Head of Engineering

About the company

In 2013, while living abroad, our founders set out to create an online tool that could turn huge PDFs into small, easy-to-send versions in order to send updates to their families. As it turns out, they weren’t the only ones with this problem. 10 years later, Smallpdf is one of the most popular PDF tools in the world and among the most visited websites globally. With products available in 24 languages, the site has visitors from every single country in the world, plus Antarctica, and processes millions of documents each day.

In 2022, we took a big step forward by acquiring PDF Tools, a Zurich-based pioneer for products that help to create, manipulate, and validate PDF- and PDF/A- files to support and improve our customers’ document workflows.

As a team of over >100 people from 34 nationalities in our offices in Zurich, Belgrade, and Barcelona, we’re proud to have made PDFs and life just a little bit easier for over a billion customers so far across our web, mobile, and desktop applications. And our reputation for Swiss engineering standards has made us a trusted choice for industry leaders like Lufthansa, UBS, Swiss Life, and millions of people around the world.

The Role

Your primary mission? Lead our engineering team with clarity and vision. Here at Smallpdf, we believe in results, not just processes. We’re looking for a forward-thinker who can:

• Monitor, improve and own the quality and performance of our systems; we are processing millions of documents per day and want to be on the competitive edge in terms of page speed, error rates, and other key performance indicators

• Look at the tech stack with a critical eye and make it better, faster and easier to manage

• Judge security topics and take full responsibility for the reliability of our systems

• Manage tech risks of all kinds

• Deliver projects faster by optimizing our cross-functional teamwork

• Making the overall engineering organization and our projects faster by fostering cross-functional teamwork and optimizing organizational setup and processes

• Instill a business-oriented mindset among engineers

• Evaluate potential ways to save costs resulting in a highly effective, easy-to-maintain, and cost-efficient setup & infrastructure

• Inspire the team with guidance on the latest tools and technological developments to raise our game

• Champion a culture of data-driven decisions and simplicity in engineering

• Build great teams and set them up for success - including building and developing tech leaders

• Inspire the team to accept challenges and build curiosity to solve difficult problems

• Serve as a constructive sparring partner in all product/roadmap and prioritization questions

• And above all, ensure our engineering efforts always align with overall company & business goals as well as users’ needs

What You Bring

• Leadership:Demonstrated experience leading tech teams and inspiring greatness

• Sharp thinker: Logical, structured and analytical

• Team Spirit: A unifying force with a history of bridging gaps and ensuring seamless collaboration

• Tech savvy: Your understanding of software, architecture and cloud infrastructure is solid. You appreciate good tech, but also know that the simplest solution is often the best

• Hands-On Experience: You’re grounded in software engineering and architecture with the credibility and insight to lead effectively

• Clear communicator: You break down complex topics. No fluff, no jargon, just clarity.

• Detail-oriented: You are eager to understand the nuts and bolts and aren’t afraid to deep dive when necessary

Tech Experience you bring

• Extensive technical experience building SAAS (or comparable) products

• Hands-on experience with technologies related to scalable and high-performance web applications

• Proficient in managing infrastructure with cloud providers, such as AWS

• Experience in designing architecture for scalable backend services

• Track record in working with modern frontend technologies and frameworks

Why Smallpdf?

Here, every task, every challenge is an opportunity to innovate and make a genuine impact. We’re a driven team - pragmatic, goal-focused, and always eager to solve the next big problem. This isn’t a place for mere management or grand visions detached from reality; it’s a ground for hands-on tech champions ready to roll up their sleeves. If you’re someone who’s willing to dive deep into the action, someone who’s more about the journey than just the title, Smallpdf is your destination.

Our benefits

You get to impact the way over 60 million people get work done every month.

Push boundaries and dare to fail—that’s how we learn!

30 vacation days—yep, you read that right— you can take them whenever you need them.

Need a long break? We offer sabbatical leave to employees who’ve been with us for over two years.

16 weeks parental leave—100% of your salary—for all new parents.

Don’t leave your four-legged friends at home; our offices are pet-friendly.

A personal development budget of up to 2,000 CHF every year, plus days off for courses or training.

We offer 1-1 coaching sessions to individual contributors and employees in leadership positions through our external partner ’BetterUp’.

Possibility of a Phantom stock option plan (PSOP). (Conditions apply.)

Hack days to challenge you and your team, plus build amazing things.