Product Engineering Lead (QVAC) (100% remote)

About the Role
QV.AC is a general-purpose AI assistant designed to operate locally on users' devices, providing real control over personal data while prioritizing privacy and eliminating cloud dependency. Our goal is to develop an AI assistant that users truly own, within the company's peer-to-peer ecosystem. We are seeking a Product Engineering Lead to transform product direction into features that resonate with users, ensuring they meet rigorous standards for performance and reliability on actual devices. You will lead various teams responsible for building QV.AC's features and app experience and report directly to the CTO, aligning closely with product direction. The role requires a balance of engineering leadership (approximately 70%) and product partnership (approximately 30%). You should be an engineering leader with experience in shipping consumer products quickly, possess strong product sense, and have insights into the capabilities of AI systems without the need for direct model development.

Responsibilities

• Engineering

  • Manage day-to-day operations of app and feature teams, including unblocking issues, reviewing work, and ensuring consistent delivery.
  • Maintain a high engineering standard for performance, reliability, and API quality.
  • Oversee the technical design of features and the API interface between our AI core and the app.
  • Collaborate closely with AI research and deep tech teams on code reviews and design interactions involving models or inference.

• Product Partnership

  • Collaborate with QV.AC's product managers to translate the vision and roadmap into actionable, scoped work.
  • Push back on unrealistic scopes and propose feasible alternatives.
  • Offer engineering insights into product decisions, particularly regarding the current capabilities and limitations of local models.
  • Accelerate the team's progress through AI tools and rapid prototypes for idea validation before full commitment.

• Leadership

  • Establish clear team goals and define success metrics for all members.
  • Mentor team leads to enhance operating systems, improve collaboration, and foster leadership growth.
  • Lead by example: support the team when necessary and allow them autonomy as they develop their capabilities.

Mandatory Requirements

• Proven experience in managing engineers or engineering teams delivering consumer products, preferably AI-powered applications.
• Strong product sense with the ability to distinguish between valuable features and unnecessary complexity.
• Understanding of applied AI and on-device constraints, including model size, latency, memory, battery usage, and the distinction between effective demonstrations and reliable features.
• Proficiency with AI tools and a keen interest in experimenting with new models and capabilities.
• Expertise in JavaScript and React.
• Attributes of initiative, curiosity, resilience, and the capacity to give and receive constructive feedback.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with local or on-device inference, large language model evaluations, cross-platform mobile and desktop applications, or open-source projects is a plus.

Important Information for Candidates
To protect yourself from recruitment scams, please adhere to the following guidelines:

• Apply only through our official channels as we do not utilize third-party platforms or agencies for recruitment unless explicitly stated. All positions are listed on our official careers page.
• Verify the recruiter’s identity through confirmed LinkedIn profiles; contact us if you are uncertain.
• Be aware that we do not conduct interviews via WhatsApp, Telegram, or SMS; all communication should occur through official company emails and platforms.
• Ensure email communications come from addresses ending in @thecompany.to or @thecompany.io.
• Please do not share any personal financial information or make payments during the hiring process; any such requests are indicative of a scam. Report any suspicious activities immediately.
  If you have any doubts or concerns, please reach out through our official website.