Head of Engineering

Picture this: You're deep in a whiteboard session with our Head of Product and Algorithm Engineer. There's a new capability that could meaningfully change how Europe's largest fashion retailers manage markdowns. The idea is sharp. The business case is clear. The only thing standing between concept and customer value is engineering velocity. You're the person who makes that gap disappear.

In April 2025, we released Markmi, the markdown optimization assistant for fashion retailers that helps merchandising teams make faster, confident, and more profitable pricing decisions. Markmi replaces outdated spreadsheets with a fashion-specific workflow that combines industry expertise with the latest in AI. By automating the complex parts of markdown planning, it frees up teams to focus on what really matters: weighing trade-offs and choosing the best scenario. Retailers typically experience a margin improvement of 3% to 7% and up to 95% reduction in workload.

Today, we're a 12-person team based in Ghent, serving enterprise fashion retailers across Europe. In April '25, we secured an €1.2M investment and are now ready to hit the next gear.

With solid traction and investor backing, we're ready to scale. What that means for engineering is concrete: take over day-to-day team management, drastically shorten our development cycles, and inject modern AI capabilities into how we build, not just what we build. Our product is customer-proven. Our roadmap is ambitious. What's missing is the engineering leader who can translate that ambition into shipped features, at pace, without compromising the enterprise-grade stability our customers depend on.

That is where you fit in.

🎯 The Role

As our Head of Engineering, you'll report directly to the founder and own the full technical engine of Markmi. From team leadership and architecture decisions to shipping cadence and AI adoption, you'll be the person who translates business ambition into working software, fast.

🚀 Your Responsibilities

Ownership of the technical stack & data architecture: You own it end-to-end. That means making the architectural calls that keep us fast and scalable, managing technical debt before it manages you, and ensuring our stack evolves in step with the product.

Team leadership: Manage and mentor a hybrid team of engineers and external partners. You will be responsible for technical hiring, performance management, and building a culture of high accountability.

Drive speed: Your primary KPI is feature turnover time. You will ensure we ship high-quality features at scale-up speed.

AI implementation: You won't just follow AI trends, you will implement them. This includes integrating AI-assisted coding, automated testing, and exploring AI-driven features within our core product to maintain our competitive edge.

Bridge the gap: Work directly with the founder and Head of Product to translate business vision into a clear, actionable technical roadmap.

Customer-centric engineering: Collaborate with Product to deeply understand customer pain points. You'll ensure that engineering resources are focused on the highest-value features, balancing rapid shipping with enterprise-grade stability.

🧠 What We're Looking For

Management experience: A proven track record of managing engineering teams (3+ people) with a focus on increasing output, improving code quality, and building cohesive team structures

Technical expertise: You have extensive experience across all facets of cloud-native SaaS application development, ideally including skills in Python (FastAPI), React, BigQuery, Terraform, GCP, Authentication providers (Auth0) and Containers

Data affinity: You have a strong affinity for data and data processing, and enjoy building reliable systems that ingest, transform, and structure customer data at scale, with some knowledge of ML

SaaS experience: Experience in B2B SaaS, understanding enterprise-grade scalability, and the balance between rapid shipping and technical debt

Adaptable and collaborative: You thrive in fast-paced environments and manage evolving priorities with ease

Lead by example: You take ownership and inspire others through your actions

AI-driven: You are deeply curious and hands-on with the latest AI tools and capable of applying them to a real-world SaaS environment

Fluent in English: As we have a diverse, multi-national team, you must be a clear and effective communicator in English (both written and verbal)

🏆 Why Join Markmi?

This is the engineering leadership role where you set the technical direction of a fast-growing SaaS company and help build the team culture that lets us outpace the competition. You'll report directly to the founder, with autonomy to implement the tools, workflows, and processes you believe will make the team world-class, and an option package that means you benefit directly from the company's growth.

Join an ambitious 12-person team where ownership matters and speed wins. We're transforming markdown pricing for fashion retailers across Europe, and you'll be compensated competitively for the outsized impact you'll create.

Our office sits in the heart of Ghent with excellent connections by car, train, or (e-)bike, and plenty of spots nearby to relax after work. We provide a competitive salary package with comprehensive benefits, including an optional company car and fuel card, bike plan, hospitalization insurance, plus your laptop and smartphone.

Beyond the day-to-day, we invest in our team culture through regular company trips, organized events, and impromptu get-togethers that bring everyone together. We're committed to creating a collaborative environment where you can grow, connect with colleagues, and do your best work.

📩 How to Apply

If you're excited to own the engineering engine of a fast-growing SaaS company and ship meaningful product at pace, we'd love to hear from you.

Send us your CV and a few short lines on:

• Why this role excites you;

• Tell us about a time you significantly improved your team's shipping velocity;

• How you look at the current state of using AI-tooling in software development.
  

Apply now and we'll review your application. You might be invited for an initial conversation, followed by a technical and business conversation onsite. Impress us, and you could be the next key addition to our growing team in Ghent.