For companies hiring a head of engineering

Interim Head / VP of Product Engineering

I cover the product-engineering leadership seat you've posted. Player-coach: I sit with the people and with the work.

Rick WongHead of Product Engineering — AI data products

What I do

The problem

The engineering leadership seat is empty. Delivery is slipping. The founder or a peer is still managing engineers while the search runs.

Cover the Head / VP of Product Engineering seat as a player-coach.
Keep execution, people, and the release bar moving while you hire.
Make the hard calls with the team still in the room.
Build the team up so dependency never grows on me.
Hand the seat to your hire cleanly.

Who this is for

Mid-market companies with a critical software initiative underway where an open engineering-leadership seat slows delivery or costs budget.
The owner, founder, VP or head with the budget.

Who this isn’t for

Companies that only want another full-time employee and have no appetite for coverage.
Buyers looking for a CTO title. I cover Head / VP of Product Engineering. I do not claim the CTO title.

How AI fits

I lean hard on AI in how the work gets done. AI does the middle: status, synthesis, handoffs, first drafts. I own judgment, people, and the outcome.

Where I’ve sat

I've held IC seats in product and engineering, up through the executive seat. I work across engineering, product and program at once. What people I've worked with say is on LinkedIn.

What people I’ve worked with say

Notes

These seats overlap. If the gap is a single team rather than the product-engineering org, see interim Engineering Manager.

If you are a startup founder or CEO and want product and engineering leadership that leans into AI, see AI-native product and engineering leadership.

At a glance

Seat: Head / VP of Product Engineering (player-coach). Buyers also search fractional head of engineering and interim VP of engineering.
Who it is for: Mid-market companies with a critical software initiative underway. Buyer is an owner, founder, VP or head with the budget.
Engagement: Conversation, then a time-boxed covering trial with one success check, then coverage while you search and a clean handoff. Coverage runs month-to-month while you search.
Availability: Open now for new engagements, as of October 2026.
Location: Irvine, CA, working with US startups remotely. Core hours 1–9pm PT (Pacific).
Cost: We work it out in the first conversation, scoped to the seat.
Contact: rick@datasaa.com

Questions

Is this a fractional head of engineering?

Yes, in buyer terms. The seat I cover is Head / VP of Product Engineering. I work as a player-coach. You keep your search for the permanent hire.

Are you a fractional CTO?

No. I do not claim the CTO title. If that is the search term you used, this seat is usually the closer fit: product and engineering leadership on a live initiative.

Do we stop hiring?

No. You keep searching. I cover the seat in the meantime.

What does it cost?

We work it out in the first conversation, scoped to the seat.

Start with an email.

Posted a Head or VP of Product Engineering seat you can't afford to leave empty? Let's talk about covering it while you hire.

Email rick@datasaa.com

Subject: “Product Engineering seat - via datasaa.com/cover-the-seat/head-of-product-engineering” (the link above fills it in).