VP of Technology

Six Feet Up is seeking a VP of Technology to set the company’s technical direction, scale the engineering organization, and ensure every project we ship reflects our reputation for solving hard problems. This is a senior leadership role reporting into the CEO/Integrator, with strategic accountability for architecture, security, and engineering delivery., * Define and drive the company’s technical strategy. Own architectural direction, evaluate emerging technologies, and make build-vs-buy decisions that position Six Feet Up for long-term growth. Ensure the technology stack evolves to support our objectives.

• Own security posture and risk management. Set and maintain the company’s cybersecurity strategy, compliance standards, disaster recovery, and business continuity plans. Partner with the Director of Security on execution while retaining strategic accountability to the leadership team.
• Build and scale the engineering organization. Manage the Directors. Run the weekly engineering L10. Make decisions about team growth, partner engagement, and organizational evolution. Plan for and execute structural changes as headcount grows.
• Ensure engineering delivers reliable, well-architected solutions. Define what “great” looks like across development, deployment, and delivery. Set best practices and technical standards. Ensure client-facing work is technically sound, maintainable, and aligned with the company’s reputation for solving hard problems.

Performance Expectations

Success in this role requires sound architectural judgment, the willingness to make hard calls, and the credibility to bring senior engineers along. High-performing VPs of Technology stay close enough to the work to be trusted by the team while operating at the altitude the leadership team needs.

The following are common failure points that must be actively avoided:

• Defaulting to consensus on every technical decision, avoiding hard calls on architecture, tooling, or technical debt that may be unpopular but necessary.
• Staying at a strategic altitude without building hands-on credibility with the senior engineers.
• Importing processes and governance frameworks from larger or more bureaucratic environments without adapting them to Six Feet Up’s size and culture.
• Failing to establish a clear, productive working relationship with the CEO/Integrator by either micromanaging operations or leaving a vacuum on strategy., * Architectural direction is clear, documented, and understood across the engineering organization.
• Security posture, compliance, and continuity plans are current, tested, and audit-ready.
• The engineering Directors are well-managed, growing in their roles, and aligned to company priorities.
• Client-facing work is technically sound, maintainable, and reinforces Six Feet Up’s reputation for solving hard problems.
• The CEO/Integrator and the VP of Technology operate as a tight Visionary/Integrator-adjacent pair - strategy and operations both well-covered, with no gaps and no overlap.

Do you have experience in Technology management?, * 15+ years in software engineering, with significant time in senior technical leadership roles (VP Engineering, CTO, Head of Engineering, or equivalent) at a consultancy.

• Deep technical fluency across modern application development, AI/ML, big data, and cloud infrastructure - enough to make architectural calls and earn the trust of senior engineers.
• Proven track record setting technical strategy, evaluating emerging technologies, and making defensible build-vs-buy decisions.
• Experience owning cybersecurity strategy, compliance, disaster recovery, and business continuity at a company level.
• Demonstrated success building and scaling engineering organizations, including managing managers and evolving team structure as headcount grows.