Head of Engineering

About the roleHands-On Head of EngineeringMelbourne - HybridCompetitive salary + equityPARTMAX is a fast-growing B2B online marketplace connecting independent car-part stores with automotive workshops, bringing an industry that still runs heavily offline into a modern, scalable digital platform. They're already live across VIC, NSW, QLD and WA, and are scaling fast.They’re looking for a hands-on Head of Engineering to take ownership of the technical direction of the business while remaining deeply involved in the code, architecture and delivery of the platform.This is not a management-only role. You’ll spend the majority of your time hands-on, working across a modern TypeScript / Next.js / Go / AWS stack while leading a small engineering team and helping shape the next stage of PARTMAX’s growth.The OpportunityYou’ll be joining PARTMAX at a pivotal point. The platform is already powering real customers and significant transaction volume, with major new projects ahead across the marketplace, workshop management, product information management and retail ecommerce.You’ll work closely with the Founder, two Senior Engineers, Operations, Sales, external partners and customers. You’ll own the future technical direction of the platform, identify risks before they become blockers and create structure in a fast-moving startup environment.This role could suit an existing hands-on Head of Engineering/EM or a strong Lead Engineer or Technical Lead ready to step into broader technical and people leadership.What you’ll doOwn the technical direction, architecture and engineering standards across the businessRemain highly hands-on across coding, system design, code architecture and technical problem-solvingLead, mentor and manage a small team of Senior EngineersReview pull requests and ensure work aligns with the wider architectural directionPlan upcoming projects and identify technical risks and blockers ahead of the teamLead development across the marketplace, workshop management system and retail siteDesign scalable solutions for complex business rules, customer requirements and large volumes of product dataWork closely with the Founder, Sales and Operations to prioritise technical and product initiativesEngage directly with workshops, parts stores and external partners to understand problems and design effective solutionsSupport integrations with data providers, parts stores and third-party technology partnersHelp grow the engineering team as the business and product expandWhat you’ll needStrong hands-on experience with TypeScript in complex production systemsExperience with Next.js and modern full-stack web applicationsExceptional system design and code architecture skillsExperience building and scaling platforms with complex business rules, integrations or data requirementsPrevious experience leading, mentoring or managing software engineersThe ability to set technical direction without relying on a CTO or heavily defined roadmapComfort working across AWS and PostgreSQL-backed systemsStrong communication skills and the confidence to work directly with technical and non-technical stakeholdersThe ability to create order from ambiguity, prioritise effectively and operate with a high degree of autonomyA pragmatic approach to engineering, balancing long-term maintainability with the need to move quicklyExperience with Go, Domain-Driven Design, architectural decision records, ecommerce, marketplaces, inventory systems or the automotive aftermarket would be highly regarded but not essential.Why PARTMAX?You’ll have genuine ownership of the technical function while remaining close to the code and the customer.The features you build are used by real customers almost immediately, giving you a direct and visible connection between your work and the growth of the business.You’ll also have the opportunity to shape major greenfield products, grow the engineering team and help PARTMAX compete with significantly larger companies in the automotive industry.Bonus points if you’ve worked in the automotive aftermarket or have experience bringing structured engineering practices from larger organisations into a startup environment.If this sounds interesting, apply here or connect with me, Alex Milligan, on LinkedIn. If your resume isn’t up to date, that’s fine. We can work through it together.