Engineering Manager

Kitopi is the world’s leading tech-powered multi-brand restaurant. With a mission to satisfy the world’s appetite, Kitopi operates a portfolio of both invested and franchised F&B brands, serving as enablers in the food market by helping brands to grow and scale, both in the delivery and dine-in space.

Launched in Dubai, UAE in January 2018, Kitopi has grown to become one of the greatest success stories in the cloud kitchen and food tech space. In July 2021, Kitopi announced its $415 million Series C funding round, led by the world’s largest technology-focused investment fund, Softbank Group Corp’s Vision Fund 2. This investment catapulted Kitopi to the prestigious Unicorn status, making it the fastest Unicorn to have emerged from the MENA region.

As a leading food-tech business, Kitopi’s growth has been largely 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 as we know it today.

With over 4,000 employees, Kitopi currently operates 200+ locations across the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar, and runs its engineering hub in Krakow, Poland, its robotics hub in Denmark, and its global customer experience center in Dubai, UAE.

We are looking for an Engineering Manager, who will lead a mid-size engineering team. 

What you will be doing:

• Taking responsibility for the cross-functional team's performance (usually 5-8 engineers), ensuring exceptional results are delivered, and high-quality products are built. 
• Collaborating closely with Product Manager and Data Analysts to make product decisions based on data. While Data Analysts provide support for data-driven decisions, Product Managers focus on product vision and preparation. As an Engineering Manager, you will over see the technical aspect of the team roadmap and make the final decisions regarding its implementation. 
• Understanding timelines and dependencies and coordinating the team accordingly. 
• Working closely with the Director of Engineering and the Architects to ensure that development adheres to our strategy, architecture principles, and governance and compliance policies. 
• Helping improve the product development process by representing engineering, and communicating technical constraints, opportunities, and solutions. 
• Fostering a culture of excellence, mentorship, and collaboration, and being an exemplary manager. 
• Providing coaching and leadership to individual contributors from your team. 
• Developing team autonomy in collaboration with other Engineering Managers, aligning with product managers to define and measure essential product KPIs. 
• Ensuring your teams meet technical standards, such as code quality, security, and controlling technical debt. 
• Continually seeking efficiency and improvement within the delivery value chain. 
• Identifying and supporting the development of team members' skills through personal development plans. 
• Holding regular 1-1s, setting objectives, coaching, and planning for succession. 
• Assisting in recruiting and onboarding new team members, and building new teams as necessary based on business demand. You will play a key role in all hiring decisions. 

An Ideal candidate should:

• Have an excellent background managing mid-sized highly performing engineering teams. 
• Have a profound understanding of the engineering field, supported by at least 5 years of experience. 
• Thrive in fast-paced environments that rely on tight feedback loops and continuous delivery. 
• Possess experience collaborating across various functions, including Design, QA, System Engineering, Architecture, and Product. 
• Have proficiency in project management, effective communication, and the ability to manage senior stakeholders. 
• Be familiar with Agile methodologies such as Kanban and Scrum. 
• Have excellent organizational and communication skills. 
• Possess strong English language proficiency, both written and spoken. 
• Have the willingness to learn and enthusiasm for skill development. 
• Demonstrated experience as a software engineer would be a plus. 

Perks & benefits:

• You choose a form of employment (26 paid days off on B2B and additional days off). 
• ESOP - Employee Stock Option Plan. 
• Additional paid days off for volunteer activities. 
• Top-notch equipment: high-end MacBook Pro + additional accessories. 
• Support for your development: 2 000 PLN growth annual budget available to every employee, internal initiatives: webinars/workshops, knowledge sharings essions internal conferences (Kitopi Academy) 
• Mentoring program.
• Freedom Day - time for things you are passionate about. 
• Free English classes with a native speaker. 
• Worksmile benefit platform (private medical healthcare, Multisport card, vouchers, etc.)
• Life insurance.
• Wellbeing program (psychological care, physical health, and socializing activities). 
• Referral bonus. 
• Flextime and flex place: adjust your daily schedule to your individual needs. 
• Great office with fruit & snacks, rented football pitch, social budget for every team & away days, and more! 

Recruitment Process and Timeline

First, you apply and let our recruiters review your profile. After reviewing, you will receive a link to book a meeting with a recruiter at your convenience to share more about yourself and for us to get to know you better. If you have been shortlisted, you will have the opportunity to meet our hiring managers. Depending on the scope of the role and the function, you may need to attend 2-3 rounds (which might include case study, role-play, trial, or live coding - this will be communicated to you in the initial conversation). Upon successful completion, your recruiter will get in touch with you to discuss the offer. We aim to take you through 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 in the world, 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. We celebrate our 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 where we're 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. 

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