Vice President of IT

Vice President of Technology Location: Greater Indianapolis area (Remote, U.S.-based) Reports to: CEO Department: Engineering & IT Type: Full-time Our client is a vertically integrated, AI-driven manufacturing and commerce company. They design, manufacture, fulfill, and sell products directly from their U.S. factory floor to the customer's door. Their competitive advantage is not just physical integration, it's technology integration. Internally built MRP, MES, and WMS systems drive operational execution on the factory floor. Acumatica serves as the canonical ledger for inventory and accounting. Shopify powers their eCommerce storefront. Over time, AI systems will reason across these layers and execute workflows that humans previously owned. We are hiring a Vice President of Technology to lead the software engineering and IT functions, reporting directly to the CEO. You will own the systems that power operations, including internally built manufacturing execution tools, ERP integrations, and the Shopify storefront, and be accountable for the technical roadmap that enables the company to scale. Close partnership with other functions will be critical as the operational systems you own generate the data that powers company-wide decision-making and directly impacts customer experiences. This is a player/coach role. You'll set the bar for systems architecture, coding standards, and engineering culture, while also driving code reviews and writing code when it matters. With a small, high-ownership team today, you'll need to be comfortable operating as both the senior technical advisor and the leader who sets priorities, clears blockers, and represents technology in executive-level conversations.

Requirements

RESPONSIBILITIES Software Engineering & Internal Tools Own development and maintenance of internally built operational systems: MRP, MES, WMS, and supporting microservices Establish and enforce engineering standards: code review practices, CI/CD pipelines, testing coverage, documentation, and security ERP & Systems Integration Oversee the Senior ERP & Operational Systems Architect who owns Acumatica configuration and ledger integrity Ensure clean system boundaries and integration contracts between ERP (ledger) and internal operational tools (execution layer) Drive reconciliation, monitoring, and reliability across all system integrations, partnering closely with Finance and Data IT Operations Oversee the IT function and support across all locations: manufacturing facilities, technology hub, and fulfillment centers in several U.S. states Manage factory floor technology systems and ensure uptime for production-critical environments Implement cyber security frameworks such as CIS Establish IT governance, security standards, and vendor management practices AI-Native Engineering Embed AI tools and practices into engineering workflows including code generation, automated testing, and documentation Empower the team to multiply output responsibly through AI-assisted development Identify and champion opportunities where AI and automation can meaningfully improve operational and customer-facing systems, including agent deployment and process automation eCommerce & Shopify Oversee the technical reliability and integration of the Shopify storefront, partnering with Marketing and CX on platform needs and feature development Drive eCommerce platform reliability, performance, and uptime Evaluate and implement integrations between Shopify and internal systems (OMS, fulfillment, inventory, etc.) Team Leadership Lead and develop the engineering and IT teams with authority to grow and right-size the team relative to needs and budget Set engineering hiring standards, onboarding processes, and career development frameworks Ensure the engineering and IT functions consistently set and meet deliverable timelines Represent the technology function in executive leadership meetings with clear, honest assessments of capacity, timelines, and tradeoffs Partner with Operations, Finance, Production, and Data to align technology priorities with company strategy REQUIREMENTS Required Experience 10+ years in software engineering, with 5+ years in engineering leadership Experience owning or building operational technology in a manufacturing or production environment, including MES, WMS, MRP, or equivalent systems Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship, now or in the future Core Technical Skills Demonstrated track record of shipping features and products Strong proficiency in one or several of: Ruby on Rails, .Net, JavaScript, React, Go, Python Experience managing back-end infrastructure, servers, and deployments for both on-prem and cloud environments (Docker, Terraform, or similar) Strong understanding of system architecture best practices, API design, and microservices patterns Experience managing large code bases using version control, CI/CD, and modern software engineering patterns Leadership Experience building and managing internal software, custom applications, and/or microservice architectures Comfortable operating as a player/coach: setting the technical bar while writing code and reviewing PRs alongside the team Experience representing engineering in executive and cross-functional leadership settings Preferred Experience Experience working with ERP systems, especially Acumatica eCommerce operations experience, including familiarity with the Shopify ecosystem Experience with AI/LLM tooling in engineering workflows (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Codex, Devin, etc.) What Success Looks Like 90 Days: Completed full architectural review, understand integration risks and technical debt, built relationships with team and cross-functional stakeholders, delivered a technology roadmap to the CEO 6 Months: Engineering velocity measurably improved, function is setting and keeping deliverable commitments, key reliability and monitoring gaps closed, coding standards and review practices established 1 Year: Technology stack is stable, well-documented, and actively enabling business growth; internal tools reducing manual operational overhead; eCommerce platform performance strong; systems designed for automation and AI-native execution; team right-sized and shipping consistently