VP of Engineering – Ephemera (XMTP + Convos)

Build the Future of Private Communication

Ephemera is building the future of messaging—secure, decentralized, and private.

Our open protocol (XMTP) powers the next generation of communication, while

Convos brings that vision to life as a privacy first chat app.

We’re hiring a Vice President of Engineering to build and lead our engineering

organization from the ground up. This is a foundational leadership role responsible

for driving organizational structure, technical strategy, and team performance

across both the XMTP protocol and Convos app.

We’re looking for a seasoned technical leader who can think strategically about

how to structure teams for speed and quality, make smart architectural decisions,

and hold a high bar for execution and accountability. You should have deep

experience navigating technical trade-offs, leading protocol or infrastructure

teams, and inspiring engineers through clarity, mentorship, and decisiveness.

You’ll report directly to the CEO and be a key partner in shaping product direction,

culture, and roadmap execution.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Planning and Vision

• Define and evolve our engineering strategy in alignment with company goals

• Shape and execute on technical product roadmap

• Champion technical excellence while making pragmatic decisions for velocity and scale

Organizational Leadership

• Design and grow the engineering org from early stage through intentional growth

• Hire and manage top-tier engineering talent across protocol and app

• Develop a culture of ownership, quality, and high performance

Execution and Delivery

• Ensure consistent, high-velocity delivery of complex projects

• Oversee technical roadmap execution with a focus on resilience, speed and quality

• Build and enforce strong QA and testing practices

Technical Leadership

• Provide architectural direction, particularly on protocol and backend infrastructure

• Guide trade-off discussions, balancing short-term needs with long-term maintainability

• Be the voice of engineering in product and company strategy conversations

Communication and Collaboration

• Act as the primary liaison between engineering and executive leadership

• Communicate priorities, progress, and blockers with clarity and transparency

• Foster cross-functional collaboration across Product, Design, Protocol, and Ops

What We’re Looking For

• Minimum of 10+ years of engineering experience, including 5+ years leading and scaling high-performing teams

• Experience building and growing an engineering org from early stage to 50+ people

• Deep understanding of technical trade-offs, protocol design, and system architecture

• Strong preference for leaders with experience in developer infrastructure, developer tools, or protocols (e.g., Cloudflare, Datadog, GitHub, Vercel, Buf, etc.)

• Comfortable overseeing both protocol-level complexity and consumer app execution

• Proven track record of shipping production-grade software in complex environments

• Skilled at creating clarity from ambiguity and driving execution across teams

• High EQ leadership style with a focus on mentorship, accountability, and alignment

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience with secure messaging, cryptography, or open-source protocol development

• Contributions to open-source developer platforms or infrastructure

• Background as a founder or early technical leader in a fast-growing startup

• Familiarity with React Native, Swift, Go, Rust, or Kotlin

Why This Role Matters

You’ll be responsible for architecting how our entire engineering function operates – from how we hire and onboard, to how we plan and execute.

You’ll work on technologies that touch millions of users and help define what privacy and interoperability look like in the next era of communication. Your leadership will shape the standards others adopt and the team culture that drives us forward.

You Might Be a Fit If…

• You’ve led protocol, infrastructure, or developer tool teams through growth and change

• You care deeply about high-quality engineering practices and user trust

• You understand how to structure teams for speed and scale

• You can operate in ambiguity and make confident, high-leverage decisions

• You’re passionate about privacy, open systems, and durable architecture

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: $280–300K USD

• Equity: Competitive ownership in a high-conviction, early-stage company

• Benefits:

  • Fully paid Medical, Dental, and Vision

  • Parental Leave

  • Monthly wellness + lifestyle stipend

  • IT equipment + WFH setup

  • Personal assistant support

  • Unlimited time off

  • Remote-first team, with semi-annual IRL gatherings

Our Stack

• React Native, Swift, Kotlin

• Typescript, Go, Rust

• XMTP Protocol

• Onchain identity + wallet-based auth

• Secure messaging, E2E encryption