Head of Engineering

Role overview

As Head of Engineering at Xero, you will oversee and expand several engineering teams within your product area, helping deliver dependable software that improves outcomes for hundreds of thousands of small business customers around the world.

You will act as a technical guide for the portfolio, keeping a strong view of platform health and code quality while also improving delivery speed. In addition, you will help remove complicated cross-functional blockers, create alignment, and accelerate progress toward company-wide objectives.

This leadership position also asks you to strengthen engineering capability across the teams you support, promote AI-first ways of working, and deliver outcomes that matter to both the business and end users.

As an engineering leader, you are expected to bring strong emotional intelligence, self-awareness, self-management, motivation, and empathy, along with excellent relationship-building skills. You will lead in line with the company vision and values and help create an inclusive, supportive team environment.

Team collaboration

You will work closely with Product and Design leaders to make sure customer needs, commercial goals, and technical priorities are all considered across the portfolio. The team is grounded in customer focus and strong support for psychological safety, which helps encourage innovation.

Key areas of work

• Drive the use of responsible AI architecture and AI-enabled workflows to improve productivity and shorten time to value across the portfolio.
• Lead major technical transformation initiatives, including breaking up monolithic systems into decoupled services and moving toward API-first integration patterns.
• Coordinate complex programs involving multiple teams, with clear ownership and active risk management to ensure dependable delivery.
• Shape hiring plans and develop strong talent so the engineering organisation maintains a high bar and supports career growth.
• Improve operational excellence by ensuring production services are well owned, reliable, observable, and continually improved.

Working arrangement

This position follows a hybrid setup, combining in-office collaboration with remote flexibility. The team also uses boost days to come together in modern office spaces for connection, alignment, and creative problem-solving.

What we are looking for

• Strong knowledge of software architecture, trade-offs in design, and how to manage technical debt at scale.
• A proven history of leading and growing high-performing engineering leaders and teams.
• The ability to handle conflict in an open, constructive, and proactive manner.
• Good strategic judgement for simplifying complex cross-functional problems in fast-growing environments.
• A leadership style that encourages growth, accountability, and team ownership across multiple groups.
• A bias toward action and the ability to make timely decisions without over-delaying for perfection.

Application note

Applicants are encouraged to apply even if their background does not match every requirement exactly. Hiring decisions are based on skills, motivation, and the fresh perspective you can bring to the team and culture.