Head of Engineering (m/f/d) Syntea AI Cluster (Remote)

Head of Engineering (m/f/d) Syntea AI Cluster

Job Summary

Join us to make education accessible for all! Strengthen our Synthetic Teaching / Syntea AI team in full-time (40 hrs./week) as Head of Engineering (m/f/d) within Germany or UK remotely or at one of our office locations. This role focuses on leading the engineering vision for Syntea, a critical part of IU’s AI-first strategy.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead multi-domain engineering teams (Frontend, Backend, AI Services, Platform) delivering SynteaOS, domain agents, and AI-driven micro-apps.
• Drive architectural excellence, ensuring scalability, modularity, and reliability of the Syntea ecosystem.
• Partner with Product and AI leads to transform innovative ideas into robust, production-grade solutions.
• Embed AI across the stack – from conversational interfaces to adaptive learning mechanisms.
• Foster engineering excellence and culture, mentoring leads and engineers to reach their full potential.
• Ensure collaboration and alignment across the AI Workbench, Learning & Tutoring, and Student Enablement domains.
• Build lean, AI-amplified teams, applying modern development practices (continuous delivery, code reviews, CoPs, and AI-assisted coding).

Requirements / Qualifications

• Proven leadership in engineering management (5+ years), ideally across multiple cross-functional product teams.
• Strong technical foundation in modern software architecture, cloud-native development, and data or AI integration.
• Experience working in or alongside AI / ML product environments (e.g., LLM applications, MLOps, agent frameworks).
• Ability to balance technical vision with delivery – you know how to inspire teams while keeping execution sharp.
• Experience in scaling organizations, establishing standards, and building a strong engineering identity.
• Excellent communication skills in English; German is a plus

Salary & Benefits

Be you at IU: We support and empower you to achieve your personal and professional goals. After all, your happiness significantly contributes to a positive and productive environment. Work wherever you want…: Digitalization is part of our DNA. Decide for yourself which place sparks the most productivity in you. You love remote work? No problem! Would you like to work abroad for a while? Our WorkFlex Benefit makes it possible.… and flexible in terms of time: It’s your job; We trust you and give you the greatest possible freedom to organize yourself. Take your knowledge to a new level: Where else, if not with us? Enjoy free access to all our e-learning platforms. In addition, we will finance you a complete technology course of your choice. Make your journey sustainable: Whether it’s a DeutschlandTicket subsidized down to less than 9 euros or a Jobrad (bike leasing) offer, enjoy the freedom of mobility for both work and personal activities, while also making an eco-friendly choice. 33 days to rest: Taking breaks is important! In addition to 30 flexible vacation days per year, we also give you an extra day off on your birthday, as well as days off on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.