Head of Technology (Partner with Equity)

Company Description

Polyfactor is a lean, fast-growing young AI-native agency and venture builder. We partner with forward-thinking companies to design and engineer next-generation digital products, high-scale platforms, and proprietary software. Backed by a solid client pipeline and active projects, we also build our own high-growth ventures---including DeepMantis, our Pentest-as-a-Service (PaaS) spin-off. We operate with zero bureaucracy, complete transparency, and total technical autonomy, giving builders the ultimate platform to shape products, take ownership, and share real equity upside.

Role Description

As a Partner -- Head of Technology, you will step in alongside the Managing Partners to take full ownership of the technology strategy, architecture, and engineering execution across our active projects and solid client pipeline. This is a full-time hybrid leadership role based in the Berlin/Hamburg area with high flexibility for partial remote work.

You will serve as our chief technical architect and primary engineering force. You'll design reliable backend systems, establish secure cloud infrastructure, and pioneer AI-native workflows to ship production code at 10x speed. From defining technical roadmaps for client builds to driving the architecture of spin-offs like DeepMantis, your day-to-day balances high-level platform leadership with hands-on, high-velocity execution.

Qualifications

• Technical Experience: 8+ years of experience across Senior Fullstack Engineering, DevOps, and Cloud Infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• AI-Native Stack: Proven mastery of AI-assisted engineering tools and LLMOps (Cursor, Claude, agents, modern AI frameworks) to build and deploy robust production code rapidly.
• Architecture & Reliability: Deep expertise in system/database design, modern web architectures, API security, and platform scalability.
• AI/ML Background (Bonus): Hands-on experience with AI/ML development, model integration, or fine-tuning is a strong plus, though not strictly required.
• Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills: Exceptional research and diagnostic capabilities to evaluate complex systems, solve hard technical bottlenecks, and structure data-informed solutions.
• Communication & Leadership: Excellent business-fluent English skills to present technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, partner with executive leadership, and guide product strategy.
• Project Management & Delivery: Strong track record of scoping, prioritizing, and delivering complex engineering projects on time in agile environments.
• Entrepreneurial Mindset: Previous experience in founder, partner, tech lead, or senior startup roles with a desire for direct equity ownership, decision-making responsibility, and zero-bureaucracy execution.
• Location & Education: Based in (or willing to operate flexibly within) the Berlin or Hamburg area, holding a degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.

What We Offer

• Significant Equity: High-upside founding equity stake in Polyfactor plus direct equity upside in our venture spin-offs (including DeepMantis).
• Lean Startup Cash Model: Initial lean salary structure designed for high-runway building, scaling up rapidly as company and client pipeline milestones are hit.
• True Autonomy: 100% technical ownership, zero bureaucracy, and decision-making power alongside the Managing Partners.
• Workplace Flexibility: Modern hybrid setup (Berlin/Hamburg area + flexible work-from-home options).