Director, Engineering, AI Search

<div class="content-intro"><div><span id="m_8220454926977230902gmail-docs-internal-guid-9a9f34f4-7fff-014a-c97c-98ca90610a47">Algolia is the retrieval intelligence layer that turns intent into trusted, decision-grade outcomes. Powering more than 1.7 trillion queries a year for over 18,000 customers with millisecond latency and 99.999% reliability, we are the recognized leader for Search and Product Discovery by top industry analyst firms. The Algolia platform turns a company's products, content, and business rules into data that humans, applications and AI agents can act upon. The result is trusted customer experiences with stronger conversions for measurable business impact.</span></div> <div> </div></div><p><strong>About the Team</strong></p> <p>Algolia’s Engineering team builds the core infrastructure and product features that power real-time search and discovery for thousands of customers around the world. This includes backend services, frontend components, site reliability, and ML-powered capabilities. The team is distributed, collaborative, and committed to technical excellence and continuous learning.</p> <p>As an <strong>Engineering Director</strong>, you will lead multiple teams or a critical product area, working closely with Engineering Managers, Product, and Design to deliver scalable, reliable, and high-impact solutions. You will play a key role in translating company strategy into execution, while building strong, autonomous teams and fostering engineering excellence.</p> <p><strong>Your Role Will Consist Of:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Leading a <strong>group of engineering teams (via Engineering Managers and Senior ICs)</strong>, ensuring alignment with product and company priorities</li> <li>Demonstrates strong AI leadership within the engineering organization by fostering a culture of <strong>continuous improvement</strong> and proactively evaluating and applying emerging AI technologies to enhance productivity, efficiency, and organizational performance across the broader technology function.</li> <li>Owning <strong>delivery, execution, and operational excellence</strong> for a defined product or platform area</li> <li>Partnering closely with <strong>Product, Design, and cross-functional stakeholders</strong> to shape roadmaps and ensure successful delivery of customer value</li> <li>Driving <strong>engineering best practices</strong> across system design, scalability, reliability, and performance</li> <li>Being a member of Algolia’s senior technology leadership team, with significant contributions to <strong>engineering excellence</strong> and the <strong>high performance</strong> of the global technology organization, extending beyond the immediate area of responsibility.</li> <li>Supporting and coaching <strong>Engineering Managers</strong>, helping them grow as leaders and build high-performing teams</li> <li>Contributing to <strong>organizational planning</strong>, including headcount, team structure, and quarterly/annual planning cycles</li> <li>Ensuring a strong culture of <strong>ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement</strong> within your organization</li> <li>Acting as a <strong>bridge between strategy and execution</strong>, translating high-level goals into clear team-level priorities</li> <li>Serves as a trusted advisor to the CTO and SVP Engineering, providing <strong>strategic guidance</strong> on engineering leadership, organizational effectiveness, and cross-functional management initiatives across the technology organization.</li> </ul> <p><strong>You Might Be a Fit If You Have:</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>8–12+ years of engineering experience</strong>, including <strong>3–5+ years managing multiple teams or managing through managers</strong></li> <li>Proven experience delivering <strong>complex, cross-functional projects</strong> in a fast-paced, high-growth environment</li> <li>Strong technical background with experience in <strong>distributed systems, APIs, and scalable infrastructure</strong></li> <li>Demonstrated ability to <strong>lead through others</strong>, empowering managers and senior engineers</li> <li>Excellent communication skills with the ability to <strong>align diverse stakeholders and drive clarity</strong></li> <li>Experience operating in <strong>distributed or global engineering environments</strong></li> </ul