Technology Director, Enterprise Systems

Position Overview

The Machine team at Code and Theory operates as a bleeding edge enterprise AI startup within the larger agency. We are always striving to balance the demanding nature of working on cutting‐edge technologies with the real‐world demands of high performance, high security, and accessibility. Working in collaboration with our multi‐disciplinary engineering, design, and quality assurance teams, you will build an AI‐native software ecosystem that powers marketing workflows for both internal and external users. React is our most frequently implemented frontend framework, and we have built up substantial skill in implementing React and its ecosystem of technologies. Our frontends interact with a BFF (Backend For Frontend) where we host the APIs and services that enable the FE capabilities. You should be well versed in the full stack requirements needed to support the BFF as well as the FE. You are a passionate advocate for software quality, its role in our society, and its relationship to technology. You deeply understand the nuances of how to achieve experiences that are high performance while being cutting‑edge, immersive, and impressive for the end user.

Key Responsibilities

• Be a hands-on leader and coach to backend engineering teams. Drive the architectural vision, serving as a role model for code quality (clean architecture), API design standards, and system reliability.
• Lead the design and implementation of scalable, high-concurrency backend systems. Champion Event-Driven Architecture (EDA) patterns and apply Domain-Driven Design (DDD) principles to decompose complex business requirements into microservices or modular monoliths.
• Leverage modern Python frameworks – specifically FastAPI (preferred), Django, or Flask – to build high-performance APIs. Implement strict typing and validation strategies using advanced Pydantic patterns.
• Architect cloud-native solutions on GCP (preferred), AWS, or Azure. Own the cloud budget by implementing FinOps practices to optimize infrastructure costs and balance performance with fiscal responsibility.
• Oversee the implementation of security and data governance standards, ensuring systems comply with regulatory frameworks such as GDPR, CCPA, PCI-DSS, ISO, or SOC2.
• Conduct technical audits and author Technical Approach Documents (TADs) that outline cloud infrastructure, database schema design, "bill of materials," and development strategies.
• Own the telemetry stack by designing comprehensive logging, tracing, and metrics strategies (using tools like OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, or Datadog) to ensure system visibility and proactively identify performance bottlenecks.
• Enforce rigorous API documentation and design standards using Swagger/OpenAPI. Ensure that APIs are treated as products with clear contracts, versioning, and backward compatibility.
• Work on database design and optimization by choosing the right tool for the job (Relational vs. NoSQL) and optimizing complex queries and indexing strategies for high-throughput environments.
• Build and manage a diverse, geographically dispersed team. Collaborate with Frontend, Mobile, Product, and DevOps teams to define data contracts and foster a culture of technical ownership.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 5 years dedicated to backend architecture and distributed systems.
• Deep, hands-on expertise with the Python ecosystem. Mastery of FastAPI (and async programming), Pydantic (validators, serialization, schema generation), and strong knowledge of Django or Flask.
• Proven experience in leading at least one major system up-gradation or legacy modernization initiative—whether migrating from a legacy monolith to microservices or executing a significant framework/language version upgrade with minimal business disruption.
• Track record of implementing Event-Driven Architectures (using Kafka, RabbitMQ, or Pub/Sub) and a deep understanding of Domain-Driven Design (DDD) concepts.
• Familiarity with modern AI/ML requirements, including experience integrating Vector Databases (e.g., Pinecone, pgvector) or orchestrating LLM workflows (RAG) within backend services.
• Strong proficiency in database design, normalization, and optimization. Experience with PostgreSQL (or similar RDBMS) and NoSQL stores, with an understanding of ACID properties, transaction isolation levels, and CAP theorem trade-offs.
• A pragmatic mindset with the ability to evaluate and utilize other programming languages (such as Go, Rust, or Java) when they offer superior solutions for specific performance or concurrency challenges.
• Expert-level knowledge of Swagger/OpenAPI specifications, including the ability to generate client SDKs and enforce schema validation.
• Experience implementing observability tools (ELK, Grafana, Jaeger, etc.) and a commitment to optimizing "Mean Time to Recovery" (MTTR).
• Exceptional communication skills with the capability to explain complex architectural decisions to both technical teams and non-technical stakeholders.

Benefits & Perks

• Compensation: $175,000-$225,000 base salary, influenced by skill set, experience, and location.
• Remote-first work environment with global collaboration opportunities.
• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge technologies alongside multidisciplinary teams.
• Join a dynamic organization with a track record of solving complex, high-impact problems for Fortune 100s and innovative start-ups alike.