Director, Engineering & Development

Shift Paradigm is an execution-led strategic consultancy focused on bridging the gap between enterprise strategy and technical reality. As the Director of Engineering and Development, you will lead the engineering practice, ensuring high-quality delivery across client engagements while integrating AI into the development process.

Responsibilities:

• Lead and develop a team of front-end engineers, back-end engineers, architects, and solutions engineers
• Set and uphold technical standards, code quality practices, and engineering culture across the team
• Build team capacity and capability intentionally, identifying skill gaps and creating development pathways that keep the team ahead of client needs
• Create structure and process where it is needed, without over-engineering the way the team works
• Foster an environment where engineers can do their best work, ask hard questions, and grow professionally
• Bring a clear, informed point of view on how AI is changing software development, delivery workflows, and what it means for how a professional services engineering team should be structured and operate
• Champion the integration of AI-assisted development tools, code generation, testing automation, and other AI-enabled workflows across the engineering team
• Help SH/FT and its clients think through the implications of AI on custom development timelines, cost structures, and build-versus-buy decisions
• Stay current on the AI development landscape and translate that into practical guidance for both the team and client stakeholders
• Own the quality and integrity of engineering output across client engagements, from architecture decisions through to deployment
• Partner with project and delivery leadership to ensure engineering work is scoped correctly, resourced appropriately, and delivered on time
• Provide hands-on technical guidance and escalation support on complex or high-risk deliverables
• Maintain visibility across active engagements to identify risk early and keep delivery on track
• Participate in pre-sale conversations to assess custom development requirements, translate business needs into technical scope, and develop accurate level-of-effort estimates
• Show up with confidence and credibility in client-facing settings, including discovery sessions, architecture reviews, and executive presentations
• Help clients understand the trade-offs between custom development and platform-native capabilities, including total cost of ownership, timeline, and long-term maintainability
• Contribute to RFP and RFI responses, ensuring technical accuracy and a clear articulation of SH/FT’s engineering approach and differentiators
• Identify opportunities to build reusable frameworks, accelerators, and engineering assets that improve delivery speed and consistency across engagements
• Partner with the VP of Technology Services and other practice leads to shape how SH/FT positions and grows its engineering and development capabilities

Requirements:

• 8 or more years in software engineering or development roles, with at least 3 years leading engineering teams in a professional services, consulting, or agency environment
• Demonstrated experience building and developing engineering teams in environments where process is still maturing and the work requires figuring things out in real time
• Track record of managing delivery across multiple concurrent client engagements without sacrificing quality
• Strong communication skills and the confidence to lead technical conversations with client stakeholders at all levels, from developers to C-Suite executives
• Experience scoping custom development work, writing statements of work, and setting realistic client expectations around timelines and complexity
• Experience in developing and working with teams across geographical regions, including integrating nearshore and offshore teams
• Broad engineering fluency across front-end development, back-end systems, API design, systems integration, and cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, etc.)
• Experience working within or alongside martech ecosystems such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Adobe Experience Platform, Marketo, or similar platforms
• Familiarity with Agile and waterfall delivery methodologies and the judgment to apply the right approach to the right engagement
• Ability to review, critique, and guide technical architecture decisions across a range of languages, frameworks, and infrastructure patterns
• Active, informed perspective on how AI is changing software development, including experience with AI-assisted coding tools, prompt engineering for development workflows, and the broader implications for engineering team structure and delivery economics
• Experience evaluating, piloting, or implementing AI-native development practices within a team or organization
• Ability to help clients and internal stakeholders think critically about AI in the context of custom development, not just as a productivity tool but as a strategic input to build-versus-buy and sourcing decisions
• Comfortable presenting complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences in a way that builds confidence and drives informed decision-making
• Experience contributing to business development conversations, including pre-sale positioning and proposal development