Tech Lead (Kotlin)

Location: Hybrid in Berlin, with two work-from-home days as the standard setup; regular in-person collaboration and presence in Berlin are expected. Relocation support to Berlin is available.

Company

hirify.global is a profitable Berlin-based startup building a messaging and AI platform used by more than 10,000 businesses worldwide, with millions of messages processed daily.

What you will do

• Lead a team of 3–4 engineers and own its effectiveness, technical quality, delivery, development, and performance.
• Spend approximately 50% of the time on architecture, implementation, code reviews, and important technical projects.
• Work with the Product Manager to understand customer problems, shape solutions, scope projects, and set priorities.
• Establish technical direction while enabling engineers to own decisions and develop their judgment.
• Run regular 1:1s, provide actionable feedback, remove blockers, manage dependencies, and identify delivery risks.
• Improve engineering practices, explore AI throughout the software-development lifecycle, and contribute to technical hiring.

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience as a Senior or Staff Engineer, with current hands-on involvement in software development and ownership of production systems.
• Substantial experience with Java or another JVM language.
• At least 2 years of experience in a leadership role as a Tech Lead, Engineering Manager, or through project leadership and architecture ownership.
• Experience turning product goals into delivered software and working in fast-paced startups.
• Product-minded approach focused on customer problems, pragmatic solutions, and lean delivery.
• Ability to explain complex technical topics to engineers and non-technical stakeholders, create alignment, and motivate people.
• Active use of AI in the development workflow and enthusiasm for improving engineering speed, quality, and team practices with AI.
• Meaningful ongoing involvement in architecture, implementation, code review, and technical problem-solving; the role is not suitable for a pure people manager, hero engineer, or pure delivery manager.

Nice to have

• Experience with Kotlin and AWS.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid work from the Berlin office in Prenzlauer Berg, with two work-from-home days as standard.
• Squad-based organization with end-to-end domain ownership and autonomy, plus direct and constructive feedback.
• Individual contributor and management career tracks with reversibility between them.
• Choice of Urban Sports Club or John Reed membership, or a public transport/Dance subscription.
• Regular company and team events and an annual €500 personal development budget.
• Inclusive startup environment, relocation help, and a Berlin office with free snacks, drinks, and professional equipment.