Director of Applied Innovation

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Nebraska.

📋 Description

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team consisting of two positions: Applied Innovation Engineer and Applied Innovation Analyst.

• Recruit new team members as the team expands.

• Personally design, develop, review, and deploy application code.

• Manage the application portfolio roadmap and coordinate intake with business leaders.

• Prioritize tasks based on business value and identify what the team will not pursue.

• Create and uphold a delivery schedule that ensures usable software is presented to users within weeks instead of quarters.

• Report on delivery progress in accordance with the established cadence.

• Take responsibility for production availability, which includes deployment, release management, monitoring, and incident response.

• Set and enforce engineering standards for version control, testing, code reviews, release and change management, and documentation.

• Develop the team's AI-assisted development practices, including tooling, review standards, guardrails, and management of company and customer data.

• Collaborate with Enterprise Architecture on architecture, integration, and data standards.

• Work with IT Infrastructure and IT Security regarding hosting, identity, access management, and secure development practices.

• Provide the support organization with necessary documentation, runbooks, training, and knowledge transfer for tier 1 and tier 2 support.

• Act as the escalation point for business applications.

• Maintain the distinction between operational applications and data inquiry tools managed by the Director of Data & AI Enablement.

• Manage vendor relationships, oversee cloud expenditure, and handle licensing.

• Report on delivery, risk, and the health of the portfolio to the Chief Technology Officer and business leadership.

• Conduct interviews and hire personnel, plan and assign tasks, coach and evaluate performance, and address employee concerns.

• Execute other assigned responsibilities.

⛳️ Requirements

• A minimum of seven years of experience in building and supporting business software, with significant hands-on engineering experience.

• Proven leadership in managing a team, a product, or a major delivery initiative.

• Practical expertise with modern application stacks, such as TypeScript/JavaScript with React or Next.js, C#, or Python.

• Proficient in relational databases and SQL.

• Experience in cloud application delivery, covering deployment, application hosting, identity and authentication, secrets management, monitoring, and cost management using AWS and/or Microsoft Azure.

• Background in system and data integration, including APIs, file interfaces, and integration with ERP or third-party platforms.

• Capability to make scope decisions and deliver focused initial versions.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills with non-technical stakeholders.

• Proven ownership of production systems, including release management and incident response.

• Agreement to Central Valley Ag's confidentiality, intellectual property, and non-disclosure policies.

• Ability to remain seated or standing for extended periods.

• Dexterity in using a computer keyboard and mouse.

• Capability to occasionally lift and transport computer equipment and peripherals.

• Bachelor's degree in a technology-related field, such as computer science, computer information systems, or management information systems (preferred).

• Working familiarity with AI-assisted development, including coding agents, assistants, prompt-driven development, and reviewing AI-generated code (preferred).

• Experience in agriculture, commodities, logistics, or a cooperative (preferred).

• Experience in establishing or revitalizing a small delivery team (preferred).

🏝️ Benefits

• Option for remote work.

• Occasional travel to Central Valley Ag locations for user engagement, onboarding, and team meetings.

• Possible after-hours work to support deployments and resolve production issues.

• Reasonable accommodations available for individuals with disabilities.

• Equal Employment Opportunity protections.