10+ years in data engineering or related fields, with 3+ years in leadership roles
Proven ability to align technical strategy with measurable business outcomes
Experience transforming data lakes into actionable product backends
Expertise in selecting and utilizing cloud data platforms
Strong proficiency in Python and SQL
Experience with AI-driven coding and workflows
Demonstrated success in hiring and mentoring engineering talent
Responsibilities
Own the vision and architecture of the data platform, linking technical strategy to business outcomes
Design and scale systems for data collection, modeling, and activation
Collaborate with leadership and stakeholders to translate business strategies into technical solutions
Contribute to budget and roadmap decisions, managing competing priorities
Select and standardize cloud data platforms and tools based on technical judgment
Maintain hands-on involvement as an architect, setting engineering standards
Lead the adoption of AI technologies within the engineering team
Hire and mentor engineers, shaping the culture of the data organization
Represent the data organization to senior leadership and clients, ensuring clear communication
Balance client delivery with internal platform investments, overseeing data governance and security
Benefits
Flexible work environment
Opportunities for professional development and mentorship
Access to cutting-edge technology and tools
Collaborative culture that values both technical and creative perspectives
Involvement in high-impact projects with significant business outcomes
Full Job Description
We are seeking a Technical Director to own the vision, architecture, and delivery of our data platform and the engineering organization behind it. This leader will set the technical direction for how Code and Theory collects, models, and activates data, powering analytics, predictive models, and generative AI across the agency and its clients. The ideal candidate is a product-minded technologist and a credible hands-on architect who can translate business strategy into data and platform development, and who builds teams as deliberately as they build systems.
As Technical Director, you will have broad authority over technical strategy, standards, and staffing. You will partner with agency leadership, client stakeholders, and the Machine Learning team, have input into budget and roadmap decisions, and define the culture and craft of a world-class data organization.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Own the vision, architecture, and roadmap for Code and Theory's data platform, setting technical strategy that ties directly to measurable business outcomes
Design and scale the systems that collect, model, and activate data, turning latent data lakes into data-driven product backends that power analytics, predictive models, and generative AI
Partner with agency leadership, client stakeholders, and the Machine Learning team to translate business strategy into platform and data development
Contribute to budget and roadmap decisions, prioritizing and funding competing initiatives
Select and standardize cloud data platforms and tooling, applying strong, well-reasoned technical judgment
Stay hands-on as a credible architect, setting standards and best practices for engineering quality across Python, SQL, and modern data workflows
Lead adoption of AI-powered coding, agentic engineering, and AI-enabled workflows across the engineering organization
Hire, mentor, and grow engineers and leads, and shape the culture and craft of a world-class data organization
Represent the data organization to senior leadership and clients, communicating clearly with audiences across a 50/50 Tech/Creative organization
Balance client-facing delivery with internal platform investment, and oversee data governance, privacy, and security practices
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
10+ years in data engineering or adjacent disciplines, including 3+ years leading teams or technical organizations, with a record of designing and scaling data platforms from the ground up
Demonstrated ability to set technical strategy and tie it to measurable business outcomes, including prioritizing and funding competing initiatives
Substantial work experience in activating latent company data lakes into data-driven product backends
Deep expertise in cloud data platforms and the judgment to choose among them. Bring your opinions on which you love and which you hate!
Strong technical fluency in Python and SQL
Substantial experience with AI-powered coding, agentic engineering, and AI-enabled workflows, ideally having led their adoption across a team
Proven track record of hiring, mentoring, and growing engineers and leads, and of establishing standards and best practices
Exceptional communication and influence, with the ability to work across the full range of technical levels at an organization that is 50/50 Tech/Creative, and to represent the data organization to senior leadership and clients
NICE TO HAVE
Experience owning data governance, privacy compliance, and security programs
Working knowledge of marketing data ecosystems (GA4, advertising platforms, CRMs, CDPs)
Experience integrating AI/ML capabilities into data pipelines and shipping GenAI applications to production
Experience in an agency or consultancy environment, balancing client-facing delivery with internal platform investment
The compensation range for this role is $185,000 - $240,000 and spans multiple levels. We're open to hiring at the level that best matches the right candidate's experience. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, budget, and location.
