Head of Engineering

NAVA Software solutions is looking for a Head of Engineering Details Head of Engineering Location: Austin, TX (On-site) Duration: Long term We are building a modern, API-first fintech platform in the heart of Austin. Our product spans client-facing applications, payment processing infrastructure, and a high-volume ACH and reconciliation engine operating in one of the most compliance-sensitive domains in US financial services. We are not guessing at product-market fit - we have deep domain expertise, enterprise clients going live, and a founding team that has done this before. We are lean, ambitious, and AI-native by design. The Role You are equally comfortable reviewing a pull request and defining a quarterly roadmap. You will be the first engineering hire in Austin - hands‑on in the codebase while building and coaching a small, high‑output team. You are comfortable taking a one line requirement and developing it into a full implementation. You are comfortable working with a distributed engineering and product team that will necessitate early morning and late night calls. This role is structured as a contract‑to‑hire engagement with a clear path to full‑time employment, equity, and a senior leadership position.

This structure is intentional - we want the right technical leader to demonstrate impact before we make a long‑term mutual commitment, and we want you to feel the same confidence about us. What You Will Own Build and lead a team of ~4 engineers in Austin - hiring, coaching, and setting the technical bar Manage the overseas security, devops, and production support teams Be ready to dig into the codebase, unblock engineers, and ship code yourself Own architecture decisions across Node.js, React, PostgreSQL, AWS, and open source CRM Drive high‑volume ACH processing reliability, virtual account ledgering, reconciliation integrity, and NACHA/SOC 2 compliance Build CI/CD pipelines and self‑serve deployment workflows - make releasing a non‑event Establish TDD, peer review, and modern engineering standards from day one Lead by example with AI coding tools - Claude, Copilot, Cursor - and embed them into team culture Represent engineering in customer and sales conversations Earn the trust of senior engineers by reading, challenging, and reviewing production code credibly Operate with seriousness about reliability - in a payment processing environment, uptime and accuracy are not negotiable What We Are Looking For Must Have 10+ years engineering experience, 3 5+ years hands‑on leadership Deep ACH processing and fintech platform experience Strong Node.js, React, PostgreSQL, REST API, and AWS proficiency Proven 0‑to‑1 startup experience - you have shipped a product from scratch CI/CD, TDD, and modern engineering practices in production Practical knowledge of US fintech compliance obligations - NACHA, PCI DSS, GLBA, BSA/AML, and SOC 2 Type II AI-native - you actively use AI tools daily, not occasionally Strong Plus Twenty CRM or open-source CRM experience Offshore team management experience Wire, debit card, and real‑time payment rail experience beyond ACH #J-18808-Ljbffr