Head of Engineering

We are looking for a Head of Engineering - Infrastructure & Reliability, (full-time) to join our team in Berlin. 

As the Head of Engineering - Infrastructure & Reliability, you will lead our efforts to design, build, and scale a robust technical foundation that powers Babbel's platform at a global scale. You'll oversee the engineering teams responsible for Infrastructure, Developer Experience (DevEx), and AppPlatform, driving innovation and operational excellence. 

You will champion Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) principles to ensure reliability, scalability, and performance across our fully AWS-based, serverless architecture. Your leadership will define how we evolve our systems and processes to meet the growing demands of our users and business. 

This role requires a deep technical understanding of modern cloud-native architectures, exceptional leadership skills, and a passion for building highly reliable and efficient systems. You will have a significant impact on shaping Babbel's engineering strategy and ensuring our platform is ready to support millions of learners worldwide.

You will:

• Lead and inspire a group of engineering teams, driving the innovation and strategy behind our infrastructure & reliability area, including DevEx, Infrastructure, and App Platform teams
• Establish and implement the technical vision and roadmap for Infrastructure & Reliability to align with Babbel's overarching strategic objectives
• Drive SRE best practices, including SLAs, SLOs, and error budgets, to ensure reliability and operational excellence
• Optimize and scale our cloud setup and strategy on AWS to support rapid growth and evolving business needs
• Cultivate a culture of collaboration, inclusivity, and open communication within the team, emphasizing accountability and high standards
• Guide and mentor engineering managers, promoting continuous learning, innovation, and professional growth

You have:

• Proven experience of 10+ years in backend or system engineering and a minimum of 3 years leading engineering managers
• Proven track record of leading and growing high-performing engineering teams and delivering scalable, reliable infrastructure in cloud-native environments
• Deep expertise in cloud environments, with a preference for strong knowledge on AWS
• Strong experience with SRE principles, including observability, incident management, and automation of operational tasks
• A DevOps mindset that empowers teams to take full ownership of their respective areas. Following the principle of "you build it, you run it, you own it."
• Outstanding communication and stakeholder management abilities, adept at influencing and collaborating at various organizational levels

Some perks of becoming a Babbelonian:

• Enjoy 30 vacation days and the chance to take a 3-month Sabbatical. Plus family and life situation counseling
• Decide how, when and from where you want to work with our flexible working hours and remote friendly options as Jobbatical (up to 3 months inside the EU) or work from our fully equipped office with nap, faith and family rooms
• Learn and grow with the internal learning opportunities, and use a yearly learning & development budget for external training. Learn languages with Babbel for free with your full access to Babbel
• Take advantage of your mobility benefits options and a discounted Urban Sports Club membership
• Be part of our employee communities (such as Femgineers, DE&I Ambassadors and LGBTQIA groups), attend cultural and regular social events

Diversity at Babbel

As part of our ongoing journey towards building a diverse, equitable and inclusive company, we welcome everyone to apply, especially those individuals who are underrepresented in tech. We are a learning company, inside and out, and we encourage you to apply even if you do not fit all the technical requirements - all candidates are assessed based on skills, qualifications and on our business needs. Please state your pronouns in your application, and let us know if you’d like to be addressed by a name other than the one appearing on your official documents. If you have a disability or special need, feel welcome to inform us, so that we can provide you with the proper assistance in the application process.