Hands-on Head of Development (811606)

Development, Senior Management
Israel
July 22, 2026
Full Time Hybrid Israel

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Job Description

A profitable and growing fintech company in central Israel is looking for an exceptional, highly hands-on Head of Development with deep practical expertise in AI tools and coding agents to lead its software development function.

This is a central and highly influential role with direct impact on the company’s products, delivery capabilities, and business growth.

We are looking for a strong technological builder who combines deep engineering expertise, direct people management, strong execution, and a genuine passion for AI-driven development. The right person already uses AI tools and coding agents extensively in day-to-day engineering work and knows how to lead a team in adopting these methods effectively.

The company operates several mission-critical payment, transactional, and SaaS platforms that run 24/7. The current technology environment is based primarily on PHP and MySQL, alongside .NET, Python, JavaScript/Node.js, and legacy components.

Experience with a specific programming language is not mandatory. In an AI-driven development environment, the key requirement is the ability to enter a complex codebase quickly, understand it in depth, make sound architectural decisions, and lead the team toward faster and more effective ways of working.

Responsibilities:

  • Directly manage and professionally lead a small development team, including remote developers, QA professionals, and external vendors
  • Take responsibility for the lifecycle of the software systems managed by the development department, from planning and development through releases, production, and ongoing maintenance
  • Lead architecture and System Design for existing systems and new products, services, and capabilities
  • Remain deeply involved in technical planning, Design Reviews, Code Reviews, and complex production challenges
  • Improve Delivery through effective planning, prioritization, estimation, dependency management, and execution against commitments
  • Increase predictability and shorten the time between a business need and a stable production release
  • Build and improve development processes, including QA, CI/CD, deployments, releases, and Production Readiness
  • Lead the gradual modernization of existing systems while maintaining stability and business continuity
  • Implement AI tools and coding agents across development, testing, Code Review, debugging, documentation, security, and maintenance
  • Inspire and guide the team in adopting AI-based working methods that improve speed, quality, and productivity
  • Work closely with company leadership and other business and technology functions

Requirements:

  • Significant Backend or Full Stack development experience with complex software systems
  • Proven experience directly managing a development team
  • Recent and meaningful hands-on involvement in architecture, System Design, code, and production environments
  • Experience building a significant system, service, or product from the ground up
  • Experience managing business-critical systems operating 24/7 in a fintech, payments, transactional SaaS, high-availability, or similarly critical environment
  • Strong and recent experience with Production, Deployments, Releases, critical incidents, and Delivery improvement
  • Strong knowledge of relational databases and SQL
  • Extensive practical use of AI development tools and coding agents
  • Ability to demonstrate how AI has materially improved development speed, quality, security, or team productivity
  • Genuine passion for AI and the ability to lead others in adopting new AI-based working methods
  • Experience working with remote teams or outsourced development providers
  • High ownership, sound judgment, and the confidence to challenge decisions when necessary
  • Strong English communication skills

Significant Advantages:

  • Direct experience in payments or payment processing
  • Strong experience with PHP and MySQL
  • Experience working with Legacy systems and multi-technology environments
  • Experience in regulated environments
  • Experience with High Availability, On-premises or Hybrid environments, QA Automation, and CI/CD

Why This Role:

  • A central role with direct impact on technology, products, and business results
  • The opportunity to lead meaningful AI adoption across the development function
  • Broad ownership of architecture, delivery, and team development
  • A profitable, growing fintech company with significant room to build and improve

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