VP, Engineering (Worldwide Remote) at DuckDuckGo - DuckDuckGo｜Meet.jobs

Hi, we’re DuckDuckGo, the Internet privacy company for everyone who wants to take back their privacy now. For over a decade, we've been building our product, including new privacy technology, and working with policymakers to make online privacy simple and accessible for all.

Our app is now downloaded more than 50M times a year, and our private search engine packaged with it has become the #2 search engine on mobile in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. Oh, and we've been profitable since 2014 with revenue currently exceeding $100 million a year! Now we’re rolling out major new features, such as Email Protection and App Tracking Protection, and we’re also working on a desktop browser version of our app for Windows and macOS.

We’re looking for a VP, Engineering to help shape our all-in-one privacy solution and join our mission to show the world that protecting your privacy online can be simple.

The Opportunity

In this role, you will oversee the engineering function across DuckDuckGo, and ensure excellence in software engineering by upholding standards, reviewing technical designs, and providing strategic leadership throughout the product development lifecycle for new and existing initiatives.

As an insightful people leader, you will hire, advise and coach engineers at all levels to support their growth velocity and impact on the organization. In addition, you'll work to understand and improve our engineering team structure, processes, and culture at the lowest and highest levels to meet the needs of our rapidly-growing organization.

What You Will Bring to DuckDuckGo

• 15+ years of experience, including 5+ years leading and scaling software engineering organizations beyond 100 team members.
• A passion for people and a track record of developing and scaling high-performance engineering teams through hiring, coaching, and mentorship.
• The strategic and tactical leadership skills required to translate strategic direction and technological vision into tightly scoped projects.
• Ability to identify and resolve productivity bottlenecks across the organization.
• Ability to lead through influence and cultivate a culture of decision making based on merit
• Exceptional project management skills.

How We Will Support You

Our core values -- build trust, question assumptions, and validate direction -- underpin how we work day-to-day and the support we give our team members. We strive to empower our team members to be self-directed and self-motivated in their work.

• Remote First, Always: We've always been a fully distributed company with team members all over the world. We trust you to get your work done wherever, whenever.
• Commitment to Personal Growth: Every team member has an annual budget of $1,250 USD to invest in their professional development. Every team member also has a dedicated Career Advisor, who serves as a guide to help you develop your strengths, identify your motivations, and understand your opportunities for growth.
• Leadership: We have many different types of leaders and possible combinations of leadership roles, so you can grow your career in a way that aligns best with your personal goals. You can seek additional leadership roles by being directly responsible for projects, taking ownership of areas of the company, developing and maintaining internal processes, or pursuing advisory roles.
• Work/Life Balance: Team members have the freedom and flexibility to organize their own work schedules. We want you to thrive both in and out of the office. We trust you to use good judgment and take the time off that you need to bring your best self to work.

We also offer paid parental leave, a co-working stipend, office setup reimbursement, and a wellness stipend. More support resources can be found in our, Team Member Support Guide, which  explains how we make your well-being a priority.

For more information on how we collaborate worldwide, from leadership in our relatively flat organization to start-to-finish ownership, check out DuckDuckGo Culture: How We Work.

Compensation

Annual compensation: $270,000 USD and stock options.

Hiring Process

Hiring works best when it's a two-way street. Learn how we help you get to know DuckDuckGo and envision your future role here. Find out more about how we hire.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

DuckDuckGo provides equal work opportunities to all team members and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

We want to ensure that our hiring process is accessible. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process because of a medical condition or disability, please send an email to careers@duckduckgo.com to let us know the nature of your request.

If you think you might thrive in this environment, we would love to hear from you.

Please note that:

• Sometimes we meet up! Expect to travel at least two times a year: once for our all-hands meetup and again for a team retreat (each around 4-5 days). While these plans were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we plan to recommence all company meetups in 2022.
• While we offer a flexible work arrangement with no core hours, expect an average full-time commitment of 40 hours per week.
• A successful candidate will be subject to a background check and must receive satisfactory results of the same, as a condition of joining the team.
• By applying for this role, you confirm that all information submitted is accurate and complete. You further acknowledge that providing false or fraudulent information during the application process is cause for denial of an offer, revocation of any existing offer, or other adverse action, up to and including termination after the start of your commencement of work.