Guidebook is looking for a Director of Software Engineering to lead their team of 10-12 engineers, drive team velocity, deliver customer value, and be at the forefront of adopting AI tools and modern engineering practices to accelerate growth.
Requirements
- Fluency in ReactJS and Python.
- Hands-on experience with AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude Code).
Responsibilities
- Lead and Mentor: Manage the engineering team with a focus on performance and output. Mentor engineers, foster a culture of ownership and accountability, and guide the team through technical challenges.
- Drive Velocity: Implement and refine processes to increase engineering velocity and throughput. Champion the adoption of AI-assisted development tools and other modern technologies to boost efficiency.
- Player-Coach: Remain hands-on with the codebase (ReactJS, Python) to guide architectural decisions and lead by example, dedicating approximately 10-20% of your time to direct contribution as needed.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Use metrics like cycle time, uptime, and delivery ratios to identify areas for improvement and make informed decisions, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, not blame.
- Deliver a Quick Win: Identify and implement at least one technical or process improvement that demonstrates a "progress over perfection" mindset.
- Get Hands-On: Begin contributing to the codebase to model the player-coach approach and gain a deep understanding of our technology.
- Pilot New Tools: Launch a pilot of AI-assisted development tools with the team, tracking adoption and productivity outcomes.
Other
- 5+ years experience as a senior/staff software engineer
- History of leading technical projects, mentoring junior engineers, and being a go-to technical leader on a team.
- Experience in teams responsible for KPIs like cycle time, uptime, and/or delivery ratios.
- Ability to articulate how engineering work directly impacts business metrics.
- Experience working in a cross-functional team environment.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills.
- Experience managing a team of 8-12 engineers.
- A natural change agent who is not a defender of the status quo.
- Experience being a strong partner to product managers and designers.
- Resilient and optimistic, with the ability to see ambiguity as an opportunity and motivate a team through uncertainty.
