Head of Product & Engineering (m/w/d)

Job Overview

CKM Group is actively hiring a Head of Product & Engineering (m/w/d) to join their software development team, with work primarily based in Berlin. This is a berufserfahren opportunity that places you at the intersection of meaningful day-to-day execution and long-term professional growth, inside an organisation that has consistently invested in building a healthy, outcomes-driven culture.

Across the past few years, CKM Group has refined what it looks for in this kind of role. The person hired as Head of Product & Engineering (m/w/d) will own a clear scope from day one, partner closely with cross-functional teammates, and have a direct line into the decisions that shape the wider software development function. Expect a transparent onboarding plan, well-documented systems and a manager who treats coaching as part of their job — not an afterthought.

Compensation is positioned competitively for the market, and the package extends well beyond base pay (full benefits are outlined further down). Equally important, the team has a track record of promoting from within: several current senior contributors and managers started in roles very close to this one.

Key Responsibilities

As the next Head of Product & Engineering (m/w/d) at CKM Group, your work will be visible from the first week. The responsibilities below are not a wish-list — they are an honest sketch of what the role looks like in practice, refined over multiple hiring cycles.

• Own end-to-end delivery of software development projects assigned to your remit, from initial scoping through to launch, post-launch monitoring and iteration based on real-world feedback.
• Collaborate daily with engineering, design, product, operations and customer-facing colleagues to make sure your work is grounded in what users actually need, not just what is easy to build.
• Stay close to industry developments relevant to software development, and bring back the ideas worth experimenting with — without chasing hype for its own sake.
• Identify recurring problems, propose pragmatic fixes, and lead the implementation of those fixes with measurable success criteria defined up front.
• Mentor more junior teammates informally: pair on tricky problems, share resources, and help create the kind of environment where good questions are welcomed.
• Maintain clear, up-to-date documentation of your processes, decisions and outcomes so that teammates, new hires and adjacent teams can pick up context without needing a meeting.
• Participate in code reviews, design reviews, planning sessions and retrospectives as a thoughtful contributor — giving feedback that is direct, kind and grounded in evidence.
• Communicate progress and risk clearly and proactively. If something is at risk of slipping, your manager and stakeholders hear it from you first, with options attached.

Requirements & Qualifications

CKM Group is deliberately specific about what makes a candidate succeed in this role. Treat the list below as a strong guide rather than a strict checklist — the team is genuinely open to non-traditional backgrounds when the underlying skills are clearly demonstrated.

• A pragmatic approach to problem-solving — breaking large, ambiguous problems into smaller, testable steps, and being willing to revise your plan when the evidence calls for it.
• Eligibility to work in the location specified in the listing — visa sponsorship may be available for the strongest candidates; check the official application page for current policy.
• Self-direction without isolation: you can run with a problem, but you also know when to ask for help, when to surface trade-offs and when to escalate.
• Strong written and verbal communication in English. You should be comfortable explaining technical or complex decisions to non-specialists without being either condescending or vague.
• Demonstrable hands-on experience in a software development-related role, ideally with a portfolio, case studies or references that show the kind of work you have shipped and the impact it had.
• Comfort working asynchronously across time zones. Most coordination happens in writing, so clarity in messages, tickets and documents matters as much as clarity in calls.
• A track record of being a good teammate. Technical skill matters, but so does how you behave in code reviews, retrospectives and difficult conversations.

Benefits & Compensation

Compensation for this berufserfahren role is structured to be competitive in Berlin and to reward both contribution and tenure. Full numbers and region-specific details are confirmed during the interview process; the items below describe the standard package.

• Generous paid time off — typically including annual leave, public holidays, sick leave and additional days for personal or family events.
• Competitive base salary benchmarked against current market data, reviewed at least once a year.
• Performance-linked bonus or equity, depending on the role and seniority.
• Home-office stipend and a refresh cycle for laptop, monitor and accessories.
• Mental-health support, including access to confidential counselling and structured time off for recovery when you need it.
• Parental leave that goes meaningfully beyond statutory minimums in most regions.
• Health, dental and vision cover for you and (in most markets) your dependants.
• An annual learning and development budget you can spend on conferences, books, courses or coaching.

About CKM Group

CKM Group has built its reputation in the software development space by focusing on the unglamorous fundamentals: clear writing, well-documented systems, careful hiring and steady investment in the people who already work there. The company has grown deliberately rather than chasing headlines, and that shows up in the day-to-day experience of the team.

Customers, partners and former employees consistently describe the organisation as straightforward to work with. Internal practices match the external message: decisions are written down, leadership is reachable, and difficult conversations happen early rather than being deferred.

For a Head of Product & Engineering (m/w/d), joining CKM Group means inheriting a foundation of good defaults — solid tooling, sensible processes, a culture of honest feedback — and being trusted to build on top of them rather than constantly fight them.

Work Environment & Culture

Diversity, equity and inclusion are treated as practical operating commitments, not a marketing line. Hiring panels are deliberately structured, salary bands are documented, and feedback channels exist for anyone who feels the team is falling short in practice.

New joiners frequently mention how quickly they felt they could speak up. There is no expectation that you stay quiet for the first six months; on the contrary, the team explicitly invites fresh eyes on systems, documents and processes that long-time employees have stopped questioning.

Culturally, CKM Group is built around a few simple commitments: do honest work, default to writing things down, treat people as adults, and protect deep-focus time. Meetings exist when they are the right tool — and not as a substitute for thinking. Most communication happens asynchronously in shared documents and threaded discussions, which means your evenings and weekends genuinely belong to you.

Career Growth & Development

CKM Group treats career growth as a shared responsibility. The company commits to giving you the structure, feedback and opportunities you need; you commit to engaging with that structure honestly. The result, for most people who stay more than a year, is a meaningful step up in scope, skill and seniority.

• Conference and speaking support if you want to grow your public profile in the industry.
• Internal mobility: it is genuinely possible — and encouraged — to move between teams or functions once you have established yourself.
• Twice-yearly structured performance reviews, with lightweight monthly one-to-ones in between so nothing is a surprise.
• Mentorship programmes that pair you with senior colleagues inside and outside your immediate team.
• A documented career framework that shows exactly what is expected at each level and how to move between them.

How to Apply

Applying for this Head of Product & Engineering (m/w/d) role is intentionally straightforward. There is no MM Jobs sign-up, no paywall and no middle step — you apply directly with CKM Group through their official channel.

• Click the green Apply on official site button on this page. MM Jobs never collects your application — you go directly to CKM Group's own careers portal, which is the only verified channel for this role.
• Read the official posting carefully. Even though we summarise the most important details here, the employer's own page is the source of truth for benefits, salary banding, work-authorisation requirements and contact details.
• Prepare a tailored CV (one to two pages) and a short, specific cover note. Reference one or two concrete examples of work that match this role's responsibilities — not a generic introduction.
• Submit through the official portal. Save a copy of your submission and the date you applied; if you do not hear back within two to three weeks, a single polite follow-up is appropriate.
• If invited to interview, treat the first conversation as a two-way fit check. Have your own questions ready: about the team you would join, the metrics that define success, and the realities of day-to-day work.