u/Exotic-Ad3540

I’m in a position I didn’t expect to be in after being made redundant ~6 months ago – I’ve ended up with two offers and I’m trying to decide which one best sets me up for the next step in my career.

My long-term goal is to move into a VP / Head of Engineering role in the next few years, so I’m optimising for progression rather than just short-term salary.

Offer 1:

• Engineering Manager
• Large, well-established Online Retail company around 1,000 employees
• Managing an onshore team of 8 engineers
• Higher base salary
• Reports into a Head of Engineering

Offer 2:

• Director of Engineering
• Smaller SaaS company (grown through multiple acquisitions) around 400 employees
• Managing an offshore team of 8 engineers
• ~15% lower base salary
• Reports into a Head of Engineering
• Title is more of a “step up” than a truly strategic Director role (still hands-on)
• Includes vendor management responsibilities

Additional context:

• Both roles are similar in day-to-day responsibilities
• Both are still fairly hands-on
• I’ve previously worked as an Engineering Manager in a large organisation so comfortable at the level of both roles
• I also have prior experience managing both onshore and offshore teams

What I’m trying to figure out:
Which role better positions me to step into a VP / Head of Engineering role in the next 3–5 years?

Does the Director title + vendor management experience meaningfully help? Or is it better to stay in a larger organisation and grow into broader leadership there?