Global Head - Engineering

About the Role

The Global Head of Engineering at Mercans will lead the company's IT department, shaping the strategic direction and operational execution of global software development. This leadership position demands a blend of strong vision, technical proficiency, and organizational management to drive process excellence and innovation across development teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Craft and implement a visionary, innovative strategy for Mercans' worldwide development organization.
• Manage daily operations and governance of global software engineering teams ensuring alignment with company goals.
• Plan resource allocation periodically to meet strategic objectives including product roadmap delivery.
• Provide guidance and oversight to development leadership, monitoring performance against expectations.
• Consider competencies and roles in daily development, team structure planning, and member skill development.
• Collaborate on recruitment planning and participate actively in the hiring process.
• Define and track performance metrics aligned with industry standards and organizational objectives.
• Conduct analysis of performance data to identify inefficiencies and drive improvements.
• Establish processes and detailed procedural documentation for the development organization, aligning with industry best practices and company-wide policies.
• Oversee cost budgeting, forecasting, and optimization of IT expenditure within the department.
• Support business development and marketing through client interactions and input on promotional activities.
• Ensure development processes comply with industry security and quality standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 27001 series, OWASP, SOC 1 and SOC 2.
• Assist compliance and data security teams during audits and certification by providing necessary documentation.
• Develop and maintain a risk management framework for development, actively mitigating identified risks.
• Create and execute an annual strategic plan for the development department aligned with company goals.

Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum 5 years of relevant industry experience in software development leadership.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, IT, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong analytical skills with effective problem-solving capabilities.
• Proficiency in English with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experienced in IT management, resource planning, and optimizing development processes.
• Demonstrated leadership of global software teams and managing large-scale engineering initiatives.
• Preferred: familiarity with enterprise software architectures, cloud technologies, DevOps practices, security frameworks, and HR/payroll software.

Performance Objectives

• Drive continuous year-on-year organizational performance improvements of 10% by analyzing data and initiating efficiency strategies.
• Achieve minimum 10% annual optimization of engineering processes to focus more on development tasks by reducing non-development workload.
• Ensure at least 75% of developers’ time is dedicated to actual development activities by minimizing administrative overhead.
• Reduce time spent on code rework and reuse by 30% annually through improved code quality practices like automated testing and code reviews.
• Cut backlog items by 30% by the end of the year, with all remaining tasks prioritized and equipped with acceptance criteria.