--- title: 'Head of Engineering at Xero' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-engineering-xero-vancouver-dp8hw9ce629t' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-05' --- # Head of Engineering at Xero - **Company:** [Xero](https://feeny.ai/companies/xero) - **Location:** Vancouver, Canada - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-08-07 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-05 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/xero/34b91b6f-38a3-4d7e-8917-0e1fff284bba ## Job description ## The role and its impact As a Head of Engineering at Xero, you will lead and grow multiple engineering teams within your product portfolio; delivering high-quality software that improves the lives of hundreds of thousands of small business customers globally. By acting as a technical anchor, you will maintain an informed opinion on system health and code quality while driving product delivery velocity. You will serve as a prominent change agent, establishing clarity and driving progress toward enterprise-wide goals by simplifying intricate cross-departmental hurdles. In this role, you will empower your teams to refine their engineering excellence, advocating for AI-first methodologies and ensuring the delivery of high-impact results that support both commercial and user objectives. As an engineering leader at Xero we expect you to come with high EQ, being self-aware, self-regulated, motivated and empathetic, with great interpersonal skills. You'll lead and live our vision and values – building and fostering an inclusive and positive team culture. The team and how they connect You will partner with leaders in Product and Design to ensure customer, business, and technical priorities are thoughtfully balanced across your portfolio. The team anchors on core principles of customer obsession and high support to foster psychological safety and innovation. The team is currently working on - Championing the adoption of responsible AI architecture and AI-powered workflows to unlock productivity and accelerate time to value across the portfolio. - Leading technical modernisation efforts, such as moving from monoliths to decoupled services and adopting API-first integration patterns. - Executing complex, cross-team programs of work with clear accountability and proactive risk management to deliver reliable results. - Defining hiring strategies and growing high-performing talent to sustain a high-performance bar and support engineering career progression. - Raising the bar on operational excellence through strong ownership of high-quality production services, ensuring reliability, observability, and continuous improvement. Where and how you can work Xero offers a hybrid working environment with a mix of office-based collaboration and remote flexibility. We use boost days to bring teams together in our modern office spaces to foster connection, alignment, and creativity. Here are some of the things we are looking for - You bring a deep understanding of software architecture, design trade-offs, and managing technical debt at scale. - Your background includes a proven track record of managing and growing high-performing leaders and engineering teams. - Navigating areas of conflict in an open, positive, and proactive way is a key strength you offer to the team. - You possess strong strategic acumen to identify and simplify complex, cross-functional challenges in fast-scaling environments. - Fostering a growth mindset and a culture of accountability across multiple teams comes naturally to you. - Having a bias for action helps you make good decisions fast rather than perfect decisions slowly. ## Compensation & Total Rewards At Xero, we value the impact and skills you bring to the team. We believe in a Total Package philosophy - ensuring your value is recognized through a holistic lens that includes base salary, performance incentives, and world-class benefits. The expected base salary range for this role is $227,700 - $284,600 CAD. Individual pay is determined by various factors, including geography, level of experience, and the specific skills you bring to the role. In addition to base pay, Xero’s roles are eligible for the following forms of variable compensation: - Variable Pay: Permanent employees are eligible to participate in our annual bonus and equity (RSU) programs. You may also be eligible for performance-based cash or equity (RSUs) incentives depending on your role level, and company performance. - Comprehensive Benefits: World-class health, wellness, and retirement programs. Xero Perks https://careers.xero.com/inside-xero/benefits-wellbeing/ including Wellbeing days, generous leave, and dedicated professional development budgets. This is a posting for an existing vacancy. Xero uses AI to help screen applications based on job-related qualifications. These tools assist our recruiters but do not make automated hiring decisions. A human recruiter reviews all candidates before any hiring action is taken. Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team. ## About Xero ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Xero provides cloud-based accounting and financial management software for small businesses, serving over 4.9 million customers worldwide. - **Entity Type**: Public (ASX: XRO, S&P/ASX 200 component) - **Headquarters**: Wellington, New Zealand - **Founded**: July 6, 2006 - **Founders**: Rod Drury, Hamish Edwards ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Cloud accounting software (SaaS) - **Target customers**: Small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers (B2B) - **Mission**: To make life better for small businesses globally by automating routine tasks and delivering actionable insights. ## Products & Services - **Xero Accounting Software**: Cloud-based platform for invoicing, bank reconciliation, expense tracking, payroll, and financial reporting. Sold by subscription (Starter, Standard, Premium tiers). - **JAX – AI Finance Partner**: An AI-powered assistant integrated into Xero that automates routine tasks and provides insights to help businesses grow. - **Xero Ecosystem**: Over 1,000 third-party app integrations via the Xero App Store, covering payments, inventory, CRM, and more. - **Xero for Nonprofits**: Discounted subscriptions (25% off) for eligible nonprofit and community organisations. - **Xero for Purpose**: Social impact initiatives including financial literacy programmes (Unlock Your Numbers), sustainability tools (Sumday carbon app), and the Xero Beautiful Business Fund (NZ$750,000+ in funding annually). ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed in provided sources (publicly traded with market cap available on ASX; latest data not included in search results). - **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue NZ$2.103 billion (FY2025); Net income NZ$227.8 million (FY2025). - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Board Chair David Thodey; CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy. In June 2025, Xero announced an agreement to acquire Melio, a New York-based payments provider, for $2.5 billion. - **Growth Signals**: Achieved Rule of 40 outcomes of 41.0% (May 2024) and 43.9% (Nov 2024). Customer base grew to 4.9 million. Headcount of 4,610 employees (2025). Expanding globally with offices in New Zealand, Australia, UK, US, Canada, South Africa, and Singapore. ## Competitive Advantages - **Market leader** in cloud accounting across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. - **AI-first approach** with JAX, embedded directly into the core product to reduce manual work. - **Extensive integration ecosystem** (1,000+ apps) creating high switching costs for customers. - **Strong brand trust** built over 19 years with a focus on small business success. ## Strategic Focus - **AI and automation**: Deepening AI capabilities (JAX) to deliver predictive insights and automate finance workflows. - **Payments expansion**: Acquisition of Melio to strengthen payments capabilities for small businesses. - **Sustainability**: Reducing carbon emissions (72% reduction in scope 1 & 2), offering free carbon accounting tools, and supporting small business sustainability. - **Social impact**: Scaling programmes like the Beautiful Business Fund and financial literacy initiatives. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Values-driven, human-centric organisation with a focus on making a tangible impact on small businesses globally. - **Flexibility**: Emphasises a flexible environment and time for what matters most (remote/hybrid policy not explicitly stated but implied). - **Perks & benefits**: - One paid day off per year for volunteering (Community Connect programme). - Free access to Sumday carbon accounting app for employees. - Financial literacy resources and mentorship programmes. - **Engineering & innovation**: Dedicated Engineering and Data & AI teams (open roles visible on careers page). Global collaboration across 7+ countries. - **Diversity & inclusion**: Indigenous inclusion initiatives (te ao Māori in NZ, Reconciliation Action Plan in Australia), support for Indigenous communities. - **Sustainability focus**: Employees can contribute to environmental goals through company-wide initiatives. ## Sources 1. [Wikipedia – Xero](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xero) 2. [Xero About Page](https://www.xero.com/au/about/) 3. [Xero Careers – Inside Xero](https://careers.xero.com/inside-xero/) 4. [Xero Careers – Teams](https://careers.xero.com/) 5. [Xero Homepage](https://www.xero.com/) ## Other roles at Xero - [Senior Mobile Engineer – iOS / Android](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mobile-engineer-ios-android-xero-melbourne-mdxvb7gz77n9) — Melbourne, Australia - [Senior Mobile Engineer – React Native](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mobile-engineer-react-native-xero-sydney-mveske2x9djw) — Sydney, Australia - [Senior Mobile Engineer - iOS/Android](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mobile-engineer-ios-android-xero-sydney-kptpp7j9ekfa) — Sydney, Australia - [Senior Mobile Engineer - React Native](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mobile-engineer-react-native-xero-melbourne-ascg2ez078kr) — Melbourne, Australia - [Associate Security Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-security-engineer-xero-melbourne-mawp8hnc0tcc) — Melbourne, Australia - [Lead Product Manager – Payments Risk](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-product-manager-payments-risk-xero-vancouver-n95mxmrchcb9) — Vancouver, Canada - [Business Development Representative](https://feeny.ai/job/business-development-representative-xero-denver-0r89a4awmjpv) — Denver, CO - [Senior Engineer - AI Builder](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-engineer-ai-builder-xero-sydney-2rb7b59np7jf) — Sydney, Australia - [Solutions Consultant](https://feeny.ai/job/solutions-consultant-xero-melbourne-n47m435fpyzz) — Melbourne, Australia - [Senior Machine Learning Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-machine-learning-engineer-xero-ontario-1gbmfz62vsqp) — Ontario, Canada