VP, Engineering

TL;DR

Fast-growing measurement company looking to fill a newly created VP of Engineering role. This person will own software and infrastructure development for all products and services that enable the AU and support our clients. We have an engineering team of 10 that is fully remote and spans across media measurement, web application production and support, data pipelines, ML model application, and cloud ops. Our engineering is vital and a key component that links data science, product, client services and sales all together.

Who we are

Adelaide is the leader in one of the fastest-growing areas of advertising: attention measurement and activation.

Since 2020, we've become the trusted media quality measurement partner for 40% of Fortune 50 brands who rely on our award-winning AU metric to plan smarter campaigns, invest in high-quality inventory, and dive stronger business outcomes. Adweek has called Adelaide's AU "the attention economy's most widely recognized metric," and AdExchanger named it "Best measurement/Analytics Capability."

Our business continues to scale rapidly, outperforming the industry with a 35% three-year CAGR. What began as a 9-person startup in 2019 is now a team of more than 75.

The past year brought meaningful expansion. We launched the AU ecosystem, giving brands, media agencies, and publishers a unified way to leverage and transact on AU. We broadened our programmatic footprint with custom bidding in GoogleDV360 and pre-bid targeting in The Trade Desk, and grew our partner roster to over 125 platforms and publishers. Leading brands like Dell, Diageo, an Jaguar Land Rover—along with premium publishers such as Hearst, Spotify, and The New York Times—continue to demonstrate AU's value across the media lifecycle.

Adelaide is backed by prominent investors such as Human Ventures (Joe Marchese), Aperiam Ventures (Joe Zawadzki & Eric Franchi), WGI (Jonah Goodhart), and Irwin Gotlieb.

We have a NYC office and a London WeWork, but operates as a remote-friendly company with flexible work options.

How we work

We're a team of action-oriented doers—management rolls up their sleeves and contributes every day. Our culture is rooted in curiosity and rigor: opinions are held lightly, debated openly, and strengthened through testing. Everyone is encouraged to play a role in shaping planning and strategy.

We're built on belonging and growth—94% of employees report a strong sense of belonging, and 81% say they’re happy at work.

Position overview

This position reports to the CEO and is responsible for leading Adelaide's engineering function—setting technical direction, scaling the infrastructure and platforms behind AU, and building the team that ships it.

In this role, you'll own the engineering strategy and day-to-day delivery while partnering closely with Product, Data Science, and the executive team to translate company goals into shipped systems. You'll be equally comfortable operating at the architecture level and in the details—Adelaide rewards leaders who can take an idea from conception to production without hand-offs getting in the way.

Day-to-day activities range from setting engineering strategy alongside the executive team, owning the roadmap and delivery cadence, architecting data and application infrastructure, managing and mentoring engineering managers, recruiting senior talent, and ensuring the systems behind AU meet the reliability and quality standards our clients expect.

We're seeking a candidate with 10+ years of progressive engineering experience, including multiple years leading teams in high-growth environments. We're looking for someone who can operate as an end-to-end owner—setting the plan, shipping the work, and recruiting the people who will do the same.

This is a fully remote role within the United States, with opportunities to connect with colleagues at our New York office. You'll need to be in NYC a few times per year.

Compensation

• Base + Bonus: $300,000+

This role includes a competitive compensation package consisting of base salary, performance-based bonus, and equity. Final compensation will be determined based on experience, level, and location.

What you'll learn

An important part of our culture is continuous learning and the open sharing of ideas. We offer:

• Access to a broad network of investors and advisors who can help you and your team succeed
• Mentorship from executives with decades of experience in adtech and media
• Regular internal knowledge-sharing sessions
• An education budget to support ongoing professional growth and development

In this role you'll learn:

• The economics and architecture behind attention-based media measurement
• How executive teams use technical decisions to drive strategy, growth, and competitive advantage
• Best practices for building durable engineering foundations in a scaling startup
• How a high-growth adtech company scales its engineering organization and technical infrastructure

Core responsibilities

Engineering Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and execute Adelaide's engineering strategy aligned with company objectives
• Provide technical insights and strategic recommendations to the executive team
• Lead and mentor the engineering function while building a high-ownership, high-performance culture
• Act as an end-to-end owner — take technical initiatives from concept to shipped outcome without requiring oversight to move

Architecture & Infrastructure

• Own the architecture of Adelaide's data infrastructure, measurement platforms, and application systems
• Maintain the fidelity, efficiency, and scalability of the systems behind AU
• Ensure infrastructure decisions balance speed, cost, and long-term durability

Roadmap & Delivery

• Own the engineering roadmap and delivery cadence in partnership with Product and the executive team
• Translate company goals into shipped systems on predictable timelines
• Drive prioritization tradeoffs and resourcing decisions across engineering teams

Team Building & Talent

• Recruit, mentor, and retain a high-performing engineering team — including other end-to-end owners who will drive initiatives independently
• Develop engineering managers and senior ICs, and create clear paths for growth
• Build a culture of ownership, craft, and accountability across the function

Operational Excellence

• Maintain Adelaide codebases and software to a high standard of quality, security, and reliability
• Own production system health, on-call posture, and incident response
• Establish engineering practices that scale — review, testing, deployment, and observability

Cross-functional Partnership

• Partner with Product, Data Science, Research, and Customer Success to ship features that drive AU adoption and renewal
• Serve as a key technical voice with the executive team and, where relevant, the Board of Directors
• Represent engineering to customers, partners, and the market when needed

What you'll bring

• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience, including leadership of engineering teams
• Proven ability to take initiatives from architecture through to production—an operator who owns outcomes, not just areas
• Experience architecting and operating scalable systems, services, and data infrastructure
• Strong written and verbal communication skills—able to operate with the executive team and represent engineering to the business
• Proven track record of recruiting and retaining senior engineering talent
• High level of integrity, accountability, and ownership
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking abilities
• Bachelor’s degree required; Masters or PhD preferred.

What will set you apart

• Experience building or scaling engineering operations in a startup or growth-stage company
• Digital media, adtech, or measurement industry experience
• Big data infrastructure experience — warehousing, pipelines, and streaming at scale
• Looker or other BI tool experience (Tableau, et al.)
• Prior experience working closely with founders or executive teams on technical strategy
• Track record of building teams of end-to-end owners, not just individual contributors

Benefits

Health & Wellness

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Employee development & wellness stipend 
• Holiday break
• Volunteer time off

Financial & Compensation

• Competitive salary
• Performance-based quarterly bonus
• Stock options
• 401(k) retirement plan

Workplace & Equipment

• Remote-first environment
• New York office access
• Access to available WeWork spaces 

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Statement

Adelaide is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace where all employees can thrive. We consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

Our commitment to equal opportunity employment extends beyond basic compliance to encompass the active cultivation of a workplace that values different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences.