What is a Director of Engineering?
A Director of Engineering manages a group of engineering teams — typically 2–4 teams with their own engineering managers. They're a management-of-managers role focused on delivery, team health, and cross-team coordination within a product domain or technology layer. Directors of Engineering bridge the gap between individual team execution (handled by EMs) and organizational strategy (owned by the VP of Engineering or CTO).
At what stage should you hire a Director of Engineering?
Series B through Series D, when the engineering organization has grown to 20–40+ engineers and EMs need a management layer above them. Typically hired when the VP of Engineering's span of control is too wide, or when a major product area (platform, core product, data) needs dedicated senior engineering leadership.
Common titles for this role
- Director of Engineering
- Senior Director of Engineering
- Engineering Director
- Head of Engineering (product area)
What does a Director of Engineering do at a startup?
- Manage 2–4 engineering managers and provide leadership and development
- Own engineering delivery for a product area or technology domain
- Partner with product directors on roadmap prioritization and resourcing
- Drive hiring within their org: sourcing, interviewing, leveling, and offers
- Resolve cross-team technical and organizational dependencies
- Represent their teams in engineering leadership discussions
- Maintain engineering standards and drive technical quality across teams
Key skills and qualifications
- 8–15 years of engineering experience, with 3+ years managing engineering managers
- Deep technical credibility — can engage substantively in architecture discussions
- Track record of delivering complex cross-team projects on schedule
- Strong hiring instincts: has built high-quality engineering teams
- Excellent cross-functional partnership with product and design leadership
- Data-driven approach to team health and engineering metrics
Why hire your Director of Engineering through RFS?
- Engineering director searches require finding both technical depth and management-of-managers experience — we screen for both
- 29-day average time to hire — director-level engineering searches move faster with a warm network
- 300+ placements at VC-backed companies across all engineering leadership levels
- Pre-vetted for delivery track record and management experience
- No upfront fees
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