About the Role
This is a player-coach role where you will split your time between individual contribution and leadership. You will shape the technical direction, lead a talented small team, and grow the engineering organization while working closely with the SVP of Product and Technology to align engineering execution with product vision and business goals.
Responsibilities
- Define and guide the technical strategy in alignment with business objectives, collaborating closely with the SVP of Product and Technology.
- Collaborate on product roadmap and technology planning, ensuring engineering delivers on shared goals.
- Work across product, operations, and leadership to align engineering efforts, improve communication, and demonstrate measurable impact.
- Lead, mentor, and develop engineers, fostering a culture of ownership, autonomy, and technical excellence.
- Drive architectural decisions, evaluate tradeoffs, and guide the evolution of system design for scalability and maintainability.
- Maintain hands-on involvement by spending about half of your time coding, reviewing pull requests, and staying technically engaged with the systems.
- Identify and reduce technical debt through practical, step-by-step improvements.
- Help build an AI-native software development lifecycle by applying experience with agentic coding tools, refining requirements with product teams, and improving processes over time.
- Lead engineering planning, recruitment, and team expansion from day one.
Compensation
$250,000 to $280,000 annual salary
Work Arrangement
On-site — Sawtelle (between Santa Monica and West Los Angeles)
Team
Small engineering team led by the Head of Engineering, reporting to the SVP of Product and Technology
About Plug
The company is an automotive fintech startup focused on electric vehicles, operating a dedicated marketplace for used EVs without legacy adaptations. It enables consumers to receive instant cash offers using data-driven pricing and battery health analysis, with full-service logistics. Dealers and commercial partners bid on inventory in real time. Founded in 2023 by former Tesla executives and backed by a $20M Series A from Lightspeed Venture Partners, it has processed $100M in EV sales. The team is AI-native, composed of operators, engineers, and ML researchers building infrastructure for the growing used EV market.
Why Plug
You will play a key role in shaping major automotive infrastructure through a platform built specifically for electric vehicles. You will join an AI-native organization redefining how work is done, collaborate with leaders who have scaled large automotive and marketplace businesses, and operate with high autonomy and direct impact on company outcomes.
The Opportunity
We are seeking a Head of Engineering to lead our engineering team and define the technical foundation of a rapidly scaling Series A company. You will report to the SVP of Product and Technology and work closely to align product vision with engineering execution. This role balances individual contribution with leadership. You will spend about half your time coding, guiding architecture, and addressing technical debt, and the other half leading the team, shaping culture, and growing the organization. The current team is small, skilled, and fast-moving, with strong individual contributors and technical momentum. You will raise the bar while reinforcing what already works. Hiring for additional engineers will begin immediately. We value collaboration, intellectual honesty, technical excellence, and goal-driven work. We believe diverse perspectives are essential to building superior products and a strong team.
Other
- This is a full-time, on-site position located in Sawtelle, between Santa Monica and West Los Angeles.
- Relocation assistance is not available for this role.
- Visa sponsorship is not currently offered.
- The company is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
- We believe diverse teams lead to better product and technology outcomes.
Not available
