As lostdog mentioned, if you can't get "VP of Engineering", go for "Director of Engineering", which is basically the same title, but leaves room for them to hir

As lostdog mentioned, if you can't get "VP of Engineering", go for "Director of Engineering", which is basically the same title, but leaves room for them to hire a "real VP" later down the road. As I said, titles are free. You can get one better than your current title with little hassle, most likely. Although you sound like you expect a lot of hassle about this, which for me is not a good sign. I'd probably walk if they weren't willing to compromise on something like this.