Head of engineering

Job Purpose The Head of Engineering leads Klearcom’s engineering organization through a period of modernization, scale, and telephony-centric innovation. This role blends deep technical expertise with strong leadership to deliver secure, scalable, and high-performing software and telephony systems. Working closely with the CTO, the Head of Engineering defines engineering standards, modernizes legacy components into modular architectures, strengthens telephony platforms, and embeds automation, observability, and quality-first practices across the delivery lifecycle. A strong background in Asterisk development and telecommunication systems is essential.

Key Responsibilities ● Define and deliver the technical strategy guiding Klearcom’s platform modernization, including the evolution toward modular, service-based architecture and next-generation telephony capabilities.

● Lead the software and telephony engineering functions, setting high standards for code quality, architectural design, and engineering practices across all domains.
● Drive enhancements to telephony infrastructure, ensuring reliability, scalability, and performance—particularly within Asterisk-based call routing, IVR, and SIP integration workflows.
● Embed a culture of automation and reliability, integrating CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code, and observability into daily delivery workflows.
● Champion secure coding and security-by-design practices across both software and telephony systems, ensuring robust authentication, input validation, and dependency management.
● Ensure clear documentation and traceability of designs and decisions across application, telephony, and infrastructure components.
● Lead periodic reviews to validate code quality, architectural integrity, telephony performance, and maintainability.
● Drive continuous quality improvement by embedding automated testing, including telephony-specific test harnesses and call-flow validation.
● Partner closely with Product Management while leading QA and Dev Ops to deliver scalable, business-aligned, and telephony-reliable solutions.
● Mentor and develop engineers into specialized roles (backend, frontend, Dev Ops, QA, telephony/Vo IP), fostering expertise and career growth.
● Establish engineering delivery discipline and practices that improve predictability, transparency, and cross-team collaboration.
● Guide the adoption of event-driven and asynchronous architectures where appropriate for scalability and call-routing performance.
● Continuously evaluate new technologies—including emerging telephony and voice technologies—to ensure the product remains competitive and resilient.
● Collaborate with Architecture, Product, and Security leaders to ensure technical decisions balance business value, telephony reliability, long-term scalability, and compliance.

Technical and Professional Competencies ● Deep hands-on experience in software engineering, systems architecture, and technical leadership, with strong telephony and Vo IP expertise.

● Mandatory experience in Asterisk development, including dialplan creation, AGI/AMI/ARI integrations, SIP/RTP handling, call-flow optimization, and performance tuning.
● Strong understanding of telephony protocols (SIP, RTP, STUN/TURN/ICE, Web RTC) and real-time communication systems.
● Strong hands-on experience with Python for backend development, microservices, and automation.
● Working knowledge of AI/ML concepts, frameworks, and practical application of machine-learning models within production systems (advantage).
● Proficiency in modern programming languages and frameworks, including experience with API design and distributed systems.
● Experience transitioning from monolithic architectures to modular, cloud-native, or microservice patterns.
● Strong background in cloud platforms (AWS preferred), including scalability, observability, and cost-optimized deployments.
● Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code, and containerized deployments (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
● Proven ability to embed automated testing, code reviews, and Dev Ops best practices into engineering workflows.
● Strong understanding of application, telephony, and network security.
● Excellent analytical skills and the ability to balance technical depth with strategic oversight.
● Ability to translate complex technical and telephony-related challenges into business value for stakeholders.

Technical Environment The Head of Engineering is expected to be hands-on in reviewing and guiding development across this stack, with a special focus on telephony modernization and Asterisk systems:

● Telephony: Asterisk (core telephony engine, SIP routing, IVR, AGI/ARI), Vo IP infrastructure
● Backend: PHP with Laravel, Python for microservices
● Frontend: React JS
● AI/ML (optional but beneficial): Experience with Python-based ML frameworks
● Databases: Maria DB/My SQL and Mongo DB on AWS RDS and Mongo DB Cloud
● Cloud Platform: AWS (EC2, S3, RDS, Cloud Watch, SES, Code Pipeline)
● Infrastructure: Ansible for Infrastructure as Code
● Automation & Observability: CI/CD pipelines in AWS Code Pipeline, Zabbix, Cloud Watch
● Security & Networking: OWASP, VPN
● Additional telephony/RTC tools: SIP providers, SBCs, RTP monitoring (advantage)

Behavioural Competencies ● Leads by example with accountability, technical curiosity, and a commitment to quality and reliability.

● Promotes a culture of innovation, learning, and continuous improvement.
● Encourages collaboration and shared ownership across teams.
● Balances delivery urgency with long-term architectural and telephony system sustainability.
● Communicates clearly and influences effectively across technical and non-technical audiences.
● Drives a shift from reactive delivery to proactive engineering excellence and preventative quality practices.

Qualifications & Experience ● Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field—or equivalent hands-on experience.

● Minimum 15 years of experience in software engineering, including at least 8+ years in technical or team leadership roles.
● Proven hands-on experience in telephony/Vo IP systems and Asterisk development (non-negotiable).
● Demonstrated experience using Python in backend systems or automation workflows, with exposure to AI/ML technologies being an advantage.
● Demonstrated success leading engineering teams in a product-based or platform-based environment.
● Experience modernizing systems for scalability, maintainability, and security—both in software and telephony domains.
● Background in telecommunications, contact center systems, or real-time communication platforms is strongly preferred.

Success Measures ● Improved release reliability and reduction of post-deployment issues through automated testing and CI/CD validation.

● Increased test coverage and telephony-specific automation around call flows, IVRs, and SIP routing.
● Reduced technical and telephony debt through modernization and refactoring initiatives.
● Clear architectural roadmap supporting modular, scalable, and telephony-resilient design.
● Strengthened engineering culture with emphasis on ownership, peer reviews, documentation, and continuous learning.
● Automated dashboards providing visibility into delivery velocity, code quality, telephony performance, and system health.
● Consistent application of engineering and telephony architecture standards through structured review processes.