VP Engineering – Lead 100+ Devs in Federal GovTech in Columbus

Oddball believes that the best products are built when companies understand and value the things they are working on. We value learning and growth and the ability to make a big impact at a small company. We believe that we can make big changes happen and improve the daily lives of millions of people by bringing quality software to the federal space.

We're looking for a VP of Engineering to lead and scale Oddball's engineering practice across our federal digital modernization portfolio — someone who brings proven practices from commercial and product-focused organizations and knows how to adapt them to the realities of federal delivery.

What you'll be doing:

• Set and drive technical standards, best practices, and engineering consistency across 100+ engineers spanning multiple federal programs — including how teams adopt and build with agentic AI tools
• Own engineering talent decisions — identifying and promoting top performers, developing those with growth potential, and maintaining a high bar across the organization
• Partner with Program Managers, Tech Leads, and VPs to ensure programs are delivering high-quality, technically sound solutions
• Roll up your sleeves when it matters — dig into architecture, solve a hard technical problem, or prototype an idea to move it forward
• Build and own the engineering career ladder — defining skill levels, growth paths, mentorship structures, certifications, continuing education, and promotion criteria
• Coach and support Tech Leads in both technical and managerial dimensions
• Drive technical strategy across the portfolio, identifying opportunities to improve performance, tooling, and delivery
• Stay current on emerging technology including AI/ML, cloud platform engineering, and developer productivity — and turn it into practical advantages for our clients
• Contribute to growth and capture efforts — solutioning, proposal reviews, and technical viability assessments
• Provide thought leadership internally and externally, representing Oddball's engineering capabilities to clients and at industry events

What you'll bring:

• Deep experience leading engineering organizations with meaningful time in a federal contracting environment
• Commercial, product, or industry experience outside government is strongly preferred — and a clear sense of how to bring those lessons into federal delivery
• Hands-on technical credibility — you spend most of your time guiding and enabling, but you can still go deep when the situation calls for it
• Track record of building technical culture, career development programs, and high-performing engineering teams
• Strong understanding of Agile delivery, DevSecOps, and cloud modernization in federal contexts
• A collaborative leadership style — you build alignment and empower teams rather than dictate a single way of working
• Experience building partnerships and driving technical change with government clients
• Exceptional communication skills — you can translate complex technical concepts for both engineers and non-technical stakeholders

Requirements:

• Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. In alignment with federal contract requirements, certain roles may also require U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a federal background investigation and a security clearance.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree

Benefits:

• Fully remote
• Annual stipend
• Comprehensive Benefits Package
• Company Match 401(k) plan
• Flexible PTO, Paid Holidays

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities:

Oddball is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against applicants based on race, religion, color, disability, medical condition, legally protected genetic information, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or expression, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), age, veteran status or other legally protected characteristics. Any applicant with a mental or physical disability who requires an accommodation during the application process should contact an Oddball HR representative to request such an accommodation by emailing [email protected].

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)

At Oddball, we may use AI-assisted tools as part of our recruitment process to help review applications, verify applicant information, and identify potentially fraudulent submissions. These tools support our recruiting team in maintaining a fair and secure hiring process. AI-generated findings are reviewed by our recruiting team and are not used as the sole basis for hiring decisions.

Compensation:

At Oddball, it's important each employee is compensated competitively and fairly. In alignment with state legal requirements, a range for the included position is listed below. Be advised, actual offer details are determined by job category, job location, and candidate skill level.

United States Wage Range: $200,000 – $250,000