Founding Engineering Manager

InDebted

We're looking for an Engineering Manager to lead our Forward Deployed Engineering team in the UAE, building our technical presence in one of our most strategic markets. This is a unique opportunity to establish and scale a new engineering function that combines technical excellence with direct customer impact.

As the Engineering Manager for Forward Deployed Engineering, you'll build and lead a team of engineers who work directly with clients and customers, understand their pain points firsthand, and ship solutions that accelerate our growth in the UAE and broader Middle East region. You'll be responsible for both the technical success of your team and the business outcomes they deliver. This role is perfect for an engineering leader who thrives at the intersection of technology and business, someone who can context-switch between shipping and reviewing code, customer meetings, and strategic planning - often in the same day.

The Reality of the Role

This isn't a typical engineering management position. You'll be building a new function from the ground up in a rapidly evolving market. You'll need to be equally comfortable discussing test coverage percentages with your engineers as you are explaining delivery timelines to a client's C-suite. You'll translate between the language of business ("we need this for the ADCB deal") and the language of engineering ("here's how we architect this for scale").

What You'll Own:

Team Building & Leadership

• Hire, mentor, and develop a small team of forward-deployed engineers onshore in the UAE, or nearshore
• Build a high-performing engineering culture that balances rapid delivery with technical excellence
• Create career development paths for engineers who want more client exposure
• Foster collaboration between your UAE team and global engineering teams
• Champion our engineering standards while adapting to local market needs

Technical Strategy & Execution

• Define the technical roadmap for UAE-specific solutions and integrations
• Ensure your team follows our global coding standards, tech stack, and review processes
• Own the technical architecture decisions for regional implementations
• Balance "ship it now" urgency with "don't create technical debt" sustainability
• Guide your team through complex integrations with partners (FinTechs, Banks, etc)

Customer & Business Partnership

• Partner closely with the UAE Managing Director to align engineering efforts with business priorities
• Participate in enterprise client meetings to understand requirements and propose solutions
• Enable the sales team by providing technical expertise during deal cycles
• Transform customer feedback into actionable engineering initiatives
• Measure and communicate the business impact of your team's work

Regional Technical Ownership

Your team will own:

• Arabic-specific technical requirements (SMS workflows, data processing, UI localisation, etc)
• Integrations with UAE and GCC clients for both Receeve and Collect Products
• Automation for UAE-specific processes and compliance requirements
• AI-powered solutions tailored to the regional market