Engineering Leader (Data, SWE & Platform)

Hilbert's AI•San Francisco, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Hilbert is a scalable, data science-first growth engine that gives B2C teams predictive clarity into user behavior, revenue drivers, and the actions that drive sustainable growth. Fully agentic by design, Hilbert shrinks months-long decision cycles to minutes. From Fortune 10 enterprises to beloved brands like FreshDirect, Blank Street, and Levain Bakery, operators run their growth on Hilbert. We're also co-building alongside leading AI companies. We are looking for a visionary Head of Engineering to lead the technical heart of Hilbert. You will oversee two major departments Data Engineering and Software/Platform Engineering comprising 15-20 world-class engineers by year-end. This is not a "maintenance" role; you are building a high-velocity machine capable of supporting 40+ concurrent mid-market integrations while simultaneously deploying custom enterprise-grade AI environments. You don't need to be the one writing the PRs, but you must be the sharpest technical mind in the room during a high-stakes enterprise architecture review. You will be the face of Hilbert’s technology to our biggest customers. THE ROLE The "Full-Stack" Leader: You have a deep conceptual grasp of the entire modern stack: from K8s and Secret Management to ClickHouse optimization and Agentic AI workflows. Scale Experience: You’ve ideally seen the "messy middle" of scaling an engineering team from 5 to 20+ people in an AI-heavy or data-intensive environment. Enterprise Credibility: You can walk into a Fortune 500 boardroom and earn the trust of their CTO by explaining how we handle their data security, on-prem deployments, and custom ML requirements. Hiring Engine: You have a "nose" for talent. You will partner with the founders to recruit, vet, and retain the top 1% of engineers. Startup DNA: You prefer "shipping and iterating" over "committees and bureaucracy."

Requirements

You have a deep conceptual grasp of the entire modern stack: from K8s and Secret Management to ClickHouse optimization and Agentic AI workflows.
You’ve ideally seen the "messy middle" of scaling an engineering team from 5 to 20+ people in an AI-heavy or data-intensive environment.
You can walk into a Fortune 500 boardroom and earn the trust of their CTO by explaining how we handle their data security, on-prem deployments, and custom ML requirements.
You have a "nose" for talent. You will partner with the founders to recruit, vet, and retain the top 1% of engineers.
You prefer "shipping and iterating" over "committees and bureaucracy."

Nice To Haves

Experience in E-commerce or Retail sectors (understanding what a "SKU" or "Attribution Window" is without being told).
Prior "Founder/CTO" Experience: You’ve built a startup from 0 to 1 or been a VP of Engineering at a high-growth AI company.
Security Certifications/Experience: You’ve personally led a company through SOC2 Type II or ISO 27001 audits.
Hybrid Model Mastery: Experience managing both high-touch Enterprise On-Prem deployments and high-velocity B2B SaaS product cycles simultaneously.

Responsibilities

Own the technical roadmap for Data, SWE, and Platform departments.
Ensure the seamless delivery of Hilbert’s "AI Growth Engine" across two tracks: rapid mid-market integration and deep-dive enterprise deployment.
Architect the high-level systems that allow our AI/ML outputs to be served through elegant, high-performance web applications.
Act as the final technical authority on security, SOC2 compliance, and infrastructure strategy.
Mentor leads and build a culture of high ownership, intellectual honesty, and speed.