Technology Director, Enterprise Systems

Code and Theory•New York, NY

13h•$175,000 - $225,000•Remote

About The Position

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 needs required 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 nuances of how to achieve experiences which are high performance while being cutting-edge, immersive and impressive for the end user.

Requirements

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. You are a master of FastAPI (and async programming), Pydantic (validators, serialization, schema generation), and have strong knowledge of Django or Flask
You must have successfully led at least one major system up-gradation or legacy modernization initiative. This could be a migration from a legacy monolith to microservices, or a significant framework/language version upgrade, executed with minimal disruption to the business
Proven 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. You understand ACID properties, transaction isolation levels, and CAP theorem trade-offs
While deep expertise in Python is required, you must possess a pragmatic mindset—willing and able to evaluate and utilize other 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; ability to generate client SDKs and enforce schema validation
Experience implementing observability tools (ELK, Grafana, Jaeger, etc.) and a mindset that prioritizes "Mean Time to Recovery" (MTTR)
Must be a compelling communicator capable of explaining complex architectural decisions to both technical teams and non-technical stakeholders

Responsibilities

Be a hands-on leader and coach to backend engineering teams. You will 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. You will 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. You will implement strict typing and validation strategies using advanced Pydantic patterns
Architect cloud-native solutions on GCP (preferred), AWS, or Azure. Crucially, you will own the cloud budget, implementing FinOps practices to optimize infrastructure costs and ensure architecture choices balance performance with fiscal responsibility
Oversee the implementation of security and data governance standards, ensuring systems are designed to 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. You will design 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. You will ensure that APIs are treated as products, with clear contracts, versioning, and backward compatibility
Work on database design and optimization, 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