VP, Engineering

Ghost is an AI-native inventory distribution platform and operating system for modern retail trade. We partner with the world’s best brands to help them understand the true value of their inventory and route it to the right destinations globally. Ghost gives brands precise control over where and how their inventory is sold. Backed by top venture firms including L Catterton, Cathay Innovation, Union Square Ventures, Equal Ventures, and Eniac. Ghost has offices in Los Angeles and New York.

We are looking for a VP, Engineering to lead our technical direction as we scale. This is a hands-on role for a leader who thrives in ambiguity, moves quickly with limited resources, and enjoys being close to both the code and the business. You’ll balance being highly responsive to business needs while maintaining and protecting the team’s focus. You will play a critical role in shaping Ghost’s platform, team, and engineering culture during a pivotal stage of growth.

• →Set technical strategy and evolve Ghost’s architecture to support rapid growth, reliability, and data-driven products
• →Remain hands-on with full-stack development as needed, especially on early-stage or high-impact initiatives
• →Partner closely with Product, Operations, Revenue, and Leadership to translate business needs into scalable technical solutions
• →Drive prioritization and delivery in a fast-paced startup environment, balancing speed with long-term sustainability
• →Own vendor relationships and engineering budget, making strategic decisions about tooling, infrastructure, and third-party services to maximize ROI
• →Lead continued adoption of AI-augmented development workflows (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor) and have experience deploying LLM-based features or subagent orchestration systems in production environments
• →Participate actively in code reviews and architecture decisions to maintain technical quality and provide informed technical guidance to the team
• →Make pragmatic build vs. buy decisions to move fast while maximizing impact with limited resources

• 10+ years of engineering experience, including leadership roles at a high-growth tech startup; 3+ years of experience managing teams 
• Have a direct hand in our initial codebase, participate meaningfully in technical discussions, reviews, and architecture decisions
• Experience building and scaling systems in lean, resource-constrained environments
• Hands-on experience with modern AI development workflows (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot) and deploying LLM-based features or agentic systems in production
• Strong business judgment, ownership mindset, and comfort operating in ambiguity
• Strong product intuition with ability to evaluate opportunity costs and make pragmatic decisions
• Our current stack includes: React with Next.js on the frontend, Node.js with NestJS on the backend, PostgreSQL database, NATS for messaging, and AWS infrastructure

This role is in-office in Los Angeles (mid-city). Our total compensation for this position can range from $240,000 - $260,000. We value experience and are open to higher compensation for candidates with exceptional skills and background. The actual amounts may vary based on factors such as experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the position.