The Role

As Director of Engineering and Development, you'll lead SH/FT's engineering practice across platform engineering, web and web application development, and custom software development. You'll own the people, the craft, and the output of the engineering team - setting technical standards, building capacity, and ensuring delivery quality across client engagements. This role also involves participating in pre-sale scoping, representing SH/FT's engineering capabilities in client-facing settings, and contributing a clear point of view on how AI is reshaping software development.

What You'll Accomplish

Engineering Leadership and Team Development

• Lead and develop a team of front-end engineers, back-end engineers, architects, and solutions engineers
• Set and uphold technical standards, code quality practices, and engineering culture across the team
• Build team capacity and capability intentionally, identifying skill gaps and creating development pathways that keep the team ahead of client needs
• Create structure and process where it is needed, without over-engineering the way the team works
• Foster an environment where engineers can do their best work, ask hard questions, and grow professionally

AI-Native Practice Leadership

• Bring a clear, informed point of view on how AI is changing software development, delivery workflows, and what it means for how a professional services engineering team should be structured and operate
• Champion the integration of AI-assisted development tools, code generation, testing automation, and other AI-enabled workflows across the engineering team
• Help SH/FT and its clients think through the implications of AI on custom development timelines, cost structures, and build-versus-buy decisions
• Stay current on the AI development landscape and translate that into practical guidance for both the team and client stakeholders

Client Delivery and Technical Oversight

• Own the quality and integrity of engineering output across client engagements, from architecture decisions through to deployment
• Partner with project and delivery leadership to ensure engineering work is scoped correctly, resourced appropriately, and delivered on time
• Provide hands-on technical guidance and escalation support on complex or high-risk deliverables
• Maintain visibility across active engagements to identify risk early and keep delivery on track

Pre-Sale Scoping and Client Engagement

• Participate in pre-sale conversations to assess custom development requirements, translate business needs into technical scope, and develop accurate level-of-effort estimates
• Show up with confidence and credibility in client-facing settings, including discovery sessions, architecture reviews, and executive presentations
• Help clients understand the trade-offs between custom development and platform-native capabilities, including total cost of ownership, timeline, and long-term maintainability
• Contribute to RFP and RFI responses, ensuring technical accuracy and a clear articulation of SH/FT's engineering approach and differentiators

Practice Development

• Identify opportunities to build reusable frameworks, accelerators, and engineering assets that improve delivery speed and consistency across engagements
• Partner with the VP of Technology Services and other practice leads to shape how SH/FT positions and grows its engineering and development capabilities

What You Bring

Experience & Expertise

• 8 or more years in software engineering or development roles, with at least 3 years leading engineering teams in a professional services, consulting, or agency environment
• Demonstrated experience building and developing engineering teams in environments where process is still maturing and the work requires figuring things out in real time
• Track record of managing delivery across multiple concurrent client engagements without sacrificing quality
• Strong communication skills and the confidence to lead technical conversations with client stakeholders at all levels, from developers to C-Suite executives
• Experience scoping custom development work, writing statements of work, and setting realistic client expectations around timelines and complexity
• Experience in developing and working with teams across geographical regions, including integrating nearshore and offshore teams

Skills & Capabilities

• Broad engineering fluency across front-end development, back-end systems, API design, systems integration, and cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, etc.)
• Experience working within or alongside martech ecosystems such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Adobe Experience Platform, Marketo, or similar platforms
• Familiarity with Agile and waterfall delivery methodologies and the judgment to apply the right approach to the right engagement
• Ability to review, critique, and guide technical architecture decisions across a range of languages, frameworks, and infrastructure patterns
• Active, informed perspective on how AI is changing software development, including experience with AI-assisted coding tools, prompt engineering for development workflows, and the broader implications for engineering team structure and delivery economics
• Experience evaluating, piloting, or implementing AI-native development practices within a team or organization
• Ability to help clients and internal stakeholders think critically about AI in the context of custom development, not just as a productivity tool but as a strategic input to build-versus-buy and sourcing decisions

Mindset

• Comfortable presenting complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences in a way that builds confidence and drives informed decision-making
• Experience contributing to business development conversations, including pre-sale positioning and proposal development

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation aligned with your experience and impact
• Remote flexibility
• Collaborative culture that values diverse perspectives and innovative thinking
• Work that makes a measurable difference for your clients

Why SH/FT:

SH/FT is a consultancy built for transformation. We bridge the gap between marketing, data, and technology to unlock growth for some of the world's most recognized brands. As Director of Engineering and Development, you will shape how our clients build and scale technology solutions, lead a team of talented engineers doing genuinely complex work, and have a real voice in how SH/FT's engineering practice grows and evolves.

Comp & Benefits

As required by law, SH/FT provides a reasonable range of compensation for roles that may be hired in California, Colorado, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey, or Washington. The salary range for these residents is $165,000 to $185,000 USD. Salary is based on several factors including but not limited to scope of responsibilities, skillset, relevant experience, certifications, and more.

In addition to base salary, SH/FT offers benefits such as medical, dental, vision, STD/LTD, Life/AD&D, Flexible Paid Time Off, and various other ancillary benefits and perks.

No relocation assistance can be offered at this time.

All inquiries are held in strict confidence.

The pay range for this role is:

165,000 - 185,000 USD per year (Remote (United States))