disguise sits at the heart of the most inspiring live and virtual experiences in the world, leading the market in building a software and hardware solution that designs, sequences and controls the most spectacular productions across film and TV, broadcast, live and corporate events.
VP of Engineering
Based in: London
Department: Software
Level: Leader
Reports into: Chief Product & Technology Officer
Why you're here
disguise is looking for a VP of Engineering, software engineers who consider themselves to be generalist programmers, comfortable in many different areas of development. The successful applicant will enjoy working at the cutting edge of their industry, providing software for demanding end users.
Strong leadership capability to manage and grow the existing functional leadership as well as growing our Cloud and Infrastructure function in order to support rapid team growth (approx. 30% year on year).
The company is planning to acquire new businesses and develop in adjacent markets and verticals. The candidate must be comfortable with a fast-paced and demanding, yet exciting, environment.
Supporting the internationalisation of the team, currently distributed between the UK, US and Canada. Opportunities for international travel are also available.
You will have a major say in how the code is written, structured and implemented and will be involved in all stages of development from design, through implementation to delivery and support. You will also be required to drive the improvement, support and maintenance of existing areas of the product.
Development is conducted in a small, highly focused team, light on process and requiring a hands-on approach.
Responsibilities
You will:
• use strong organisational leadership skills, self-motivation, and growth-oriented. mindset to lead, motivate, and inspire multiple teams of engineers to deliver high-quality outcomes and be held accountable for their performance.
• cultivate a collaborative and positive culture within the tech team.
• work with team leads to establish personal goals and motivate them.
• manage and coach multidisciplinary teams of technical leaders through challenges.
• adapt the structure and scale of the tech team as the company's needs change.
• ability to deal with rapidly evolving areas of technology and business with the ability to stay at the cutting edge.
• focus on functional, technical and implementation related aspects of all products.
• direct, manage and deliver through the creation and application of comprehensive processes.
• collaborate and partner with others across the business to plan and execute. development projects, ensures that teams have appropriate products and technical specifications, direction and resources to deliver projects on an aggressive, but achievable timeline.
• execute on continuous improvement of the existing products and architecture.
• have the ability to iterate from company strategy to development plans and drive engineering solutions that are aligned with business objectives.
• oversee estimation and execution of project work plans, directing revisions as appropriate to meet changing needs and requirements.
• Ensure your team’s success by proactively removing schedule and technical roadblocks with a positive, solution focussed mindset.
• establish and maintain a world class engineering culture by recruitment, retention, and development of great engineers who form cohesive teams capable of learning and growing.
• collaborate with peers to creatively solve problems and drive company-wide objectives.
• track, produce, analyse, and action upon key metrics & milestones to ensure quality products are delivered on time.
• communicate and collaborate with clients and partners on technical details.
• assist the CTO in communicating the product roadmap.
• maintain current knowledge of client expectations across market verticals to identify opportunities for development and innovation.
Qualifications and Skills
• Leadership experience (VP Eng., Sr Director) at a start-up, preferably during the rapid team and business scaling phase.
• B.Eng or B.Sc. in Computer Science / related field preferred.
• VFX, Graphics, Gaming industry, Media Server or related industry experience.
• Highly technical with expertise in infrastructure, architecture, and development.
• Experience engaging with executives and collaborating with business leaders to leverage the value of data to drive and influence the business.
• Passion for product excellence and experience working in organisations with strong collaboration between Engineering, Product, and Business functions.
• A proven progression of successful delivery as an individual, team leader and development manager.
• Leverage past experience and strong communication skills to collaborate effectively with customers.
• Ability to link vision and strategy with overall business objectives and communicate rationale in a compelling, concise manner.
• Solid understanding of the Agile software development cycle and development methodology.
• Planning and organisational skills.
• Exceptional leadership capability.
• Ability to successfully work under tight project deadlines.
• Proven success in developing teams.
• Experienced working and managing remotely.
• Experience managing large teams with next line managers/directors.
• Operate with empathy and strive to cultivate a work environment that is both supportive, challenging and inclusive.
• Passionate about helping engineers develop new skills and advance in their careers.
• You are a lifelong learner and passionate about learning new things and taking on new challenges.
disguise Requirements
• An interest and understanding in what disguise does as a company.
• Ability to work autonomously.
• Proven leadership capability transforming and growing teams.
• International experience desired.
• Clear & concise communications skills.
• Methodical work ethic, with strong attention to detail.
• Experience of key technologies: PC Desktop/Server Design, Embedded Systems, Visual Studio, C++, Python, Windows, DirectX.
• Background in high performance real-time systems.
About disguise
Building on our two-decade legacy in the live event space, where our workflow has powered global concert tours for artists like U2 and Beyoncé, festivals like Coachella and Glastonbury and theatre productions like Frozen and Harry Potter, we are also now leading the way in Extended Reality (xR) for remote Virtual Production.
Our award-winning xR workflow has enabled over 300 productions in the past 12 months, for music artists such as Katy Perry and Billie Eilish, broadcast TV channels like ITV and Eurosport, enterprise businesses like SAP and Siemens, educational institutions like the University of Michigan and notable VFX studios like Framestore and DNEG.
We partner closely with Epic Games, NVIDIA, Netflix and many more to further develop and democratize our virtual production solution and enable teams anywhere to create their best story with the most innovative tools.
With offices in London, LA, Auckland, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo, we are a fast-growing company that hires bright, creative, talented individuals across the world to push the boundaries of visual experiences and build lasting relationships with our community.
We were delighted to be recognized as one of the Financial Times’ top 1000 fastest growing businesses for 2021. Watch our showreel to see just some of the incredible work of how disguise products are used
Our values
- Honest. Transparency and integrity are core to how we approach each other and our work at disguise. Our culture relies on clear, courageous conversations and proactively sharing feedback with the intent to help each other and the business to grow.
- Evolutionary. We are always seeking to be even better. We push the limits of what is possible so both our technology and our disguisers stay ahead of the game.
- Fearless. Innovation and a pioneering attitude are key to our success. Disguisers are empowered to experiment, work autonomously and grow from their experiences.
- Resilient. Disguisers are determined to succeed and will not give up when things get tough. We are committed to doing what is right, rather than what is easy, and will adapt to finding the best path forward.
- Belong. We are committed to being the difference. Every disguiser has a role to play in creating an inclusive environment where people belong and can do their best work every day.
Our benefits
We want to make sure we attract and retain the best talent out there. For permanent disguisers globally, some of our benefits and perks include:
- Unlimited Paid Time Off - with minimum time you must take set at 20% above statutory
- Gig Allowance - £400 or local equivalent to spend on tickets every year, to immerse yourself in our industries
- Flexible hours - some people start work at 10am, and others begin at 7am and finish earlier. Create a pattern that works for your team and for you
- Hybrid working between home and our offices (dependent on role and location)
- Long Service Awards (3, 5, 10+ years)
- Belonging policies - including (but not limited to) support for Parental, Fertility, Miscarriage, Menopause and Transitioning
- Mental health and wellbeing support - subscription to the Calm app, weekly desk-yoga, mental health first-aid buddies, Employee Assistance Programmes
- Training, coaching & mentoring
Health and pension benefits vary based on local requirements.
Don’t disguise your differences.
Innovation comes from everyone. We strive to create a workplace that reflects our diverse audience. We celebrate our people for their full authentic selves, and embrace uniqueness. Inclusion and Equity matter at disguise. We create together and we create everywhere.
