VP of Engineering

Why Barbara?

We’re not just another SaaS company. We operate at the intersection of Industrial Edge, AI, and Cybersecurity. With 9 years of stability and backing from industry leaders like Iberdrola and Caixa, we provide the brains behind Industry 4.0.

You’ll be leading the evolution of our complete Edge Computing platform, spanning cloud SaaS, distributed microservices, edge agents, and embedded Linux systems — powering critical infrastructure where reliability, security, and scalability aren’t optional, they’re fundamental.

The Role

We’re looking for a hands-on, strategic VP of Engineering to lead our engineering organization from our Madrid office. You will be responsible for defining the technical vision and ensuring execution excellence of our Edge Management Platform.

This is a high-impact leadership role. You will drive architecture, quality, delivery, and organizational growth while remaining technically involved. You’ll review designs, challenge architectural decisions, unblock teams, and contribute to code when necessary — while primarily focusing on leadership, execution excellence, and platform evolution.

What You’ll Do

Engineering, QA & Platform Leadership

• Lead and coordinate all technical teams:
  
  • Frontend: Angular
  • Backend: TypeScript / Node.js, microservices architecture, MongoDB, RabbitMQ, MQTT
  • Agent: Golang
  • OS / Embedded: LFS, Yocto, Linux libraries, system-level components
  • Quality Assurance: Testing strategy, automation frameworks, and quality processes
• Own technical execution across cloud, edge, and embedded environments.
• Build a strong culture of quality, accountability, and operational ownership.

Delivery, Agile & Quality Processes

• Own engineering delivery in close partnership with Product.
• Act as Agile/Scrum leader, ensuring effective sprint planning, execution, and continuous improvement.
• Define and evolve testing strategies across unit, integration, system, and end-to-end testing.
• Ensure predictable, high-quality releases across SaaS, microservices, agents, and OS components.
• Balance speed of execution with robustness, maintainability, and reliability.

Architecture, Containers & Microservices

• Lead and contribute to system and architecture design.
• Ensure best practices around microservices architecture, service boundaries, and communication patterns.
• Guide the use of Docker and Kubernetes for development, deployment, and operations.
• Review technical designs, critical code paths, infrastructure-related decisions, and testing approaches.
• Be able to write and modify code when necessary (prototypes, reviews, unblockers).

DevOps, Cloud & SaaS Operations

• Work closely with DevOps to evolve CI/CD pipelines, container workflows, and Kubernetes-based deployments.
• Ensure strong quality gates, automated testing, and safe deployment strategies.
• Oversee monitoring, reliability, and operational health of the SaaS platform.
• Drive improvements in observability, scalability, performance, and incident response.
• Promote DevOps, Platform Engineering, and SRE best practices across teams.

Product & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Act as the primary Engineering counterpart to the Product team.
• Support product discovery with architectural, scalability, and feasibility insights.
• Translate product requirements into execution plans, technical designs, and quality strategies.
• Collaborate with leadership on company strategy, technical roadmap, and hiring plans.
• Scale the engineering organization thoughtfully as the company grows.

What You’ll Bring (The Essentials)

• 12+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Proven experience leading engineering teams, including QA and quality ownership.
• Strong background in backend systems and distributed architectures.
• Solid experience with:
  
  • Microservices architectures
  • Docker and Kubernetes
  • Node.js / TypeScript ecosystems
  • Messaging systems (RabbitMQ, MQTT or similar)
  • Linux-based systems and edge/embedded environments
• Hands-on leadership mindset — comfortable reviewing and writing code when necessary.
• Strong understanding of Agile/Scrum practices and quality-driven development.
• Fluent English and Spanish.
• Experience in startup or scale-up environments.
• Experience scaling SaaS platforms.

Nice to Have (Where you can shine)

• Background in Edge Computing, IoT, or embedded systems.
• Experience building or evolving QA automation frameworks.
• Direct ownership of SaaS platforms in production environments.
• Exposure to cybersecurity best practices in distributed systems.

Who you are (Soft Skills & Mindset)

• Strategic Thinker: You connect architecture decisions with long-term business impact.
• Hands-On Leader: You lead by example and are not afraid to dive into the code when needed.
• Execution-Oriented: You bring structure, clarity, and predictability to delivery.
• Quality-Driven: You believe reliability is a competitive advantage.
• Builder at Heart: You are motivated by building teams, platforms, and culture — not just shipping features.

What’s in it for you

• Competitive salary depending on experience
• Stock options available depending on profile
• Hybrid work 2–3 days remote, the rest in our Madrid office.
• High-impact leadership role in a growing startup
• Real influence over architecture, platform, quality, and engineering culture
• Cobee for meals, transport, and training.
• Wellhub subscription for gyms and mental health.
• Epic BBQs on our terrace with a great team.