Remote Associate Technical Director

Location: Pacific or Eastern time zones preferred. Will consider candidates in the EU time zone. Must be able to attend US-based calls until 12 PST.

Type: Full-time

Reports to: CTO

Works closely with: Creative, Production, and Clients

About Active Theory

Active Theory is a creative studio focused on design, technology, and storytelling. We work with global brands to build digital experiences that push craft and innovation. Our team is highly collaborative, deeply creative, and distributed.

The Role

We're looking for an Associate Technical Director to own the technical delivery of cutting-edge interactive web experiences for high-profile clients.

This role blends deep technical craft with strategic leadership — you'll architect and ship complex web experiences while serving as a trusted client partner, growing a team of developers, and contributing to how we build across the studio.

You'll be responsible for leading projects from discovery to launch, maintaining technical standards across client accounts, and ensuring every build meets our bar for performance, quality, and craft.

Core Responsibilities

Project Leadership & Delivery

Lead end-to-end project delivery in close collaboration with producers and creative leads

Own technical discovery: define approach, risks, estimates, resourcing, and integration requirements

Manage and coordinate developer teams through production — planning, delegating, and unblocking

Facilitate regular dev reviews and WIP sessions; keep delivery on track

Provide technical oversight across multiple concurrent projects, ensuring quality and consistency

Client Partnership

Serve as the primary day-to-day technical partner for clients

Proactively communicate with client teams; support producers on technical and build questions

Maintain technical standards aligned to specific client accounts and infrastructure requirements

Present builds, technical direction, and progress to clients and stakeholders

Evaluate incoming projects with New Business on feasibility, scoping, and required skills

Engineering & Technical Standards

Develop and maintain web platforms using JavaScript, Vue, Node.js, and studio-standard technologies

Gain deep expertise in Hydra (Active Theory's internal framework) to extend and maintain projects

Work with GCP, AWS, APIs, and third-party integrations as needed

Ensure quality across performance, analytics, SEO, security, and accessibility (WCAG)

Produce clear technical documentation, architecture diagrams, and information architecture

Explore and apply AI tools and workflows to improve craft and efficiency without sacrificing quality

Team Development & Culture

Manage 2–3 direct reports through regular 1:1s, performance feedback, and development plans

Mentor developers through examples of smooth delivery, client partnership, and technical presentation

Cultivate a positive, productive culture; introduce and steward developer initiatives

What We're Looking For

3–8 years of full-stack engineering experience

2+ years in a technical management or team lead role

Strong systems design and architecture skills for large, multi-stakeholder programs

Proven client-facing communication: requirements facilitation, workshops, roadmap and risk framing

Accurate scoping, estimation, and capacity planning

Clear communicator who can translate complex technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders

Accountable, proactive, and calm under pressure especially on high-priority issue

Nice to Have

Experience in a digital agency or creative studio environment

Familiarity with Vue.js, Node.js, GCP, or AWS

Experience building or scaling developer tooling, internal frameworks, or platform infrastructure

Comfort presenting to senior client stakeholders and executive audiences

$120,000 - $130,000 a year

Why Active Theory?

Work alongside a highly talented, thoughtful, and creative team

High trust, autonomy, and ownership over how you work and how projects get built

Opportunity to shape technical direction and developer culture at a growing studio

Build experiences for some of the world's most recognized brands

A role with real impact on client outcomes, team health, and studio-wide craft

Job Type: Remote, Full-Time, Permanent