Director of Engineering

PactFi•New York, NY

About The Position

Private asset markets (PE, Private Credit, VC, Real Estate) have 10x to 9.8T in AUM over the past decade and are projected to grow to $17T in the next five years. However, digital infrastructure has not kept pace, with most of the market operating predominantly in error-prone, internal-only software solutions. PactFi provides secure, end-to-end, operational infrastructure for managing complex private credit transactions. Our web-based application brings together all parties involved in such a transaction to more efficiently allocate capital, complete KYC, share documents, manage funds flow, and more. The platform is secured to a bank-grade standard, and we have received our SOC 2 Type 2 attestation. PactFi was developed in close partnership with two of the industry's largest players, both of whom represent the top 3 players in the private credit space by both size (AUM) and deal activity. We’re looking for a Director of Engineering to lead high-performing teams and drive predictable, high-quality delivery as we scale beyond Series A. This role is critical in evolving our engineering organization from early-stage execution to a more structured, scalable system—without losing speed. You’ll bring experience building and scaling engineering teams in a high-growth environment, while helping us become an AI-first engineering organization—leveraging modern AI tooling and workflows to accelerate development, improve quality, and rethink how software is built.

Requirements

Experience scaling an engineering org from Series A through growth
Experience growing from few teams to multiple teams/org layers
Ability to introduce structure without over-engineering
Experience transitioning to distributed ownership
8+ years software engineering
3+ years leadership (including managing managers)
Proven track record in high-growth environments
Strong operator with consistent delivery
Experience building teams, not just inheriting
Strong judgment on process vs speed
Ability to manage increasing complexity
Experience integrating tools that measurably improve productivity
Practical understanding of AI-assisted development tools in production
Ability to evaluate and operationalize tools pragmatically
Strong cross-functional partnership
Ability to bring clarity in ambiguity
Excellent communication
Solid technical foundation
Ability to engage in architectural discussions

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end delivery of critical product initiatives across multiple teams
Drive predictable execution as the organization scales in size and complexity
Introduce the right level of structure without slowing teams down
Balance speed, scope, and quality in a fast-moving environment
Build and evolve team structures as we grow from Series A into later stages
Hire, develop, and lead Engineering Managers and engineers
Establish clear ownership boundaries, accountability, and team autonomy
Coach emerging leaders and help level up management across the org
Evolve engineering processes from early-stage to scalable
Introduce delivery metrics (predictability, cycle time, throughput)
Ensure strong engineering fundamentals: testing, reliability, production readiness
Drive adoption of AI-assisted development tools
Identify and implement opportunities to improve velocity and quality through AI workflows
Establish best practices for safe, effective AI usage
Evaluate and integrate tools based on measurable impact
Work closely with Product and Design to translate priorities into plans
Bring clarity and structure to roadmap planning
Communicate tradeoffs, risks, and progress clearly
Partner with senior technical leadership on architecture and platform
Ensure teams adopt shared infrastructure effectively
Balance near-term delivery with long-term scalability