VP of Software Engineering

SkyWater has been retained by a private equity backed SaaS company in the Twin Cities Metro to attract and hire a VP of Software Engineering. This is a newly created leadership seat, not a backfill. The company has been around more than 20 years and is looking to shift from a tech-enabled business to a true software and data company.As the VP, you would own the technology roadmap end to end. That includes leading a team of 15+ engineers, migrating a legacy on-prem environment to the cloud, standing up compliance, and building out new self-serve, BI-driven product tools for customers and their partners. You would work closely with a product leader on the roadmap but own the technology function outright and report into the senior leadership team.Non-negotiables: hands-on experience taking a company through a real cloud modernization, current and genuine use of AI-assisted development tools and workflows, and the ability to work in office in the Metro (with flexibility).What makes this worth leaving a current seat for: real ownership of a technology function at a growth-stage company with fresh capital behind it, a builder’s mandate with room to shape the org and the stack from close to scratch, and equity participation tied to the company’s next phase of growth.Base salary is in the low to mid 200s, with bonus and equity potential. To apply or learn more, reach out confidentially to Zac Kallas at SkyWater Search Partners.ResponsibilitiesOwn the multi-year technology roadmap and lead the migration of a legacy, on-prem environment to the cloudLead a team of 15 to 25 engineers, establishing a culture of accountability, ownership, and speed across a group with a wide range of tenureOwn the technical vision for new self-serve, BI-driven portals and dashboards used by retail customers and their manufacturer partnersWork closely with a product leader to prioritize and monetize new product capabilities across the mobile app and loyalty platformLead the effort to modularize the product suite so new features roll out consistently across the full customer baseOversee the company's SOC 2 compliance initiative alongside an external compliance advisor, aligned to the cloud transitionAddress data quality and integration issues across core business systems and establish clean data governanceApply a disciplined buy versus build approach when evaluating new vendors and technology partnersPartner with marketing, operations, and sales leadership to align technology investment with growth objectivesSupport technical diligence on potential acquisition targets, including assessment of technology footprint and integration riskChampion the adoption of modern AI-assisted development tools and workflows across the engineering organizationDesired Skills And ExperienceBachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related fieldSignificant progressive software engineering leadership experience, including direct management of engineering teams and departmental budgetsDemonstrated experience building and scaling modern, cloud-based software products at a small or mid-size company, including through a period of real growthHands-on, current use of AI-assisted development tools and workflows, not just familiarity with the conceptStrong experience with vendor evaluation, technology partnerships, and a buy versus build approach to problem solvingAbility to work in office in the Twin Cities MetroCannot require sponsorship