Director of Software Development

Captivate is North America’s leading location‑based digital video network, reaching millions of professionals throughout the day. We connect viewers to the world outside their office by delivering valuable information and entertainment. Through multiple touchpoints, including elevator screens, mobile, and desktop, we influence personal and professional purchase decisions, maintaining a 90% engagement rate among 12 million unique viewers each month.

Captivate has an exciting opportunity for a Director of Software Development to provide hands‑on leadership to our Engineering team at our headquarters in Lowell, MA. This role is ideal for an experienced technical leader who can balance team management and mentorship with hands‑on software design, development, and testing.

Reporting to the VP of Technology, the Director will oversee software development processes, lead team growth and performance, and drive the design and implementation of next‑generation platform components. This role will be instrumental in advancing both our proprietary technology platform and our software development practices.

The Captivate Technology Platform is built on a Microsoft‑centric stack (C#, C++, ASP.NET, MS SQL) and hosted across AWS and colocation data centers for resiliency. We leverage a range of cloud services including AWS Lambda and modern front‑end frameworks such as Angular and React.

This position requires the candidate to be based in the Boston, MA area, with the ability to regularly collaborate onsite in our Lowell office. Captivate operates under a hybrid work policy, with flexibility for periodic work‑from‑home days.

• Lead and manage the Captivate software development team, providing both technical direction and people leadership.
• Contribute as a hands‑on developer to meet Engineering deliverables and support complex development efforts.
• Partner with Product Management to align priorities, establish roadmaps, and deliver on product objectives.
• Assign tasks, oversee progress, and ensure the timely, high‑quality completion of all deliverables.
• Mentor, coach, and provide performance management to team members.
• Drive full‑stack development efforts across front‑end, business logic, and back‑end systems.
• Optimize development strategies, processes, and best practices to increase team efficiency and product quality.
• Recommend and implement new tools, techniques, and testing methodologies.
• Facilitate development ceremonies including standups, sprint planning, demos, and retrospectives.
• Design and implement challenging software components and features using JavaScript, C#, Visual C++, MS SQL, and AWS services (including Lambda).
• Develop and execute comprehensive software testing plans, including unit, integration, regression, and smoke testing.
• Utilize Atlassian JIRA, Confluence, Git Hub, and modern deployment methods (e.g., Serverless) for effective development and release management.
• Provide production support to Captivate systems, collaborating with Technology, Operations, and Product Management teams to resolve issues.

• 5+ years leading and managing software engineering teams, with proven supervisory or team leadership experience.
• 7+ years as a full‑stack developer in Microsoft Stack platforms hosted on AWS or Azure.
• 5+ years designing, developing, and supporting 24x7 mission‑critical systems.
• 5+ years designing clean and scalable RESTful APIs.
• 5+ years hands‑on JavaScript experience.
• 3+ years in Angular, React, and Node.js development.
• 3+ years in container‑based application architecture, deployment, and release.
• 2+ years managing external development partners (on‑shore and off‑shore).
• Experience with Atlassian JIRA, Confluence, Git Hub, Serverless, and AWS services;
  Linux/Unix knowledge a plus.
• Strong knowledge of object‑oriented programming paradigms.
• Demonstrated success in implementing modern software development practices.
• Cybersecurity controls experience with NIST 800‑53r5 a plus.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent work experience).
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Passion for mentoring, team development, and writing maintainable, testable code.
• Commitment to staying current with industry trends and emerging technologies.

Captivate offers a generous FTO (flexible time off) policy, matching 401k, commuter benefits & health insurance programs offered through Cigna. We encourage work‑life balance through team building activities, employee outings and celebratory events. Captivate offers a great work environment and provides employees the opportunity to make an impact, through employer gift match programs & volunteer opportunities.

Seniority level: Director
Employment type: Full‑time
Job function: Engineering and Information Technology
Industry: Advertising Services