VP Engineering HealthTech Search for AI & SaaS Company based in Sweden: Building an Engineering Organisation Ready to Scale
Client Overview
A rapidly growing HealthTech company engaged Crexia Search to appoint a Vice President of Engineering to support its next stage of growth.
The business had established strong market traction with its SaaS platform and was investing heavily in AI-powered capabilities. They focus on improving clinical workflows, operational efficiency, and patient outcomes. As the company expanded across multiple markets, leadership recognised the need for an engineering executive who could scale delivery, strengthen platform reliability, and build the organisational foundations required for long-term growth.
The Challenge
The company had grown quickly, but engineering teams were beginning to experience the challenges that often accompany rapid scale.
Product demand was increasing, AI initiatives were accelerating, and regulatory requirements continued to evolve. Engineering managers were stretched, technical debt was accumulating, and delivery predictability varied across teams.
The leadership team wanted a VP Engineering who could balance innovation with operational excellence, improve engineering maturity, and create an environment capable of attracting and retaining top technical talent.
Our Search Strategy
We began by defining the leadership profile required to support both the company’s current growth trajectory and its future ambitions.
Working closely with the CEO, CTO, and board, we identified four core requirements:
Experience scaling engineering organisations within high-growth SaaS businesses
A strong track record of leading AI and data-intensive product development
Operational excellence across platform reliability, security, and delivery
The ability to build high-performing engineering leaders and teams
Our search focused on engineering executives from HealthTech, SaaS, AI, and regulated technology environments. Particular attention was given to leaders who had successfully balanced product innovation with the operational discipline required in healthcare and compliance-driven settings.
Rather than limiting the search to HealthTech alone, we mapped adjacent markets where engineering leaders had faced similar challenges around scale, complexity, reliability, and customer trust.
Candidate Assessment
Candidates were evaluated through a structured process that assessed technical leadership, organisational design, and execution capability.
Finalists presented their approach to scaling an engineering organisation from growth stage to maturity, including team structure, delivery governance, platform strategy, and talent development.
Leadership panels explored real examples of managing rapid growth, introducing engineering standards, navigating technical debt, and partnering effectively with Product, Data Science, and executive stakeholders.
References focused on leadership impact, engineering culture, retention, and the candidate’s ability to build scalable organisations that consistently delivered business outcomes.
Search Outcome
The successful VP Engineering brought experience leading global engineering teams within high-growth SaaS businesses and had previously scaled AI-enabled products in regulated environments.
The search was completed in nine weeks from launch to offer acceptance.
Search Snapshot
Time to hire: 9 weeks
First shortlist: 8 candidates
Final panel: 3 candidates
Leadership team participation: CEO, CTO, Product and Board representatives
Diversity representation at first round: 50%
Results
Within twelve months of joining, the new VP Engineering had strengthened leadership capability, improved delivery predictability, and established a more scalable operating model across the engineering organisation.
Key outcomes included:
Engineering organisation scaled from 65 to 120 employees
Release predictability improved by 40%
Platform reliability exceeded 99.95% availability targets
AI product delivery accelerated across three strategic initiatives
Engineering management structure redesigned to support future growth
Voluntary attrition reduced by 25%
The appointment provided more than additional engineering capacity. It created the leadership, processes, and organisational foundations required to support sustained product innovation and long-term business growth in a highly regulated market.