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At AREA 17, we believe we can help the world be more open, resilient, and optimistic. We work with clients we trust and admire across various industries, including Saint-Laurent, OpenAI, the International Energy Agency, Fondation Louis Vuitton, and The New York Times. We build long-term partnerships with clients by delivering value through brand, experience, and technology. 

Technology is not just what we build—it’s how we move ideas forward. As a Digital Technical Director on our team, you will lead this momentum and help shape the future of our Engineering discipline in the New York studio. You will bring architectural vision, operational excellence, and a people-first mindset to grow a resilient, scalable, and craft-driven Engineering culture. 

This role is both strategic and hands-on. As Technical Director for clients, you will ensure our projects are well-managed, performant, robust, and dependable. Internally, you will mentor other Technical Directors and Engineers, ensuring our platforms meet the highest quality and sustainability standards. 

Key responsibilities

As a Technical Director, you will work across all levels of the organization to ensure our technology supports AREA 17’s mission and business goals. The direct responsibilities are outlined below with example activities:

Technology Leadership

• Act as a strategic partner, aligning Engineering vision with AREA 17’s mission and business goals.
• Define and evolve standards for systems architecture, backend development, and technical operations.
• Lead technical strategy and scoping on complex, multi-stakeholder projects.
• Support business development by shaping technical solutions and contributing to client proposals.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and guide their integration into our work.

Client Engagement

• Serve as a trusted technical advisor in high-impact client engagements.
• Champion scalable, maintainable backend solutions across our portfolio.
• Lead architecture reviews and platform planning for new and existing systems.
• Design and document complex ecosystems that integrate seamlessly with open-source and proprietary platforms.

Team & Culture

• Mentor and support engineers across all levels, creating conditions for growth and leadership.
• Foster a strong culture of engineering craft through rituals, documentation, and learning initiatives.
• Partner with design, strategy, and project leaders to deliver aligned, high-quality work.
• Champion continuous improvement in backend and frontend development practices.

What we're looking for

We are looking for a seasoned technology leader. This position requires strong, clear, and confident communication, both technical and non-technical, to effectively collaborate across disciplines and with clients. 

We are looking for a candidate with significant Engineering experience. This position requires 7+ years of experience in backend architecture, systems integration, and managing Engineers on projects. You should have a track record of scaling Engineering practices within creative or digital environments. You should have experience working with modern frameworks, cloud infrastructure, deployment pipelines, and API-driven architectures.

We are looking for a strategic and hands-on leader. A strong architectural vision and the ability to align technical strategy with business goals are essential. The successful candidate will understand how to translate strategic vision into actionable plans and execution. You should have a proven ability to connect technical decision-making with business strategy and user needs.

Key capabilities include:

• Technical vision and strategy — Aligning Engineering vision with AREA 17’s mission, defining technical standards, and leading technical strategy on complex projects
• Team leadership and mentorship — Mentoring Engineers at all levels, fostering a strong Engineering culture, and partnering with other disciplines to deliver high-quality work. Using your excellent communication skills and empathy, you can mentor and inspire high-performing teams. 
• Client advisory and engagement — Serving as a trusted advisor in client engagements, championing scalable backend solutions, and leading architecture reviews and platform planning. 

This position is for our New York studio. We will prioritize candidates local to New York City or the tri-state area, but we will also consider remote applicants residing within the United States. Please note that working hours will align with the Eastern time zone.

What we offer

At AREA 17, you will find a mission-driven studio environment that values craft, creativity, and collaboration. You will have opportunities to shape not only projects, but also how technology is practiced and taught within our organization and beyond. You will be a part of a multidisciplinary team that is deeply committed to quality and continuous learning. 

At AREA 17, we believe making great work and living great lives are inextricably linked—and must work synchronously to achieve harmony. To that end, we offer competitive compensation and benefits to support you in and out of the workplace. You will also have the opportunity to work from our Brooklyn studio. 

We champion diversity in all forms. We are an international team from 18 countries, speaking 13 languages. As individuals and a team, we are inspired by the world around us and united by our shared principles of rigor, curiosity, kindness, courage, and individuality. We are looking for applicants who feel connected to and inspired by these principles as well as our DEI Statement.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building and maintaining a diverse staff, and recognize that our continued success depends on hiring and retaining high-quality, creative professionals with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. As a company, we structure our team across bands and levels to create a path for growth and development. Our bands include Specialist, Director and Leadership. Within the Specialist band there are Associates, Specialists and Senior Specialists. Within the Director band there are Associate Directors, Directors and Senior Directors. Within the Leadership band there are Group Directors, Managing Directors and Senior Leadership. AREA 17 is owned and operated by its Partners, who also hold Senior Leadership positions. Opportunities for advancement exist for all employees – we invest in each member of the team to develop, grow and advance, individually and as a team.

AREA 17 does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, handicap, and/or disability, veteran status, or any other protected category under federal, state or local law.

The salary range for this position is $150,000 to $170,000 USD per year.