiring 10+ years of engineering management experience, including experience managing managers.

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What you will do

Build and evolve a high-performing product engineering organization

• Lead and develop Engineering Managers

• Build a strong leadership bench and succession pipeline

• Set clear expectations around delivery accountability and people leadership

• Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement

You scale through leaders, not through direct squad intervention.

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Own delivery predictability at the organizational level

• Ensure quarterly commitments across squads are realistic and aligned with capacity

• Identify and address systemic risks that impact multiple teams

• Improve visibility and transparency of delivery health

• Balance ambition, sustainability, and quality

• You are accountable for the performance of the system, not individual features.

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Design the engineering operating model for velocity

• Continuously improve how squads plan, execute, and collaborate

• Remove friction that slows developers down

• Clarify roles and responsibilities between Engineering Managers, Team Leads, Architecture, and Product

• Standardize where it increases clarity and flow, without adding unnecessary process

• Drive responsible and impactful adoption of AI to increase productivity and code quality

• Your goal is simple: maximize impact per unit of engineering effort.

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Protect long-term code sustainability

• Ensure strong maintainability practices across squads

• Prevent unnecessary duplication of logic, components, and services

• Promote reuse and coherent patterns

• Partner with Architecture to manage technical debt strategically

• Balance short-term delivery pressure with long-term system health

• You help teams move fast without breaking the future.

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Partner deeply with Product and Design

• Align engineering investment with product strategy and business objectives

• Bring a strong product mindset to roadmap discussions

• Challenge low-impact initiatives when necessary

• Help engineering teams understand and connect to customer outcomes

• You care about what we build and why we build it.

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Collaborate with Architecture and Platform leadership

• Ensure architectural guardrails are clear and efficient

• Prevent architectural review from becoming a bottleneck

• Maintain system coherence as we scale

• Escalate structural friction early and constructively

• You ensure autonomy and alignment coexist.

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What we’re looking for

• 10+ years of experience in engineering leadership roles

• 5+ years of experience managing managers or multiple teams

• Experience scaling product engineering organizations in a SaaS environment

• Strong track record of improving delivery predictability and execution quality

• Deep systems-thinking capability

• Experience driving organizational change and operational improvements

• Strong understanding of maintainability, technical debt, and scalable architecture principles

• Product mindset and business awareness

• Excellent communication skills at both technical and executive levels

• Experience leveraging AI-enabled development practices is a strong asset

Why this role matters: As we grow, complexity increases, with more squads, more dependencies, and more surface area. This role is critical to ensuring that we scale intelligently while maintaining velocity, quality, and alignment without adding unnecessary friction.

Want to learn more about our culture? Click HERE.

Please note: An understanding of English is essential at Poka, as it is the language used during company-wide meetings and many internal communications, ensuring effective collaboration and decision-making. In addition, as Poka operates in an international environment, English is the primary language for communicating with our clients and partners, enabling us to better serve them and represent Poka in a professional manner.