This posting has been updated on May 29, 2014. For details see footnotes down below. Summary We are looking for a Craftsman. A Promoter of agile approaches, refactoring, and test-driven development. An excellent Architect of robust and flexible code. A great leader, mentor and thought partner. Glownet has built the market's best-in-breed products specifically tailored for the live event industry. Product Development is the heartbeat of our business and this is a fantastic opportunity to assume leadership and build a world-class in-house Software Development team. The key challenge for the Head of Engineering will be to constantly increase and maintain the quality of our code through the best agile methods and strong code quality culture. The individual will allow for fast evolution of the product whilst maintaining impeccable robustness of this complex, multi-layer system each time we deliver our services into an unpredictable environment. We use Android devices as our primary hardware for all our operations onsite, RESTful APIs to communicate with the server(s), .NET C# + MS SQL to build the back-end server software and web-based configuration panel, 3rd party cloud systems to enable reporting, integrations with our partner platforms such as Payment Gateways, Staffing Systems, Ticketing Providers etc. to enable key functions of an always–evolving and network–independent system, which is used in unpredictable environments by inexperienced operators at great events across the globe. A big part of our product is the cashless system handling financial transactions, so extra security and care has to be taken when conducting software development. You and your core team will be based in Madrid**. We might consider outstanding candidates willing to relocate from other places, but priority will be given to those living in Madrid. Be prepared to enjoy visiting London as well as some exotic locations around the globe from time to tome. The job LEAD THE TEAM Assume ownership of the software development process with the current team of outsourced software developers by taking over the sprint planning process and version control system. Put a sound QA process in place together with the CTO, power up automated bug reporting and initiate the creation of the tools that will help ensure that our critical software is bug free Bring the best agile practices to improve how we develop software while completing the transition to test-driven development to make it easy and safe to introduce changes. Promote relevant approaches such as pair programming, code reviews, continuous integration and coach team members on how to use them efficiently in practice while establishing the culture of the dev team Hire a brilliant A-class core product development team in-house and define the best possible split of responsibilities between the internal team and outsource partners. Mentor, coach, encourage and support to build a stellar, efficient and cohesive team of highly skilled engineers to enable fast innovation of Glownet products Promote a flexible approach which allows for fast changing requirements and proactively suggest ways to achieve business goals without compromising the system architecture and reliability. Communicate risks and benefits of different design / architecture / scope limitation approaches, help the business understand the trade-offs involved. DESIGN THE ARCHITECTURE Structure the system in a way which enables future innovation. Help us transform the remaining parts of the legacy code into safe and transparent API-like "clean code". Anticipate future improvements and design modular, parameterised, loosely tied yet clearly defined components thus reducing the cost of future change. Understand the system from multiple angles including functionality, security, performance, expected user experience, simplicity of operational hassles of the delivery on site. As a result help us innovate the most critical aspects of our product while maintaining its accuracy and security levels Be flexible in your approach and consider using suitable platforms, tools, SaaS products, libraries and frameworks. Manage the design of API integrations with partners (e.g. in eCommerce) and be on top of such integrations to make sure they are done properly DEVELOP THE KEY CODE Define interfaces between system modules, boundaries and help write unit and acceptance tests that define design of the components Work on the most critical and complex pieces of code and resolution of the most elusive technical issues Work in pairs with senior members of the team to tackle complex new functionality or perform refactoring and assist junior developers with their tasks and professional development * Update: We have changed the title of this position to provide more clarity about the role. We are looking for hands-on agile gurus, great architects and technical problem solvers, loved by their peer developers who are looking to make the career step to lead their own team in our unique an exciting field. For this position we are not looking for senior executives with many years of experience establishing departments and managing huge projects while navigating political relationships with multiple corporate shareholders. ** Update: A decision has been made for the core team to be based in Madrid. From now on we will consider primarily candidates currently based in Madrid with exceptions only for outstanding candidates willing to relocate.