Head of Engineering

About the Role

Tonik seeks a dynamic Head of Engineering to spearhead its engineering department in Singapore. This executive position plays a pivotal part in advancing digital banking innovations across Southeast Asia. The leader will oversee all engineering domains including mobile, APIs, middleware, quality assurance, business analysis, and scrum teams, guiding the architectural and operational progression of Tonik’s digital banking platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive engineering vision and roadmap aligned with Tonik’s commercial and product aspirations.
• Manage and inspire diverse teams spanning mobile development, API and middleware, QA, business analysis, and scrum delivery.
• Lead efforts to embed AI and machine learning into products, driving innovation and pioneering next-gen banking features through R&D and proof-of-concept initiatives.
• Design and maintain enterprise-level scalable, secure, and resilient technical systems consistent with cloud-first (AWS) practices and TOGAF frameworks.
• Promote engineering rigor by ensuring dependable, secure, and performant software releases supporting continuous improvement of processes such as CI/CD pipelines and quality assurance.
• Foster a high-performing engineering culture focused on ownership, learning, collaboration, and career development through effective team structuring and mentoring.
• Ensure full regulatory compliance with BSP digital banking standards, PCI-DSS, data privacy, and security, collaborating closely with compliance and legal teams.
• Act as the senior engineering liaison with executive leadership and stakeholders, communicating technical strategies, progress, and risks clearly.
• Advocate a customer-centric engineering mindset by partnering with product and design teams to ensure technology enables personalized, accessible, reliable banking experiences.

Candidate Profile and Qualifications

• Possess a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or similar disciplines.
• Hold at least 15 years of progressive engineering experience, including a minimum of 5 years in senior leadership roles such as Head or VP of Engineering.
• Demonstrate proven leadership capacity managing sizable engineering teams in fintech, digital banking, or comparable fast-paced tech sectors.
• Have robust expertise in AI/ML integration, enterprise architecture following TOGAF, and cloud-native engineering prominently on AWS platforms; certifications like AWS Solutions Architect are advantageous.
• Be proficient in mobile (iOS, Android, React Native) engineering and API/middleware development.
• Possess a thorough understanding of relevant digital banking regulatory frameworks including BSP, PCI-DSS, and data security practices.
• Exhibit a strategic mindset with experience crafting and implementing multi-year technology plans aligned with business growth.
• Exemplify superior people management skills with experience nurturing and scaling multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Maintain strong communication skills, adept at engaging with executives and a diverse array of stakeholders.
• Thrive in agile, multicultural, globally distributed engineering environments.
• Showcase enthusiasm for leveraging generative AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT to accelerate development and build a culture of innovation.

About Tonik

Tonik is a ground-breaking digital-only bank focused on transforming financial services through inclusivity, transparency, cost reduction, and flexibility—all delivered on a secure mobile platform. It is the first private digital bank licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and services consumers with loans, deposits, payments, and card products. The bank is headquartered in Singapore with operational hubs in Manila, Chennai, and Kyiv, supported by global venture capital and a team with proven retail banking expertise.

Ideal Leader Profile

• A visionary technology strategist with credible hands-on engineering experience.
• An innovation advocate who pushes boundaries in digital banking technology.
• An empathetic and trust-building leader focused on talent growth and optimal team performance.
• Embedding company values of teamwork, honesty, reliability, humor, and street-smart pragmatism.
• Relentlessly focused on customer impact and technology-driven financial empowerment.
• A resilient and decisive executive able to thrive amid rapid growth and ambiguity.