Director of Engineering, Buyer
- Kaunas
- Vilnius
Brief info about Vinted
Our mission is to make second-hand the first choice, and we're looking for people who want to help us get there. Every day, we work together to help our members buy and sell pre-loved clothing and lifestyle items, giving each piece a second life – or even a third.
The Vinted Group is made up of three business units that support this mission:
Vinted Marketplace is Europe’s leading platform for second-hand fashion and a go-to destination for all kinds of pre-loved items, with a growing range of categories. Our platform connects millions of members across 20+ markets, helping great items find a new life.
Vinted Go enhances the shipping experience with a vast network of over 500,000 pick-up and drop-off points, partnering with more than 60 carriers across Europe, with added services like item verification for peace of mind on high-value pieces.
Vinted Pay is the newest part of the Vinted Group, dedicated to bringing secure, reliable payments to buyers and sellers across Europe. Seamlessly integrated into the Vinted app, it helps keep every transaction safe, efficient, and easy for our members.
Founded in 2008 in Lithuania, Vinted began as a way for friends to find new homes for clothes they no longer needed. In 2019, we became Lithuania's first unicorn! Today, our headquarters remain in Vilnius, and we've grown with offices across Europe, supported by a team of over 2,000 people. Our backers include Accel, EQT Growth, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sprints, and TPG.
Information about the position
Engineering at Vinted is divided into Infrastructure and Product. This position is for Product Engineering, where teams develop new features from start to finish and roll them out to all our members or internal users. These teams are based in Lithuania (and a few people in Berlin) and are led by Engineering Managers who will be reporting to you. We’re looking for a Director of Engineering who would contribute to the Vinted vision of making second-hand the first choice. You’ll also be responsible for the health, morale, and efficiency of multiple teams in Product Engineering.
The Buyer Domain holds responsibility for critical user-facing elements, including Search (and its underlying infrastructure), Recommendation systems, Homepage, Catalog, and Item Page. Furthermore, the domain is actively developing innovative AI Assisted Shopping experiences and manages the distribution of visibility between buyers and sellers. This breadth of responsibility presents significant complexity alongside substantial rewards. While the domain is currently well-staffed and functioning effectively, we are seeking a leader capable of elevating it to the next level of performance and innovation.
In this position, you’ll
- Drive Strategy: Co-create and execute the domain’s long-term vision alongside partners in Product, Design, and Data Science.
- Scale Engineering Excellence: Ensure your domain’s technical output aligns with Vinted-wide principles while pushing the boundaries of what our stack can do.
- Master Delivery: Take full accountability for domain-wide delivery, masterfully balancing long-term technical debt/strategy with immediate business initiatives.
- Optimize the Org: Constantly hunt for organizational efficiency—refining cross-team processes, managing change, overseeing the domain budget, and enhancing the overall member experience.
- Lead Leaders: Mentor and grow a team of 5-6 Engineering Managers and a Staff Engineer, fostering an environment of high performance and continuous personal development.
- Co-create: Co-create with other Directors of Engineering on engineering function-related matters to build a healthy system and remove blockers for Marketplace growth.
About you
You are a seasoned engineering leader who thrives at the intersection of complex technology and strategic people leadership. You don’t just "manage" teams; you build ecosystems where engineers can do their best work.
We expect that you:
- Have Scaled Before: You have significant experience leading multiple engineering teams in a fast-growing, high-scale product environment (ideally Marketplace or B2C).
- Are a Strategic Architect: You can translate "business speak" into technical strategy and vice versa. You understand the trade-offs between speed-to-market and architectural stability.
- Are a "Leader of Leaders": You have a proven track record of coaching and growing Engineering Managers. You know how to delegate effectively while staying close enough to the details to provide meaningful guidance.
- Possess High Emotional Intelligence: You navigate change with composure, build bridges across departments (Product, Data, Design), and prioritize a healthy, inclusive team culture.
- Drive Operational Rigor: You are disciplined about budgets, headcount planning, and organizational design, ensuring the domain remains lean and effective.
It’s a plus if you have (Nice to Have):
- Search & Discovery Expertise: Experience with Information Retrieval, Search infrastructure (e.g., Elasticsearch, Vespa), or recommendation engines at scale.
- AI/ML Product Knowledge: A solid understanding of the Machine Learning lifecycle and how to integrate AI-driven features into a seamless consumer shopping experience.
- Marketplace Experience: Previous experience navigating the unique dynamics of a two-sided marketplace (balancing buyer needs with seller visibility).
- International Leadership: Experience managing or collaborating with distributed teams across different European hubs.
Work perks
- The opportunity to benefit from our share options programme
- 25 working days of holiday
- Newest MacBook models
- Free access to an office gym
- Digital mental and emotional health support and Employee Assistant Program (EAP)
- Home office support: we provide IT workstation equipment and a personal budget of up to €540 for home workplace furniture
- Private health insurance
- On-site canteen serving delicious homemade food at friendly prices
- Frequent team-building events
- A personal monthly budget for shopping on Vinted
- The opportunity to spend up to 90 days per year - 21 of which can be spent working outside of the EU - on workation
- A dog-friendly office
Working at Vinted
Individual Learning Budget
We invest in your professional growth! As part of our commitment to continuous learning, we offer an annual learning budget to support your personal and career development through courses, certifications, workshops and more.
Hybrid Work
We’ve adopted a hybrid workplace model where 2 days in the office are recommended but not enforced. It’s up to you and your team to decide on the exact days you’ll spend working together in person.
Equal Opportunity
The Vinted Group is committed to building an inclusive workplace where people from all walks of life feel a sense of belonging. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, and life experiences. At Vinted, all applicants are treated fairly without regard to their race, age, religion or belief, sex, national origin, citizenship, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
The salary range for this position is € 8,100 - € 11,000 gross per month.