Head of Engineering - Stealth AI Industrial Commerce Startup

UP.Labs is hiring a hands-on Head of Engineering for a stealth startup building an AI-powered identification and commerce platform for a large, fragmented industrial aftermarket. In this role, you will lead and grow the engineering team while architecting and owning the core platform, including data pipelines and AI/ML integration layers.

Responsibilities:

• Lead and grow the engineering team, balancing hands-on development with strategic leadership
• Architect and own the core platform, including data pipelines, AI/ML integration layers, machine vision systems, and scalable cloud infrastructure
• Lead ingestion and transformation of complex structured industrial data — bridging the gap between how equipment is built and how it can be identified and serviced in the field
• Build and oversee a mobile-first product experience, leveraging camera, LiDAR, and on-device sensors for AI-powered identification in the field
• Design and ship robust integrations with OEM ERP and DMS systems to ingest inventory, pricing, and product data at scale
• Partner with Product and Data Science to translate messy real-world industrial workflows into intelligent, automated systems
• Drive best practices around security, CI/CD, observability, testing, and documentation
• Establish the technical vision for AI-driven identification, predictive data enrichment, and closed-loop fulfillment execution
• Manage and mentor distributed contributors (including nearshore/offshore teams) to build a high-performance engineering culture
• Deliver quick MVP iterations while laying the foundation for enterprise scale

Requirements:

• 8+ years in software engineering, including 4+ years leading small, high-output teams in early-stage environments
• Strong backend or full-stack background and ability to remain hands-on
• Proven experience scaling B2B enterprise SaaS platforms with real-time data pipelines and system integrations - you think in SLAs, uptime, and enterprise integration patterns
• Expertise in cloud architecture, CI/CD pipelines, observability, and distributed systems
• Experience working with AI/ML platforms (e.g., predictive models, computer vision, optimization engines, LLM copilots)
• Experience overseeing or building mobile app products (iOS/Android); familiarity with on-device sensor capabilities (camera, LiDAR) is a strong plus
• Familiarity with ERP/CRM/DMS integrations - SAP experience is a plus
• Experience leading or managing distributed teams (nearshore/offshore)
• Background in aftermarket, supply chain, manufacturing, or industrial systems (nice-to-have)