Senior Vice President, Engineering

Linden Lab•San Francisco, CA

41d•Hybrid

About The Position

As our Senior Vice President of Engineering, you will help shape the technology vision behind Second Life and guide the evolution of one of the most enduring, imaginative, community-driven virtual worlds. You'll bring clarity to complex systems, modernize the foundation that supports millions of residents who bring our world to life, and champion the growth and success of the engineers who make it possible for people to create, explore, and connect in meaningful ways. Reporting to the CEO, you'll partner with leaders across Product and Operations to to align on long-term priorities and drive a technical roadmap that lays the groundwork for our next era of innovation. You'll build on the team's existing strengths, add structure that unlocks momentum, and enable an environment where engineers feel supported, empowered, and excited about what they can build together. This role is hybrid, with in-office presence required Monday through Thursday at our San Francisco office.

Requirements

15+ years of progressive engineering leadership experience, including deep technical fluency with large-scale distributed systems and experience supporting consumer-facing products.
Experience leading organizations through modernization, architectural transformation, or large-scale refactoring-particularly in resource-constrained environments.
Demonstrated success building and sustaining a healthy engineering culture grounded in transparency, trust, and continuous improvement.
Recognized leadership in applying AI to software development and product innovation, with a proven ability to identify, implement, and operationalize AI tools and frameworks that enhance velocity, quality, and user experience.
Hands-on proficiency with C++ and Linux, with a deep understanding of systems architecture, infrastructure management, and reliability engineering.
Proven experience driving modernization efforts in AWS, including CI/CD pipeline development, Infrastructure-as-Code, and maturing observability in complex, legacy environments.
Experience designing, launching, and scaling mobile applications, with strong knowledge of mobile architecture, performance optimization, and platform-specific challenges.
Strong ability to define and operationalize engineering metrics that surface insights, guide decisions, and measurably improve productivity, quality, and delivery outcomes.
Demonstrated strength in talent development, known for sharpening thinking, elevating communication, and strengthening collaboration across diverse technical teams.
Respected leader with the credibility and network to attract top engineering talent.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with payments or authentication systems is a plus.

Responsibilities

Implement transparent prioritization and progress-tracking frameworks that expand visibility, reinforce shared understanding, and equip teams with the context needed for informed decision-making.
Own the financial rigor behind technical and organizational decisions by partnering closely with Finance to model investment scenarios, cost implications, and long-term outcomes-and communicate these considerations early and openly.
Engage directly in system design, infrastructure planning, and major technical decisions to ensure high-quality outcomes.
Oversee desktop and mobile architecture decisions in collaboration with Product, ensuring durable platform efficiency, maintainability, and evolution.
Drive operational excellence through reliable systems, scalable architecture, and structured engineering practices.
Define clear goals and establish engineering metrics that measure productivity, quality, and delivery; while reporting progress in ways that help teams understand and elevate their effectiveness.
Optimize processes and communication flows to remove bottlenecks and ensure engineering work remains tightly aligned with business goals.
Develop engineering leaders and ICs through targeted coaching, real-time feedback, and professional development programs that build new capabilities and keep the team ahead of emerging technologies.
Attract and retain exceptional engineering talent by leveraging a strong professional network and a reputation for leadership that draws high-caliber individuals.
Cultivate influential relationships with vendors, partners, and the open-source community that enhance Linden Lab's technical capacity and innovation pipeline.