Blavity, Inc. is a venture-funded technology and news media company, founded in 2014 around a simple idea: enable Black millennials to tell their own stories. Today, we are home to the largest network of platforms and lifestyle brands serving the multifaceted lives of Black millennials & Gen Z through original content, video, and unique experiences. The company has grown into a market leader for Black media, reaching 250 million users per month through our growing brand portfolio, including Blavity News, Blavity Politics, 21Ninety, AfroTech, Travel Noire, and Shadow & Act. Assembled of passionate, high-energy, and focused rock-stars, our Blavity, Inc. Team executes our values at the forefront of mind: Love of Community, Transparency and Communication, Collective Responsibility, and Fail Fast. Blavity, Inc. is continuously looking for new team members to help us continue to scale, cultivate our community, and advance our strategic direction.

Job Summary:

Blavity, Inc. is seeking a Director of Engineering who will be responsible for leading, mentoring, and empowering our dynamic team of engineers (FT and contractors), in addition to overseeing the engineering strategy, infrastructure plans & implementation and IT across Blavity Inc. 

The ideal candidate is a technical expert and articulate leader, who effectively inspires & develops individuals and teams, and drives execution.

This role will report directly to our COO.

Responsibilities: 

• Set long-term architectural vision and contribute to the development, deployment, security and scalability of current and future projects
• Evaluate and improve on our engineering processes and define our engineering standards
• Provide technical guidance to product team
• Monitor and track team and individual performance KPIs to identify areas of strength and opportunities for growth
• Represent the Engineering team’s perspective when setting product development requirements
• Collaborate with Product & Data Leads to help define, refine and achieve the overall technical vision of the company
• Spearhead selection of core technologies, remove technical hurdles, provide software and technology research, analysis and recommendations
• Partner with Product, Design & Marketing to develop implementation plans in pursuit of company-wide strategy and goals
• Recruit, retain and empower a diverse team of engineers that align with Blavity Inc.’s values and mission
• Continuously refine and optimize Engineering team structures to maximize each individual’s impact and create opportunities for professional growth
• Provide oversight and guidance for internal IT teams and vendors.

Qualifications: 

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, Computer Engineering or Mechanical Engineering
• Required Experience: 
  • 7 years of experience in overall software development experience, preferably at a SAAS company
  • 3 years of people management experience
• Additional Qualifications:
  • Hands-on experience with a front-end framework like ReactJS, VueJs/Nuxt or AngularJS/Angular
  • Expert Javascript background and hands-on experience with back-end framework like NodeJS
  • Working knowledge of SQL or NoSWL database (i.e. Mongo, MySQL or PostgreSWL or MongoDB)
  • Experience with Docker, SCSS, Rest APIs, and GraphQL
  • Experience with cloud platforms like Google Cloud or AWS
  • A healthy appreciation of GIFs and Black culture

Details: This is a fully remote role, occasional travel may be required. Candidates must be available to work at least 50% in alignment with the Pacific Time Zone.

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter online at BlavityInc.com/Careers.

Blavity is committed to creating a diverse environment free of discrimination and harassment, and building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills.

Blavity is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, HIV Status, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.