Please note that candidates must currently live in the following states: DC, Illinois, Maryland, New York or Virginia.
Civis Analytics is hiring a Vice President, Engineering to lead the company’s technical vision, architecture, and execution as we expand our platform and launch standalone AI products. Reporting to the CEO, the VP will play a critical player–coach role: setting long-term technical direction while staying close to systems, decisions, and delivery.
This role owns the cohesion between Civis’s core data platform and its growing AI product portfolio. As we scale our AI capabilities, the VP will ensure that our existing data infrastructure and IP remain strong, reliable, and extensible—while guiding teams toward an AI-centric development and product environment.
What You’ll Do- Be the tech voice within our senior leadership team and guide decision-making and business planning as we scale;
- Own and drive Civis’s technical roadmap across both the Civis Platform and emerging AI products, ensuring alignment, cohesion, and long-term scalability
- Lead architecture decisions across platform, data, and AI systems, balancing speed, reliability, and maintainability
- Act as a player–coach: stay close to systems, technical tradeoffs, and delivery while empowering teams to execute independently. Guide the organization toward an AI-centric product and development environment, including tooling, workflows, and engineering practices
- Lead and integrate a cross-functional team spanning product, engineering, data, and AI, while serving as a visible, hands-on leader and magnet for technical talent as the organization grows (approximately 15 people initially).
- Provide thought leadership within the company; research and evaluate cutting-edge practices and enabling technologies for internal adoption; assess potential partnerships and acquisitions;
- Be the public face of Civis technology and data science; network, evangelize, and form relationships with press and peer organizations; participate in high-level sales meetings; and give back to the community.
- Practical, real-world experience working with AI systems and understanding their application in production environments - beyond theory or research
- Significant experience leading software, platform, or data engineering organizations in a hands-on leadership capacity
- Demonstrated ability to own and evolve technical roadmaps across multiple product lines or platforms
- Experience making architectural decisions for complex, data-driven systems
- Comfort getting into the technical weeds when needed to unblock teams or resolve critical issues
- Proven ability to hire, develop, and manage high-performing technical teams
- Clear, direct communication style and comfort making and standing behind difficult technical decisions
- Familiarity with building and scaling AI products in production
- Hands-on experience with modern cloud platforms and distributed systems
- Authorization to work in the United States
- You want to actively shape and build AI products, not just talk about them
- You enjoy owning technical strategy while staying close to execution and delivery
- You’re comfortable operating in ambiguity and making decisions with imperfect information
- You want to lead teams through a meaningful shift toward AI-centric products and development practices
- You prefer a purely strategic or advisory role with little hands-on involvement
- You are uncomfortable working directly with AI systems or learning their practical constraints
- You expect highly structured environments with minimal change
- You prefer delegating all technical depth rather than engaging directly when needed
Salary: $200,000
Civis embraces the individuality of our employees and we celebrate each other's differences. Our products, services, and culture benefit from and thrive on the unique perspectives brought by each person in our Civis community. We're proud to be an equal opportunity workplace, and we are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, age, sex, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship, marital status, disability, or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact [email protected]
In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States.
EEO IS THE LAW
EEO Supplement
Pay Transparency
Employee and Applicant Privacy Notice
Civis Analytics Chicago, Illinois, USA Office
As one of the popular hubs for tech startups, Chicago is the perfect backdrop for Civis's growing team.
Similar Jobs
What you need to know about the Chicago Tech Scene
Key Facts About Chicago Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 245,800; 5.2% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: McDonald’s, John Deere, Boeing, Morningstar
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, fintech, software, logistics technology
- Funding Landscape: $2.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Arch Venture Partners, MATH Venture Partners, Jump Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners
- Research Centers and Universities: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
