Kitopi is hiring a

Senior Director of Engineering

Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Full-Time
Kitopi is a creator of magical food experiences—we discover, create, and curate homegrown brands from the region, for the region.

With a purpose to satisfy the world’s appetite to create joy, Kitopi owns and operates a diverse portfolio of over 200+ brands. These brands are either created, discovered, or curated with their customers in mind. 

Launched in Dubai, UAE, in January 2018, Kitopi has grown to become one of the greatest success stories in the food tech space. By July 2021, Kitopi achieved Unicorn status, becoming the fastest company in the MENA region to reach this milestone. 

Kitopi’s growth has been fueled by its innovative and scalable software solutions. Kitopi’s kitchens are powered by its proprietary Smart Kitchen Operating System (SKOS), an in-house suite of applications that optimizes cloud kitchen operations in real-time. As part of its growth roadmap, technological innovation, data science, artificial intelligence, and robotics will take center stage as Kitopi continues to reinvent the food industry and remain the leading food company in the region. 

With over 6,000 employees, Kitopi currently operates 200+ locations across the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. It also operates its Customer Experience Center in Amman, Jordan, and its Engineering Hub in Krakow, Poland. 

What You'll Do

  • Collaborate with internal partners across teams while managing multiple development teams and their managers.
  • Take ownership of 5-6 cross-functional teams' performance, delivering exceptional results and building high-quality products that enhance the consumer experience.
  • Strategically plan, monitor, and direct development initiatives, contributing to roadmap planning and continuously improving processes that put our customers first.
  • Align with stakeholders, including C-suite executives, by turning technical concepts into clear, actionable insights for non-technical audiences.
  • Foster Kitopi’s culture of collaboration, innovation, and empowerment across multiple tech hubs, ensuring our values shine through in everything we do.
  • Transform vision into capabilities by inspiring creative solutions, solving challenges with excellence, and elevating the end-to-end consumer journey.
  • Implement and maintain engineering performance metrics to drive accountability, efficiency, and continuous improvement.
  • Partner with Product and Data teams to make smart, data-driven decisions that improve consumer-facing applications and overall satisfaction.
  • Represent engineering to optimize the product development process by communicating technical opportunities, constraints, and solutions clearly.
  • Build a culture of excellence, mentorship, and collaboration, leading by example while helping develop tomorrow’s leaders.
  • Ensure technical standards are met, from code quality to security and managing technical debt, to deliver seamless, reliable, and magical user experiences.
  • Drive continuous improvement within the delivery value chain, focusing on smarter, faster ways to deliver value to our customers.
  • Scale and structure teams by hiring exceptional talent locally and internationally, ensuring we build products our customers love.
  • Mentor, coach, and empower team members through regular 1-1s, clear objectives, and career development plans that align with business needs.
  • Play a key role in recruiting, onboarding, and building new teams to support Kitopi’s growth and success.

What Are We Looking For

  • At least 10 years of experience in engineering, with significant time spent in leadership roles
  • Over 5 years of leadership experience within product-oriented organizations, particularly in agile software development environments.
  • Proven success in managing teams across different stages of growth, from startups to scaleups, and even large publicly listed companies.
  • Strong experience with consumer-facing applications such as marketplaces, ordering systems, and e-commerce.
  • Experience in environments where technology supports brick-and-mortar operations, rather than being the final product.
  • Demonstrated ability to implement and lead complex technical strategies, including digital transformation and migrations.
  • Strong communication skills, with the ability to interact with senior stakeholders and a variety of audiences.
  • Excellent organizational and project management skills, with the ability to guide and mentor other leaders.
  • A proactive attitude towards learning and personal development.

Benefits 

- Extensive learning opportunities with hard and soft skill training to help you improve and challenge yourself.
- Be involved in customized workshops run by the Kitopi Academy.
- Have the chance to work in an international, diverse, and inclusive environment.
- Become part of one of the most caring communities out there.
- Free and unlimited access to a nutritionist.
- No Dress Code! (T&C applies).
- The famous team activities and social events bursting with fun.Inclusive private health insurance.
- Up to 50% discount on Kitopi brands.
- Annual leave as per the company policy.
- Flexible working hours to support work-life balance.

Additionally, we offer:

- Wellness spaces designed for mothers inclusive for all.
- Monthly well-being programs to nurture your mental and physical health.
- Informative and empowering webinars to support your growth.
- Social Thursdays and Fridays across markets to gather and connect with colleagues.

Recruitment Process and Timeline 

First, you apply, and our talent attraction team will review your profile. If your profile matches our requirements, you will receive a link to schedule a meeting with a recruiter at your convenience. This meeting is an opportunity for you to share more about yourself and for us to get to know you better.

If you are shortlisted, you will meet with our hiring managers. Depending on the role and its requirements, you may need to attend 2-3 interview rounds. These rounds could include a case study, role-play, trial assignment, or live coding session, which will be communicated to you in the initial conversation.

Upon successful completion of the interview rounds, your recruiter will contact you to discuss the offer. We aim to complete this process within 2-3 weeks.

So, what does it really mean to work at Kitopi? 

We are constantly striving to make Kitopi the best place to work, by empowering you to be the best version of yourself every day. Our company values act as our guiding principles to help ensure that everyone feels safe, included, and like they truly belong.

Kitopi is an equal-opportunity employer. While we currently operate in 6 countries, we are over 70 different nationalities of talented Kitopians. Whether you are a seasoned professional, a recent graduate, or someone looking to return to the workforce after a break, we encourage you to apply. We celebrate rich diverse backgrounds, lifestyles, and cultures and have a 0-tolerance policy towards racism, bigotry, and hate. Please apply if you see a position that makes your heart skip a beat and help us build a company that we are all proud to work for. 

Along with offices in all the markets we operate in, we also believe in a “work from anywhere” policy - you get to choose the environment you operate in because we believe this will help you deliver work you're proud of. 

Customer-obsessed and tech-enabled, at Kitopi, we are a team of passionate humans who are on a mission together to satisfy the world’s appetite.
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