Vp of engineering

We are now scaling from research and PoCs into product-driven, SDK-first implementations of our technology to drive, build and grow a technology licensing business. As VP of Engineering, you will:

• Own delivery of our Whisper-to-Speech (W2S) SDK (Android first, then PC/other platforms) to GA, including licensing server and integration tooling.
• Build and lead a multidisciplinary engineering organisation (ML/speech, DSP/audio, SDK/platform, infra/DevOps, QA, and Testing).
• Support conversion of flagship PoCs into NRE and license agreements by making Whispp a reliable, OEM-grade technology partner., * Translate our 2026-2029 roadmap (latency improvements, SDK and codec versions, IP creation) into executable engineering plans and milestones.
• Work closely with the CAIO to take models from research to production: mobile CPU/NPU implementations, noise robustness, multi-lingual support, personalization, and bone-conduction input.
• Ship OEM-ready SDKs and codecs: performance-optimised, secure, well-documented, with strong integration UX for device and platform partners.
• Build and scale the engineering team and practices: hiring, org design, CI/CD, testing, performance benchmarking, cost-efficient AI infrastructure (OVH * GCP/Azure).
• Partner with Sales/BD on PoCs and NREs (PC and smartphone OEMs, AAC vendors) including scoping, estimates, and technical commitments.
• Contribute to Whispp’s IP strategy and help us reach our goal of 3-5 core patents in the near term.

• 10+ years in software/AI engineering, 5+ years in leadership (Head/Director/VP) in deep-tech, ML/AI, audio/speech, or real-time media.
• Proven track record shipping SDKs, developer platforms, or embedded software to OEMs or B2B partners (mobile, PC, chipset, or similar).
• Hands-on background in at least one of: speech/audio ML, DSP, real-time communications, or on-device/edge AI.
• Experience working with or around OEM/chipset/platform ecosystems (e.g., Android or PC OEMs, Qualcomm/MediaTek/ARM, etc.).

• Demonstrated ability to build and scale high-performing engineering teams in a startup or high-growth environment.

• Nice-to-have
• Experience in assistive tech, accessibility, telco, or similar regulated environments.
• Familiarity with low-bitrate codecs, secure communications, or connectivity-constrained environments (automotive, industrial, satellite).
• Exposure to IP/patent creation and privacy/AI regulation constraints., * Mission-driven and excited about giving people their voices back and creating a new privacy/protection layer for spoken communication.
• Comfortable operating from architecture to execution: from high-level strategy to unblocking SDK integration issues.
• Pragmatic, collaborative, and low-ego, with a strong quality bar and a bias for shipping.