About grape:
Our entrepreneurial spirit drives us in what we do and what we are passionate about. Our mission is to become the premier health partner in the insurance business. Recognising the need for innovation in the traditional employee insurance model we are set to revolutionize the employee insurance industry. We help companies support people before and after they get sick and to make more of their time. Our insurance solutions reduce monotonous and manual work for employees, doctors, HR & payroll managers. As we strive to lead a technology-driven transformation, we put employees first.
At grape we pride ourselves on our people and our culture. We continue to grow fast and that’s where you come in. Our team is dynamic, diverse and full of creative ideas. Want to join? We can’t wait to get to know you!
Your role:
We're lookingfor a Head of Engineering to join our team. Are you ready to scale a high-performing engineering organization that delivers exceptional, compliant, and business-driven software products? As a key member of the leadership team, you will drive technical excellence, foster a strong product-first mindset, and align engineering initiatives with the company’s strategic goals. By setting a clear engineering vision, ensuring operational efficiency, and managing resources effectively, you will directly contribute to accelerating company growth and innovation.
What you’ll do:
Leadership, Engineering Strategy & Cross-Functional Collaboration
* Define and drive the company’s technical vision and roadmap in alignment with overall business objectives.
* Strategically balance short-term priorities with long-term initiatives to support sustainable growth and innovation.
* Represent the engineering organization within the leadership team, ensuring technical perspectives are integrated into company-wide decision-making.
* Foster cross-functional collaboration, working closely with product, design, marketing, and other departments to align on priorities, timelines, and deliverables.
* Support autonomous teams in designing scalable, secure, and high-quality software architectures.
* Product-first mindset. Oversee every stage of development, from brainstorming and prototyping to validation, testing and final production.
* Manage budgets, own the engineering team budget.
Product Development & Delivery
* Drive agile product delivery, helping teams to deliver incremental value to customers frequently.
* Collaborate with the product team and other (external) stakeholders to define the product strategy & roadmap.
* Support engineering teams with translating product roadmap into technical solutions.
Team Management & Growth
* Foster a culture of high performance, collaboration & personal growth.
* Drive efficiency, evaluate and refine existing workflows, tools and processes to boost productivity.
* Work with teams to set clear, measurable goals, create engineering career development plans, and manage our growth management (performance & development management).
* Proactively address performance challenges and resolve personal conflicts when necessary.
Security & Compliance
* Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations (DSG) and ISO 27001 for the product and team’s processes.
* Implement best practices in data protection, operational security, and risk management.
️ What you’ll need:
* 8+ years of experience in engineering, with at least 4+ years of leadership or team management experience in a senior engineering role in a scaleup environment.
* Proven track record of scaling engineering teams from 30 to 60+ engineers and beyond, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and high performance.
* A strategic mindset, balancing short-term tactical needs with long-term innovation goals to drive organizational success and growth.
* Strong technical expertise in backend systems, architecture, and design, with the ability to make informed technical decisions and oversee the development of robust, scalable solutions.
* Deep understanding of agile methodologies and modern software delivery practices, with a demonstrated ability to drive high-velocity teams in delivering continuous value to customers.
* A product-first mindset, with the ability to align engineering initiatives with product and business strategy, ensuring seamless product delivery and innovation.
* Adaptability: Thrives in the fast-paced, dynamic environment of a scaling tech company.
* Nice to have: Expertise in security and compliance, with hands-on experience implementing data privacy regulations (such as DSG, GDPR) and industry standards (ISO 27001, SOC 2) within the engineering organization.
What we offer in return:
Empowering workplace: Join a passionate team and an empowering workplace where you are given the ownership, tools, and support to make decisions and take initiative. Together we grow and build innovative solutions.
Hybrid Setup: Enjoy the flexibility of our hybrid work schedule, with the freedom to work remotely or from our office in Zurich. On Thursdays, our team day, we meet together in our Zurich office.
???? Home Office Stipend: To enable our hybrid setup, we allocate a one-off CHF 200.- home office budget to help you set up your dream workspace in the comfort of your own home.
Internet Allowance: We give you a monthly internet allowance to help cover your internet costs at home and enable you to work seamlessly from your home office.
Flexible Working Time: You can distribute your working hours the way you want to.
Learning Budget: We support you in improving your skills, acquiring new knowledge and advancing your career. We also allocate a CHF 1'500.- budget annually
️???? Well-being: Work-life balance is important to us and we foster a supportive work environment. We support you with mental health sessions and offer discounts to keep you happy & healthy.
Team Events: Every month we gather for fun and engaging events where we can connect and bond with our colleagues and our teams.
️Team Retreats: Twice a year we travel somewhere nice to bond with our colleagues.
Travel & Commute: We will cover your SBB half fare card, so we can spend some time together in the office.
Paid Vacation: You get 5 weeks (25 days) of paid vacation every year and 2 additional days of paid vacation to compensate for canton-related holidays, religious holidays, birthdays, etc. The total amount of paid vacation days per year is 27 days.
️Wellness Budget: Health & well-being looks different for everyone. You can optimize your wellness budget to best fit your needs.
Parental & Adoptive Leave: We offer additional time off to support employees who are balancing family and work time in the most crucial stages of family life.
️Digital Nomad: For every 3 years of employment, you can work for an extended period of time from anywhere in the world (location subject to review).
Our Recruitment Process
We place particular emphasis on four areas when making our selection decision: professional and technical skills, mindset & values. We evaluate these through the following steps:
Step 1 - Your Motivation
To get to know you better, we invite you to a 30-minute motivational interview with our Talent Acquisition Team.
Step 2 - Technical Depth & Collaboration Engineering Team Leads
In the first interview, we assess your technical depth and ability to foster collaboration within the engineering teams.
Step 3 - Role Fit
In the second interview, we assess how well your qualifications and skills align with the role requirements. This discussion will take place with your Hiring Manager.
Step 4 - Case Study
For roles with higher technical demands, we will invite you to complete a case study or technical assessment. This allows us to better evaluate your specific skills and problem-solving abilities.
Step 5 - Our Culture Connect
Throughout the interview process, you'll gain insight into our company culture, and we'll explore how your values and mindset align with our ways of working. The final interview will offer a deeper look into this connection, along with broader discussions about the role and our vision.
Our diverse experiences, perspectives, and voices make us the company we are, and we would love to learn more about you!
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