Head of Engineering (AI Transformation & Core Systems)

Deriv is seeking a Head of Engineering who is a "Builder-First" leader. You are someone who started in the trenches of full-stack development and scaled to the executive suite by out-engineering the status quo.

We are not looking for a "maintenance" leader. We need a Transformer. You are someone who has looked at traditional monolithic or microservice architectures, identified the bottlenecks of human-led processes, and pivoted entire organizations toward AI-first architectures—where AI isn't just a feature, but the core engine of decision-making and system optimization.

What Sets This Role Apart

• Architectural Sovereignty: You will have the mandate to challenge our current stack. If a legacy process slows us down; you have the authority to re-engineer it using AI.
• AI Roadmap Ownership: You won't just "implement" AI; you will redefine our operations and how we manage our business with it.
• Global Elite Leadership: You will lead a "special forces" team of global AI engineers, setting a culture of high-density talent where the best ideas win, regardless of hierarchy.

• The AI-Native Migration: Pivot the organization from "Traditional Tech" (manual CI/CD, static rule engines) to AI-Native Operations featuring self-healing systems and automated code generation.
• Real-Time Non-Deterministic Systems: Build and lead AI systems that handle complex, non-deterministic tasks in real-time within a high-stakes trading environment.
• The "Fast AI" Paradox: Master the art of integrating heavy models and tools without sacrificing speed, ensuring AI never comes at the cost of high-latency performance.
• Full-Stack Precision Sovereignty: Oversee the entire lifecycle, from backend memory management precision to the fluidity of high-performance frontend interfaces.
• Radical Process Re-Engineering: Transform workflows by identifying human-led bottlenecks and replacing them with AI-driven optimization.
• Orchestrating Brilliance: Manage and provide vision for world-class AI engineers and system architects who are specialists in their niches

• Core: Deep experience in C++, Rust, Go, or Python (high-performance contexts).
• AI/ML: Expertise in LLM fine-tuning, RAG pipelines, Vector databases (Milvus/Pinecone), and MLOps.
• Systems: Expertise in Kubernetes, distributed systems, and kernel-level optimizations for low-latency data streaming.

We operate at the edge of what is possible in fintech. We are a debt-free, profitable, and fast-moving organization that treats engineering as our primary product.