We are hiring! Founding Head of Engineering

Oct 6

Founding Head of Engineering

Kestrel Labs – Denver, CO

About Us

Kestrel Labs is a fast-moving startup building AI-powered tools that help architects and design professionals navigate building codes and regulations with precision and speed. Our mission is to eliminate bottlenecks in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Owner (AECO) industry so that creative and technical talent can focus on what they do best.

Our first product transforms compliance review from a manual bottleneck into an intelligent, real-time design companion. We're in Techstars Boston 2025, venture backed, and active design partnerships with industry leaders.

The Role

We’re hiring a Head of Engineering to join the founding team - this is a hands-on leadership role. You’ll own the stack, the system architecture, and the velocity of engineering. You’ll work side-by-side with our founders and offshore development team in Hungary to translate complex real-world problems into robust, elegant software, and make our vision real at startup speed. This is a flexible hybrid role, based out of our Denver office.

Key Responsibilities

Product Architecture & Technical Leadership
• Own and evolve the technical architecture and roadmap for our AI-first SaaS platform, including LLM-based tools, rules engines, and integrations with 3rd party software tools
• Select core technologies, development frameworks, and establish code quality standards
• Lead development from prototype through production release

Software Development & Delivery
• Drive product delivery with agile delivery processes, sprint planning, and release cycles
• Work cross-functionally to translate complex AEC workflows into intuitive, high-utility product experiences aligned with business goals
• Maintain a bias toward simplicity, iteration, and fast feedback loops

Team Building & Engineering Leadership
• Evolve and build the engineering team through feedback and mentoring
• Foster a culture of excellence, accountability, and innovation
• Serve as both hands-on contributor and team architect

Infrastructure, Security & Operations
• Build and manage CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices
• Operational accountability over system uptime, MTTR, performance/monitoring, and incident response
• Ensure product and data security compliance and governance, including access controls and auditability.

Who You Are

You’re a strong generalist who’s built real software, owned projects end-to-end, and helped teams move fast without breaking things. You don’t need to have seen every challenge before—but you know how to ask the right questions, cut through complexity, and get things over the finish line.

We’re looking for someone who is:

Execution-focused: You’re comfortable taking ownership and delivering full-stack software in early-stage environments.
Leadership-ready: You’ve either led teams or are clearly on a path to do so. You support others, and don’t wait for permission to move.
Product-oriented: You care deeply about the user experience and the practical impact of your work.
Adaptable and pragmatic: You can balance speed, quality, and technical debt while staying focused on business outcomes.
Collaborative: You know how to work with founders, interface with external dev teams, and keep things on track without drama.

Bonus Experience

We care more about mindset and capability than any specific resume line. That said, we using the following systems and tools, so experience with the following is a plus:

AI/LLM systems and tools
Cloud infrastructure (GCP, AWS), CI/CD, and DevOps
Security best practices for enterprise SaaS
Developer tools, regulatory software, or the AEC industry, C#/.NET/Revit experience.
Working with or managing offshore dev teams

Why Join Us?

We’re building real, technically challenging infrastructure, not just an AI wrapper, and want you to feel like you can do the best work of your life here.

Salary range: $160,000–$200,000 depending on experience and equity mix
Equity: Significant early ownership with meaningful upside
Location: Denver/Boulder-based role with flexible hybrid expectations (~1–2 days in person per week)
Benefits: Health, dental, and life insurance; 401(k) with company contribution; generous PTO
Ownership: Lead engineering from the ground up and grow into a long-term executive or founding CTO
Impact: Build software that solves painful, expensive problems in a $22B+ global market
Access: Work directly with industry expert founders, early pilot customers, and an engaged dev team
Momentum: Backed by leading firms, accepted to top-tier programs (Techstars Boston 2025, Trimble 0-60), and preparing for a national product launch