Head of Engineering, VP Engineering or CTO: Which Do You Hire at 30 Engineers?
Somewhere between 20 and 40 engineers, delivery slows, the founder stops being able to hold the whole system in their head, and someone says the words 'we need a CTO'. Sometimes that is right. Often it is not.
What each title owns
Head of Engineering: runs the engineering team day to day. Hiring, delivery, process, line management. Reports to a CTO, CPO or founder
VP Engineering: runs engineering at scale, usually several teams and managers. Owns delivery and the engineering organisation. Often the most senior engineering leader in a Series B to C business
CTO: owns technology strategy, architecture direction, the board and investor relationship on technology, and sometimes product. May or may not run the team directly
What each costs in the UK in 2026
Head of Engineering: £90,000 to £135,000 (London £100,000 to £155,000)
VP Engineering: £110,000 to £165,000 (London £125,000 to £190,000)
CTO at Series B: £130,000 to £180,000 (London £140,000 to £185,000)
Which to hire, by situation
Technical founder who still owns architecture and loves it, delivery is the pain: hire a Head of Engineering or VP Engineering. Let the founder stay CTO
Non-technical founder, no senior technologist, investors asking who owns the roadmap: hire a CTO, and make board exposure part of the brief
You have a CTO who is a brilliant architect and a reluctant manager: hire a VP Engineering under them, not a second CTO
Team under 15, no managers yet: a strong Head of Engineering is almost always the right first leadership hire
The mistake we see most
Hiring a CTO when the job is 'make delivery predictable'. CTOs who want the strategic seat get bored running sprints, and leave inside two years. Engineering managers who are good at running sprints are cheaper, happier and stay longer.
Every search we run starts with a written culture map, then structured interviews for attitude before skill. See technology leadership recruitment for the full list of roles, from Engineering Manager to CTO, or read how we hire.
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