Job Description
PressW is seeking a Director of Engineering to lead and grow our engineering team. As an AI consulting firm building real-world AI applications for businesses, we need a technical leader who can set the direction for our engineering organization while remaining hands-on when it counts. In this role, you will manage a team of Applied AI Engineers, partner with clients to scope and deliver projects, and work closely with our CTO and Head of AI to shape the future of our engineering practice. This is not a purely managerial role; you should be comfortable stepping into a codebase, unblocking your team, and leading by example.
Responsibilities
- Lead, mentor, and grow a team of Applied AI Engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and collaboration.
- Partner with the CTO and Head of AI to define engineering strategy, standards, and best practices across the organization.
- Scope and architect client projects end-to-end, from initial discovery through delivery, ensuring solutions are practical, scalable, and well-executed.
- Serve as a trusted technical point of contact for clients, translating business needs into engineering plans and managing expectations throughout engagements.
- Step in as a hands-on contributor when projects require additional technical firepower; writing code, debugging, and shipping alongside your team.
- Drive hiring efforts, including defining role requirements, evaluating candidates, and onboarding new engineers.
- Build and refine engineering processes including sprint planning, code review practices, CI/CD pipelines, deployment workflows, and agentic coding guardrails to help accelerate development and preserve quality.
- Oversee cloud infrastructure decisions and ensure reliable, secure deployments across client projects spanning the major cloud providers.
- Stay current with advancements in LLMs, AI frameworks, and modern web development, and guide the team in adopting the right tools for each engagement.
- Work cross-functionally with client stakeholders spanning many industries and disciplines, and our team of Applied AI Engineers to ensure delivery of valuable project outcomes.
Qualifications
- 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong full-stack background.
- 2+ years of experience managing or leading engineering teams.
- Deep proficiency in JavaScript/TypeScript and modern frontend frameworks (React, Next.js, Vue.js), including experience with patterns like React Server Components.
- Strong backend development skills in Python, with hands-on experience using frameworks like FastAPI or Flask.
- Experience building and deploying applications on AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure (AWS preferred), including familiarity with Infrastructure as Code tools like Terraform.
- Solid understanding of relational databases (PostgreSQL or similar), RESTful API design, and modern backend architecture.
- Experience working with LLMs and AI frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LangGraph) in production environments.
- Demonstrated ability to scope technical projects, estimate effort, and deliver on time in a consulting or agency environment.
- Strong client-facing communication skills; you can explain technical tradeoffs to non-technical stakeholders clearly and confidently; you can manage client expectations and scope creep; you can educate the clients and empower their AI journey.
- Experience building and refining engineering processes (CI/CD, code review, Agile workflows) for growing teams.
- Excellent debugging, optimization, and systems-thinking skills.
Preferred Skills
- Prior experience in a consulting, agency, or professional services environment where you managed multiple concurrent client engagements.
- Experience with natural language processing (NLP) or building applications powered by large language models (LLMs).
- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices, particularly for ML-adjacent workflows.
- Experience with Next.js app directory routing, TailwindCSS, and headless UI frameworks.
- Knowledge of data engineering tools and techniques for preprocessing large datasets.
- Track record of scaling an engineering team; hiring, onboarding, and establishing team culture from the ground up.
Why Join PressW?
At PressW, we are redefining the way businesses harness the power of AI. As Director of Engineering, you'll shape how we build, how we work with clients, and how we grow. We are constantly working on the bleeding edge and guiding our clients to the best solutions, so your ability to context-switch across projects, jump into new codebases, and elevate the engineers around you will be paramount to success in this role. We offer competitive compensation, flexible work arrangements, and a collaborative environment where your leadership will have a direct and visible impact. If you're passionate about building great teams, shipping AI-driven applications, and helping clients solve hard problems, we'd love to hear from you! 🚀
PressW is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
