Head of Internal Tools Engineering, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Required, Work From Home

Head of Internal Tools Engineering, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Required, Work From Home We are seeking a Head of Internal Tools Engineering candidate for a great work from home opportunity.  You will architect, build, and scale the internal technology ecosystem that accelerates workforce productivity, eliminates operational friction, and gives the company a compounding infrastructure advantage.  You will treat internal tools with the same product rigor and user-centricity as any external product because the quality of internal systems directly determines organizational velocity.  You will lead a cross-functional engineering team, make high-stakes build-vs-buy decisions, and drive AI adoption into internal workflows.  This role requires someone who can see the company’s operational architecture as a system design problem and solve it with software.  This position is 100% Remote. Head of Internal Tools Engineering Responsibilities: Internal Platform Strategy & Roadmap: - Own the end-to-end strategy and roadmap for all internal tools, platforms, and automation treating internal technology as a product, not a cost center. - Make strategic build-vs-buy decisions, knowing when a custom-built solution creates a lasting advantage and when a SaaS tool is the right answer. - Map current and next-state process flows across the entire internal toolchain and lead systems transformation for internal teams. Systems Architecture & Engineering: - Architect and maintain the full engineering lifecycle for internal platforms from ideation and design through deployment, iteration, and deprecation. - Build seamless, API-first ecosystems that integrate internal tools across HR systems, finance platforms, knowledge management, CRM, and developer infrastructure. - Own system reliability and operational resilience: establish success metrics for uptime, performance, and employee productivity. - Design scalable, secure architectures using cloud-native principles, microservices, and modern integration patterns. AI & Automation: - Lead the strategy for integrating AI and LLMs into internal workflows reimagining how knowledge is shared, decisions are supported, and work is executed across the organization. - Deploy intelligent automation tools including AI where appropriate to streamline internal processes and improve decision-making. - Evaluate and integrate AI-assisted troubleshooting, proactive recommendations, and intelligent automation into the internal platform layer. - Stay ahead of technology trends and drive continuous experimentation you build prototypes, not slide decks. Developer Experience & Productivity: - Reduce cognitive load for internal users by providing golden paths, standardized workflows, and self-service capabilities. - Ensure frictionless onboarding and seamless integration across the tool ecosystem. - Measure platform success through adoption rates, user satisfaction, DORA metrics, and productivity impact not feature count. Team Leadership: - Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing team of engineers and engineering managers. - Cultivate a collaborative engineering culture rooted in ownership, speed, and craftsmanship. - Provide technical mentorship and create growth paths for individual contributors and managers alike. - Foster psychological safety and a feedback-driven environment that empowers people to do their best work. Cross-Functional Collaboration: - Partner with People, Finance, Engineering, Legal, and Operations leadership to translate complex business needs into a unified technical vision. - Serve as the bridge between business stakeholders and the engineering team you speak both languages fluently. - Align internal platform investments with broader company strategy and demonstrate measurable ROI. Head of Internal Tools Engineering Qualifications: - 12+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 5 years in engineering leadership (managing teams or managing managers). - Artificial Intelligence (AI) experience required. - Strong hands-on technical background; you’ve built production systems and can still credibly review architecture, code, and system design. - Deep understanding of cloud-based systems (AWS, GCP, or Azure), APIs, microservices, data pipelines, and modern infrastructure. - Proven track record of building and scaling internal tools or platforms that serve cross-functional business teams not just engineering. - Experience making build-vs-buy decisions and managing a portfolio of custom-built and third-party tools. - Strong experience designing and building internal platforms and automation systems. - Strong product thinking: you define success in terms of user outcomes and business impact, not technical output. - Experience navigating the full SDLC from ideation through deprecation you know when to build, iterate, and retire. - Excellent communication skills: you can articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical executives and translate business problems into engineering roadmaps. - Experience at a high-growth technology or AI-native company that scaled rapidly is a plus. - Background in platform engineering, developer experience, or internal developer platforms (IDPs) is a plus. - Familiarity with HRIS, ERP, and business systems integration (Workday, Salesforce, NetSuite, etc.) is a plus. - Experience with cybersecurity best practices and compliance frameworks for internal systems is a plus. - Prior experience leading internal technology through M&A integrations or multi-entity consolidation is a plus. - Exposure to knowledge management systems, internal search, and enterprise AI assistants is a plus. - Experience integrating AI/LLMs into internal workflows or productivity tools is a plus. Benefits include medical insurance, Dental, Vision, Savings Plan Options, PTO, etc. Keywords:  San Francisco CA Jobs, Head of Internal Tools Engineering, AI, API, Artificial Intelligence, AW