POS-MAX is seeking a fractional CTO and hands-on Engineering Manager to audit and stabilise their retail POS software environment, then lead ongoing technical improvement and developer management.
POS-MAX provides point-of-sale systems, merchant processing, delivery integrations, and supporting software to hundreds of retail merchants. Their stack includes Python/Django backends, React/TypeScript frontends, SQL Server and PostgreSQL databases, Celery-based background jobs, and a range of Windows desktop tools and store-to-cloud synchronisation workflows. They currently have two remote developers and are looking for an experienced technical leader to take ownership of the engineering environment.
The engagement begins with a scoped technical assessment, progressing to part-time fractional leadership if there is mutual fit. Longer-term, the role has potential to grow as POS-MAX develops additional proprietary software products. The CEO is non-technical, so clear written and verbal communication of findings, risks, and progress is essential throughout.
- Audit existing codebases, databases, integrations, and overall system architecture to identify risks and gaps.
- Assess deployment, monitoring, backup, and recovery arrangements across the full software environment.
- Review source control practices, testing procedures, security posture, and account ownership.
- Deliver a prioritised findings report and a practical 90-day improvement roadmap.
- Manage remote developers with clear deliverables, deadlines, and acceptance criteria, and personally review significant code changes.
- Establish testing, release, documentation, and handover procedures, and report progress and decisions to the CEO in plain language.
- Substantial senior engineering experience with a track record of directly managing developers.
- Strong, hands-on Python and Django skills, including database architecture and query optimisation.
- Demonstrated experience inheriting, auditing, and improving existing software environments.
- Background in reliable synchronisation, background job systems, API design, and failure recovery.
- Ability to communicate technical findings clearly to a non-technical business owner.
- Experience with retail, POS, payments, or software deployed across many customer sites is advantageous.
POS-MAX supplies point-of-sale systems, merchant payment processing, delivery integrations, remote support, and proprietary software to hundreds of retail merchants. They operate their own applications for inventory synchronisation, reporting, label printing, and store automation, with a small remote development team and ambitions to expand their software product portfolio.
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