Director of Engineering – Hands-On Architect

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Canada, +2 more countries.

📋 Description

• Take ownership of delivery results and speed across various delivery teams.

• Identify systemic obstacles and eliminate architectural or procedural hindrances.

• Recruit, nurture, and manage the performance of engineering managers, leads, and architects.

• Establish the engineering leadership layer.

• Define architecture patterns for frontend development, rendering strategies, and performance metrics for multiple delivery teams.

• Lead story refinement and set documentation standards.

• Create standards and workflow patterns that facilitate effective AI-agent operations across teams.

• Collaborate with PMs and stakeholders across different time zones.

• Handle conflicting priorities across client projects while ensuring high delivery standards.

• Mentor managers in cross-cultural communication and proactive asynchronous collaboration.

• Enhance managers' capacity to articulate technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders.

• Oversee people, architecture, and delivery across multiple squads and client projects.

• Represent the Engineering team in high-level client discussions.

• Influence engineering standards throughout the organization.

• Stay actively involved in key initiatives, dedicating approximately 20–30% of your time.

⛳️ Requirements

• A minimum of 5 years in engineering management.

• Proven experience managing managers, leads, or architects rather than solely individual contributors.

• Architectural expertise in modern frontend systems.

• Familiarity with defining Next.js architecture patterns, state management, and performance benchmarks.

• Experience with delivery ownership in agency or professional services settings.

• Proven track record of managing client engagements with competing priorities while ensuring quality.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

• Ability to engage with stakeholders across the US, Europe, and LATAM.

• Experience in developing communication skills for managers in multicultural environments.

• Demonstrated history of establishing standards and workflows for effective AI-agent implementation within a squad.

• Experience with specification-driven development, reviewing AI-generated code, and mentoring engineers to break down tasks for reliable agent execution.

• Preferred: practical experience with Salesforce Commerce Cloud or Shopify Plus/Hydrogen.

• Preferred: knowledge of composable commerce patterns, MACH architecture, or headless CMS platforms.

• Proficiency in React, Next.js, TypeScript, Shopify Plus, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, BigCommerce, SCAYLE, Vercel, CI/CD pipelines, Cursor and/or Claude Code, ChatGPT, Jest, Cypress, Playwright, Slack, Jira, and Confluence.

🏝️ Benefits

• Competitive salary aligned with market standards.

• Comprehensive benefits package.

• Bonus structures, when applicable.

• Unlimited paid time off (PTO).

• Fully remote work option.

• Opportunities for growth and development.

• Access to premium AI tools (Cursor and/or Claude Code) for the entire team.

• Organizational support for developing AI-first delivery practices.