Head of Engineering

About CTeBS

CTeBS (Classic Technologies & Business Solutions) specializes in software solutions tailored for the fashion manufacturing sector. As a part of Classic Fashion Apparel Industry Ltd, the company delivers the Trendz Biz Suite — an integrated enterprise platform encompassing production planning, ERP, quality management, HR, and data analytics specifically for fashion manufacturers. With over 70 employees based in Kochi and active product deployments, the company is preparing to expand its engineering division aligned with future growth goals.

Role Overview

The Head of Product Engineering is the highest engineering leadership role at CTeBS, responsible for developing the leadership team, nurturing the organizational culture, and defining operational strategies to evolve the engineering function from purely delivery-driven to skill and capability centered.

You will manage a team of more than 30 engineers across three product units via Technical Managers, and report directly to the Business Unit Head while being a core member of the leadership team. This position demands proven leadership experience rather than development into it, offering full ownership and strong executive support.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct three product engineering teams through their Technical Managers and foster both leadership and technical growth.
• Define and uphold engineering principles, norms, and a culture based on accountability, ownership, and craftsmanship.
• Develop and implement career paths, performance evaluation frameworks, and personalized development plans.
• Lead all aspects of hiring — from sourcing candidates to onboarding new hires — to maintain a dynamic talent pipeline.
• Convert product vision and business priorities into actionable engineering strategies covering multiple quarters.
• Shift the team's modus operandi from reactionary to proactive, structured delivery.
• Partner with the Solution Architecture team to guide platform architecture decisions.
• Act as the engineering representative in leadership discussions, clearly communicating costs, timelines, and trade-offs.
• Detect organizational risks, skill shortages, and technical debt early, creating corrective strategies.
• Maintain an environment that promotes engineer retention, growth, and peak performance.
• Balance immediate project demands with long-term scalability investment.

Candidate Profile

Mandatory qualifications:

• 14 to 20 years of experience in software engineering, including 5 to 8 years managing engineering leaders and multi-team organizations.
• Proven leadership of engineering teams with over 25 members within B2B SaaS or enterprise product companies.
• Experience in establishing engineering culture from the ground up.
• Hands-on experience managing the full hiring cycle effectively at scale.
• Exceptional communication skills, able to engage both technical and business stakeholders with credibility.

Preferred attributes:

• Familiarity with manufacturing, supply chain management, ERP, or industrial software domains.
• Experience steering an engineering organization through periods of growth or transformation.
• Previous senior titles such as Director of Engineering, VP of Engineering, or Head of Engineering within product companies.
• Knowledge of contemporary engineering methodologies including continuous integration and deployment, platform-oriented development, and developer experience enhancement.

Success Milestones

• Within 30 days: comprehensive understanding of team health, delivery status, and potential risks across all teams.
• Within 60 days: placement of Technical Managers and establishment of explicit roles and accountability mechanisms.
• Within 90 days: set baseline engineering metrics, launch active hiring pipeline, and reduce urgent firefighting activities.
• Within 6 months: implement career development frameworks, increase delivery reliability, and enhance team morale and retention.
• Within 12 months: matured, autonomous engineering organization capable of scaling seamlessly into new product areas without constraints.

Why Join CTeBS?

• Opportunity for true impact — your leadership decisions will have visible and lasting effects with full company support.
• The fashion manufacturing sector is a large and underserved market, offering an exciting domain challenge.
• Working with a live, established product and real customers moving toward scaling rather than survival.
• Unique chance to build the engineering leadership structure almost from scratch, marking a significant career landmark.
• Located in Kochi, providing access to growing engineering talent and a lifestyle superior to major metropolitan areas.