Director of Engineering (m/f/d)

About the Job

As a key growth accelerator, A11 partners with Europe’s most ambitious startups and scaleups, corporates and SMBs to connect them with top-tier talent ready to make an impact.

We’re looking for an exceptional Engineering Director (m/f/d) to join and lead the engineering department at one of our ecosystem companies.

As Director of Engineering, you’ll lead the technical organization through its next phase of growth, owning architecture, processes, engineering excellence, and delivery across multiple markets - while scaling the team from 30 to 60+ engineers.

Join the A11 Ecosystem – Our Ecosystem company is a fast-growing legal tech company building AI software that helps law firms research, analyse and draft legal work faster and more reliably, with verifiable sources at its core.

In this role, you’ll:

• Lead the engineering organization, balancing product velocity with platform stability and technical debt
• Own the technical strategy and roadmap in close alignment with the Co-Founder and CTO
• Scale the engineering organization, establishing team structures and processes while building a culture where people thrive
• Champion engineering excellence across code quality, testing, incident response, and deployment reliability
• Architect scalable systems to enable our next phase of growth and expansion across Italy, Germany, Spain, and beyond
• Partner closely with product and design to deliver features that drive customer value and retention

Your Profile: 

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering in high-growth startups, ideally in legal tech, fintech, or other highly regulated industries
• 5+ years of experience leading and scaling (3–5x) high-performing engineering teams, ideally from Series A/B to scale-up stage
• Outstanding technical expertise in backend (Python), cloud infrastructure, and data platforms, ideally combined with frontend experience (React)
• Strong hands-on experience with AI/ML systems, including LLM orchestration and RAG architectures
• Clear perspective on how to leverage AI tools (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot) in modern software development organizations
• Strong product mindset with a proven ability to translate business goals into engineering strategy
• Excellent communication skills in Italian and English (both fluent)

Please note that this position is based in Milan. Hybrid setups are possible, provided frequent travel is possible.

Benefits and Perks:

• Competitive annual salary range with significant equity participation
• Comprehensive health insurance coverage
• Work in a well-funded legal AI tech company with an ambitious, smart and international team
• Real impact and the opportunity to reshape not only a company, but an entire industry
• Regular team retreats and off-sites
• Hybrid work setting with regular time in our Milan office

If you’re eager to join the A11 Ecosystem and shape what’s next, we want to hear from you!

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

A11 is committed to diverse and equal opportunities hiring for all – applicants, candidates, and employees alike. We value humans – with all our glorious multifaceted backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences – and look forward to your application.