I’m currently a line manger at company with several thousand people. My director has a headcount of nearly 100.

A small startup with some tech… but wouldn’t really call a tech focused company (more focused on education let’s say) reached out to me to interview for a “head of engineering”. They would call me that, director of engineering, or whatever I wanted that was reasonable.

The pay is a good (not FAANG good but good) and better than my current at about 250 base plus a healthy chunk of options.

My biggest concern is the team is like 8 engineers. They will be at maybe 15 in a year. I don’t see it growing to above 50, but could even stop at 15. 25 realistically though.

I don’t know any “directors” with 8 people teams. I can’t tell if the inflated title will do more harm than good long term.

There are some director level responsibilities. I do get final say on all architecture and engineering budget.

Long term do you think this company could grow into something where I’d be a proper director, or do you think I could successfully interview for director roles at other companies for the role after this? Do I have better growth opportunities as a line manager at my current big co.

The pay sounds solid. I’m concerned mostly around growth and legitimacy. What would you all suggest? Thanks!