VP Development Operations & Transformation

Driving structure, accountability and execution in a scaling organisation

We are looking for an experienced and structured leader to take on the role of VP Development Operations & Transformation. This is a unique opportunity to shape how a high-growth technology company scales a large, multidisciplinary development organisation, builds structure, and strengthens the link between technology and business value. This is a senior leadership role, newly created to support Appears scaling ambitions.

Your Impact

In this role, you will operate at the intersection of strategy, operations, and execution, driving how the Development function scales, operates, and delivers. You will play a central role in designing, implementing, and evolving the Development operating model, ensuring it enables Appear’s growth ambitions across headcount, revenue, and international expansion.

You will:

• Translate technical strategy into clear business value, and business priorities into actionable development plans

• Design and embed scalable processes, structures, and ways of working across Development

• Drive the transformation required to build a high-performing, delivery-focused organisation

• Strengthen leadership capability, with a particular focus on building a robust and autonomous middle management layer

• Enable adoption of AI and data-driven development practices to improve velocity, quality, and insight

• Act as a strategic counterpart to VP Engineering, owning organisational effectiveness and operational excellence
  

Key Responsibilities

Transformation Planning & Execution

• Lead the transformation agenda to scale the development organisation

• Translate strategy into clear implementation plans

• Deliver measurable improvements in quality, predictability, and performance

• Establish and refine processes that create a high-performance, delivery-focused environment

• Support integration of new capacity (e.g. partnerships or acquisitions)

Leadership Capability Development

Although the role currently has no direct reports, you will lead and develop cross-functional teams and leaders across the organisation. This position will report directly yo the Chief Technology Officer.

• Support managers in operating with greater ownership and independence

• Build a delivery-focused culture based on continuous improvement

• Strengthen collaboration across disciplines and teams

Technology & Business Alignment

• Strengthen the link between development efforts and business outcomes to position Development as a strategic partner, not just a delivery function

• Improve prioritisation and ensure alignment across product, engineering, and commercial teams

AI and Data-Driven Development

• Drive adoption of AI-enabled and agentic development practices

• Establish metrics and dashboards for delivery performance, quality, and velocity

• Enable data-driven decision-making across Development

Who You Are

You are a structured and delivery-oriented leader who is comfortable working in a complex environment and driving organisational change

• Experience from technical leadership roles within software, FPGA, or hardware development

• Proven experience leading transformation and scaling initiatives in a technology organisation

• Strong operational capabilities, including establishing processes and improving delivery environments

• Strong interpersonal skills including an engaging and clear communication approach

• Experience building and leading cross-functional teams

• Ability to work across technical and business stakeholders

• Practical experience with AI-based tools or workflows in development

• Experience developing leadership capability and building effective teams

Why Jo