About LittleLives
LittleLives is a leading EdTech SaaS company supporting thousands of preschools across Southeast Asia. With over $3M USD revenue in ARR, we're executing a dual-platform strategy that positions us for rapid regional expansion and strategic growth.
Rather than simply replacing our v1 platform, we're evolving it into a high-performance solution optimized for Standalone and Growing customer segments across SEA markets. While our new v2 platform serves Enterprise clients, v1 will remain our primary growth engine for the majority of our customer base, particularly as we expand into Indonesia with thousands of new preschool customers.
We need a V1 Technical Lead who can transform our platform from maintenance mode into an active development powerhouse - delivering rapid enhancements while scaling to support massive customer growth across multiple markets.
Your Mission
Lead the V1 Platform Evolution to transform our legacy platform into a high-performance, enhancement-ready system that will serve as LittleLives' primary offering for Standalone and Growing segments for years to come. While Enterprise clients migrate to v2, you'll ensure v1 becomes the scalable backbone for our expansion into Indonesia and continued growth across SEA markets.
Core objectives:
- Maintain 99.9% uptime while accelerating enhancement delivery cycles
- Optimize platform performance to handle rapid customer growth, especially in Indonesia
- Lead knowledge reconstruction and establish fast-iteration development processes
- Build selective migration tools for Enterprise clients choosing v2
- Scale v1 architecture to support thousands of new Standalone customers
- Mentor and develop a team of 8 engineers focused on sustainable growth and rapid feature delivery
Key Responsibilities
Platform Evolution & Enhancement Leadership
- Own the long-term technical strategy for v1 as the primary platform for Standalone and Growing segments
- Transform v1 from maintenance mode to active development with fast enhancement cycles
- Optimize architecture for rapid feature delivery while maintaining platform stability
- Scale infrastructure to support thousands of new customers, particularly in Indonesia expansion
- Establish efficient development workflows that enable quick response to market needs and customer requests
- Future-proof the platform for 3-5 years of continued growth and feature evolution
Indonesia Market Expansion Support
- Prepare v1 platform for massive scale to support Indonesia's market entry with thousands of new Standalone customers
- Optimize performance and localization capabilities for Indonesian market requirements
- Collaborate with Commercial teams to ensure platform readiness for rapid customer onboarding
- Build market-specific features and integrations as needed for Indonesian preschool requirements
- Monitor and optimize costs as customer base grows significantly in new market
Technical Team Leadership
- Lead and mentor a team of 8 engineers: Product Manager, PHP/Backend Engineer, Node.js Engineer, Elixir/Phoenix Engineer, Mobile Engineers, DevOps/Infrastructure Engineer, and QA Engineer
- Set clear technical priorities and sprint goals aligned with business objectives
- Conduct code reviews and ensure adherence to best practices across all stacks
- Foster collaboration and knowledge sharing within the team
- Provide technical guidance and career development for team members
Knowledge Reconstruction & Documentation
- Critical Priority: Rebuild institutional knowledge through comprehensive technical documentation
- Create architecture diagrams, API specifications, and system integration maps
- Document critical business logic, data flows, and dependencies
- Establish knowledge transfer protocols to prevent future knowledge loss
- Train team members on complex system interactions and troubleshooting
Strategic Migration & Dual-Platform Management
- Lead selective migration strategy focused primarily on Enterprise clients transitioning to v2 at premium pricing
- Maintain v1 as the core platform for Standalone customers and Growing customers who choose to remain
- Build automated migration tools for Enterprise clients while ensuring v1 remains the preferred choice for SMB segments
- Coordinate with V2 team to ensure clear platform differentiation and appropriate feature allocation
- Develop customer communication strategies that position v1 as the optimal choice for Standalone and many Growing customers
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with VP of Product & Engineering on resource allocation and technical roadmaps
- Work closely with Revenue teams to minimize customer disruption during maintenance
- Coordinate with V2 Development Team to share learnings and avoid repeated mistakes
- Support Customer Success and Support teams with technical insights for customer issues
- Provide technical input for cost optimization and infrastructure decisions
Technology Stack Expertise Required
Multi-Stack Architecture
- PHP/Backend: Core system architecture and business logic
- Node.js: API layers and integration services
- Elixir/Phoenix: Real-time features and performance-critical components
- Mobile Development: iOS (Swift) and Android (Kotlin) applications
- DevOps/Infrastructure: AWS/cloud infrastructure, CI/CD, monitoring
Additional Technical Skills
- Database optimization (MySQL, PostgreSQL, or similar)
- API design and integration management
- Performance monitoring and optimization
- Security best practices for SaaS platforms
- Legacy system modernization strategies
Ideal Profile
Technical Leadership Experience
- 7+ years in software engineering with 3+ years in technical leadership roles
- Proven experience managing multi-stack, legacy platform environments
- Track record of stabilizing complex systems under time and resource constraints
- Experience with SaaS platform maintenance and customer-facing applications
- Strong debugging and troubleshooting skills across multiple technology stacks
Team & Process Management
- Experience leading cross-functional engineering teams (6-10 people)
- Proven ability to mentor engineers and improve team productivity
- Strong project management skills with ability to balance stability vs. innovation
- Experience with incident management and maintaining high uptime SLAs
- Track record of improving development processes and code quality
Business & Customer Focus
- Understanding of SaaS business metrics and the impact of technical decisions on revenue
- Experience working in customer-facing environments where stability is critical
- Ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
- Commercial awareness of cost optimization and resource efficiency
- Experience with B2B SaaS platforms, experience in education or public sector is a plus
Mindset & Culture Fit
Ownership & Accountability
- Takes extreme ownership of platform stability and team outcomes
- Proactive problem-solver who identifies issues before they impact customers
- Resilient under pressure and comfortable with high-stakes technical decisions
- Drives solutions rather than dwelling on problems or constraints
Collaboration & Communication
- Clear communicator who can explain complex technical issues simply
- Builds trust through transparency and reliable delivery
- Comfortable working across time zones with distributed teams
- Mentoring mindset that develops others while driving results
Strategic Thinking
- Balances short-term stability with long-term technical evolution
- Makes pragmatic decisions that serve business objectives
- Cost-conscious and resource-efficient in technical approaches
- Forward-thinking about migration strategies and platform evolution
Why This Role Matters
This is a strategic platform leadership role that will define LittleLives' ability to serve the majority of our customer base for years to come. While Enterprise clients move to v2, you'll be responsible for making v1 the preferred, high-performance choice for Standalone and Growing segments. Your work directly impacts:
- Revenue growth: Enabling rapid expansion into Indonesia with thousands of new customers on v1
- Market positioning: Establishing v1 as the premier solution for SMB preschools across SEA
- Platform sustainability: Building a 3-5 year technical roadmap that supports continuous enhancement and growth
- Competitive advantage: Delivering fast, customer-requested features that differentiate us from competitors
- Business model optimization: Supporting the dual-platform strategy that maximizes revenue across all customer segments
As v1 evolves from legacy maintenance to active development, you'll be the technical leader who proves that mature platforms can be innovation engines when properly architected and led.
Why Join LittleLives
- Lead a mission-critical technical transformation in the EdTech space
- Work with a talented, distributed team across Southeast Asia
- Direct impact on thousands of preschools and hundreds of thousands of children
- Competitive compensation with equity participation in company growth
- Professional development opportunities in a rapidly scaling SaaS environment