Engineering Director

Join Proton and build a better internet where privacy is the default.

At Proton, privacy is a fundamental human right and the cornerstone of democracy.

Founded in 2014 by a team of scientists from CERN, Proton provides free and open‑source technology to millions worldwide. Our journey began with Proton Mail, the largest secure e‑mail service globally, and has since expanded to Proton VPN, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, and Proton Pass. These tools empower individuals and organizations to take control of their personal data, break away from Big Tech’s invasive practices, and defeat censorship. Proton’s services have even been instrumental in saving lives by enabling secure and private communications in high‑risk situations.

Proton is a profitable company that does not rely upon VC funding, supporting over 100 million user accounts with a growing team of more than 500 people from more than 50 different countries. We value intelligence, learning potential, and ambition in our hiring process. Adaptability is key as we navigate uncharted territories and redefine how business is conducted online.

We have a global mindset and big ambitions but remain a start‑up at heart. We value empowerment and flexibility and keep our structure flat to keep moving fast and avoid unnecessary politics.

Purpose of the role Proton continues to grow rapidly as increasing numbers of people worldwide seek greater privacy controls of their information online. To accelerate our growth, we are seeking a senior leader to drive engineering for one of our many existing or upcoming products.

What you will do

Setting technical direction and vision for one of our products

Lead technical design and platform discussions

Drive continuous improvement in our DevSecOps practices, and improve lead times and time to market while maintaining exceptional standards of product quality

Hold yourself and team accountable for timely delivery of scalable, quality‑focus user experiences and features

Develop efficient processes, and motivate your team to operate with high velocity, ownership, and accountability

Lead through others, and develop the next generation of engineering leaders at Proton

Inspire, coach, and develop your teams Optimize your organizational structure, and continuously raise the bar on hiring

Build strong relationships with senior leaders, and advance your long‑term platform and engineering vision

Contribute to Proton's technology and open source communities

Foster an inclusive and diverse environment for your team to show up and give their best each day

Our Tech stack

Applied cryptography (PGP, TLS, etc.)

REST APIs

Event architectures

HTTP networking

SQL, Redis

PHP (Symfony), Rust, Python

iOS, macOS (Swift)

Android (Kotlin, Jetpack)

Web (Typescript, React)

Desktop (C#, Swift)

Infrastructure: MySQL / Ceph

We need you to have

Experience in software engineering in progressively complex roles

Experience directly leading and managing engineers

Demonstrable experience as a manager of managers

A history of collaboration with senior leaders on developing technical and product strategy

Great empathy and collaboration skills, and even greater resilience

A curious, passionate, and growth‑oriented mindset

Deep experience as a hands‑on software engineer creating well‑crafted, maintainable systems

Mobile‑first background (ideally former mobile developer)

Practical experience leading DevOps and SRE initiatives and driving best practices

Experience with cryptography preferred

Bonus points for each of the following

Experience with performance tuning and scaling across client, backend, infrastructure

Working closely with C‑level executives to align on direction, vision and execution

Having both the experience of operating at global scale with millions of customers but also thriving in the chaotic growth phase of scaling up to reach it.

What we offer

International office locations in Geneva, Zurich, Prague, Barcelona, Paris, London, Vilnius, Skopje, and Taipei, with up to 30% work from home

All devices and software needed to excel in your role

Lunch and snacks provided every day in the office

Public transport, bike allowances, or parking subsidies based on location

Stock options: all employees are owners of the company

Flexible working hours as long as team meetings are respected

Professional growth programs, conferences, events, and continual learning opportunities

Comprehensive health insurance, competitive retirement savings, generous vacation and leave policies, and wellness programs

Proton is a community‑first organization; read more about our impact here.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion At Proton, diversity drives innovation and strengthens our mission to provide privacy as a default for all. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical ability, or socio‑economic background, feel valued and empowered. We strive to create equal opportunities, promote open dialogue, and support continuous learning to ensure voice is heard and respected.

If you need any extra support or reasonable adjustments during the hiring process, please let your talent partner know.

Candidate Privacy Notice When you apply for a position, your information is stored in Greenhouse, in accordance with their Service Privacy Policy. We retain this information for consideration for future roles that you may apply for or that we believe may align with your background and skills.

If we no longer have a legitimate business need to process your information, we will either delete or anonymize it. For inquiries about how we use or manage your information, or if you wish to access, correct, or delete your data, please contact our privacy team at careers@proton.ch.

Proton does not accept unsolicited resumes from any sources other than directly from candidates. We will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from an unsolicited offer, even if the candidate is subsequently hired by Proton.

To learn more about our privacy policy, please visit our privacy policy page.

Location Paris, Île‑de‑France, France

Issy‑les‑Moulineaux, Île‑de‑France, France

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