Shape teams, architecture, and engineering culture in fast-growing tech organizations
The step from Senior Developer to Lead Developer, Engineering Manager, or CTO gives you influence over technology, teams, and the way an organization approaches scalability and engineering culture.
Through Haystack People, you’ll connect with companies where leadership is truly embedded in the business strategy and where you have the freedom to make technical decisions that create lasting impact.
We work with scale-ups and SaaS companies that deliberately invest in mentoring, software quality, and technical vision. Think of engineering teams growing from 8 to 40 developers, platforms serving millions of users, or startups where, as a CTO, you’ll help build the foundation of the business from the ground up.
Many leadership opportunities never make it to job boards. We have direct relationships with founders, boards, and hiring managers who are looking for their next tech leader. As a result, we can often introduce you to organizations that truly understand the value of your profile before you even share your CV.
What you might want to know
Yes. We regularly support developers who want to take the next step into leadership. We’ll also help you determine which path suits you best whether that’s Engineering Management, Tech Lead, Principal Engineer, or Staff Engineer. After all, not every developer needs to follow the same career path. Our goal is to help you find the role that best matches your strengths, ambitions, and preferred way of working.
Lead Developers typically earn between €75,000 and €100,000+ per year. At scale-ups that offer stock options or equity, the total compensation package can be even more attractive especially at companies in an early stage of growth. In those environments, long-term incentives can become a significant part of the overall reward package alongside salary and benefits.
That’s something we always discuss in depth. Many candidates want to stay close to the technology and continue to have a say in architecture or even remain involved in hands-on development. We help you find organizations where that combination is genuinely possible, so you can grow into a leadership role without losing touch with the technical side of the job.
Because many of these positions are filled discreetly, the timeline varies from case to case. In some situations, we can move quickly through our network and introduce relevant opportunities within a short period of time. On average, the process tends to take slightly longer than for regular development roles, as the focus is much more heavily placed on finding the right strategic and cultural fit.
Engineering & leadership vacancies
