Director, Full Stack Developer Lead

Location: New York, New York

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

Job Description

Who We Are

Horizon Media, founded in 1989 by Bill Koenigsberg, is recognized as one of the most innovative marketing and advertising firms. We are headquartered in New York City, with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto. A leader in driving business solutions for marketers, Horizon is known for its highly personal approach to client service.  Renowned for its incredible culture, Horizon is consistently named to all the prestigious annual Best Places to Work lists published by Fortune, AdAge, Crain’s New York Business and Los Angeles Business Journal. Together we are building a place of belonging.

At Horizon, we understand the value that different perspectives can bring to our clients and culture, so we strive for an environment where our employees feel welcomed, safe and empowered. We value YOU and believe that your authentic voice and unique perspective allows us to create a more rewarding culture, and experience, together.

Our simple recipe for success? We hire talented people (thinkers, doers, dreamers, makers), challenge them and give them every opportunity to grow.

Job Summary

Are you a visionary developer and leader who thrives on building products that don't just work, but matter? Are you ready to take ownership of a platform that is core to our business and directly drives revenue? We are seeking a Director of Full Stack Application Development to lead, innovate, and expand blu, Horizon's mission-critical, client-facing operating system. This is not a back-office role; you will be at the helm of a revenue-generating product, shaping its future and ensuring it delivers a world-class user experience.

Your mission is to guide a multidisciplinary team of engineers in transforming complex business needs into an intuitive, elegant, and powerful platform. You will be the technical authority responsible for not only extending blu’s capabilities but also for championing a culture of ownership, quality, and user-centric design. If you are passionate about building beautiful, scalable applications and leading teams to do their best work, this is your opportunity to make a tangible impact on our clients and our bottom line.

Responsibilities

• (40%) Product Web App Development
  • Own the Core Product: Architect, develop, and scale the blu platform, using React and Node.js to build a robust and high-performance application.
  • Champion User Experience: Partner closely with UX, Creative, and Product leaders to translate ambitious wireframes and designs into functional, beautiful, and intuitive user-facing features.
  • Build for Scale: Design and maintain resilient, scalable RESTful APIs and microservices that form the backbone of the platform.
  • Ensure Excellence: Implement and advocate for front-end components built with a relentless focus on performance, accessibility, and responsiveness across all devices.

• (30%) Technical Leadership and Innovation
  • Lead a team of onshore and offshore/nearshore developers, providing technical guidance, mentorship, and support to foster their growth and ensure high-quality deliverables.
  • Establish and enforce engineering best practices by writing clean, testable, and well-documented code.
  • Lead code reviews, architecture discussions, and sprint planning sessions to ensure the team is aligned and productive.
  • Work closely with DevOps and QA teams to support and improve continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.
  • Ensure all applications meet security, scalability, and maintainability standards, taking ownership of the technical quality.

• (30%) Team Leadership and Mentorship
  • Lead & Mentor: Guide a talented team of onshore and offshore/nearshore developers, fostering their growth through mentorship, code reviews, and providing clear technical direction to ensure high-quality, on-time deliverables.
  • Set the Standard: Establish and enforce engineering best practices for writing clean, testable, and impeccably documented code. You are the standard-bearer for quality.
  • Drive the Process: Lead architecture discussions, sprint planning, and technical strategy sessions, ensuring the team is aligned, productive, and focused on the most impactful work.
  • Foster Innovation: Cultivate a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, empowering the team to explore new technologies and approaches that can enhance the blu platform.

Qualifications

Must-Have:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Statistics, Mathematics, or related field
• 10+ years of software/UI development experience
• 6+ years of full-stack development experience, with a proven track record of leading development teams.
• Demonstrated experience in managing and mentoring offshore/nearshore development teams.
• Expert proficiency with React, JavaScript/TypeScript, and modern front-end tooling (e.g., Webpack, Vite, Babel).
• Strong experience with Node.js, Express, or similar server-side frameworks.
• Extensive experience in building and integrating RESTful APIs.
• Familiarity with cloud services (e.g., AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Proficient in working with SQL and/or NoSQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MongoDB).
• Deep understanding of CI/CD principles and version control systems (e.g., Git, GitHub Actions, Jenkins).
• Experience with vibe-coding platforms such as cursor, replit, lovable, and bolt
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills.

Nice-to-Have:

• Experience in the media or adTech industry.
• Experience building UI for conversational platforms leveraging ChatGPT/ Claude/Gemini APIs
• Experience with AI frameworks (A2A, MCP)
• Familiarity with GraphQL or WebSockets.
• Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes.
• Background in building internal developer tools or player-facing dashboards.
• Exposure to internationalization (i18n) and accessibility best practices.

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The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.

Horizon Media is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.  We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

Salary Range

A successful applicant’s actual base salary may vary based on factors such as individual’s skill sets, experience, training, education,  licensure/certifications, and qualifications for the role.  As an organization, we take an aptitude and competency-based hiring approach.  We provide a competitive total rewards package including a discretionary bonus and a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plans, company paid holidays and unlimited paid time off (PTO), mental health and wellness resources, pet insurance, childcare resources, identity theft insurance, fertility assistance programs, and fitness reimbursement.