Director Engineering

United States Digital Space LLC; New York (NY); On-site; USD 269,000 - 373,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

United States Digital Space LLC in New York, NY is seeking a Director of Engineering to lead our AI & App Experience (AAX) organization, creator of Jade, our AI-powered financial assistant, and the core AI platform infrastructure.

You will own the multi-quarter strategy for AAX engineering, translate priorities into scalable plans, and build a bench of senior technical staff while setting the technical bar for AI-native consumer products.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience including 5+ years managing managers or leading multi-team engineering organizations.
• Building and scaling AI/LLM-powered consumer products with architectural oversight.
• Experience hiring, developing, and retaining engineering leaders (TLMs and Staff+ ICs).
• Strong fundamentals across React Native, Python or Ruby on Rails, GraphQL, distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Own multi-quarter strategy for AAX engineering and translate priorities into roadmap plans across AI experiences, AI Platform, App Journey, and Design System.
• Build and lead a bench of senior technical staff and a high-performing leadership culture.
• Set technical direction and ensure architectural alignment across consumer AI experiences and platform components.
• Drive AI-native engineering culture and safe shipping of LLM-powered features at scale.
• Partner with Product, Design, Data Science, and Risk to shape roadmaps and long-range plans.
• Represent AAX and engineering in cross-functional and executive forums.

Skills

AI/LLM experience

Leadership

Executive communication

React Native

Python/Ruby

GraphQL

Distributed systems

Tools

Leadership pipelines

Job description

About the role

the company is looking for a Director of Engineering to lead our AI & App Experience (AAX) organization — the team building the next generation of the the company member experience. AAX owns Jade, the company’s AI-powered financial assistant, our AI platform infrastructure as well as the core app experiences and shared design system.

In this role, you’ll own the multi-quarter strategy for AAX engineering, translating company priorities into scalable plans across these teams. You’ll build and lead a bench of TLM (tech leader managers) and senior technical staff, set the technical bar for how the company builds AI-native, member-facing products, and partner with Product, Design, Data Science, and our Risk team to shape where AAX invests next.

This is a role for a leader who is equally comfortable setting long-range technical vision and staying close enough to the details to guide hard architectural calls — someone who has helped build or scale AI/LLM-powered consumer products and knows how to grow the engineering leaders around them.

The base salary offered for this role and level of experience will begin at $269,000.00 and up to $373,000.00. Full-time employees are also eligible for a bonus, competitive equity package, and benefits. The actual base salary offered may be higher, depending on your location, skills, qualifications, and experience.

In this role, you can expect to

• In partnership with our product team you will own the multi-quarter strategy for AAX engineering, translating company and product priorities into our roadmap plans across consumer facing AI experiences, AI Platform, App Journey, and Design Systems.

• Build, lead, and hire a high-caliber leadership bench of highly technical leaders/IC’s as well as building a team culture that exemplifies a builder mindset.

• Partners with your team to set technical direction for the org, driving architectural alignment across our consumer facing AI experiences, AI Platform, App Journey, and Design System.

• You will continue to drive our AI-native engineering culture: setting the bar for how LLM-powered features get shipped safely at scale.

• Own engineering’s strategic role in product direction, partnering with Product, Design, Data Science, and Risk leadership to shape roadmaps, challenge assumptions, and integrate platform and member value into long-range plans

• Represent AAX and engineering more broadly in cross-functional and executive forums, connecting the org’s work to company-wide strategy and outcomes

• Cultivate a high-performing culture across the org, modelling the company’s values and ensuring strong talent, performance, and career development practices on every team

• Ensure the org maintains strong operational practices — on-call, monitoring, and incident response — for every service/experience the team owns

• Contribute to overall engineering initiatives as a member of the company’s engineering leadership team

To thrive in this role, you have

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years managing managers or leading multi-team engineering organizations

• A track record of building and scaling AI/LLM-powered consumer products, with the technical depth to guide future investments and technical direction.

• Experience hiring, developing, and retaining engineering leaders (TLM’s and Staff+ ICs), and building leadership pipelines and succession plans

• Strong technical fundamentals across relevant parts of the stack (e.g., React Native, Python or Ruby on Rails, GraphQL, distributed systems) and the judgment to know where to go deep

• Demonstrated ability to translate company and product strategy into multi-quarter engineering plans, and to adapt org design as priorities and scale evolve

• Excellent executive communication skills — you can craft a compelling narrative that connects org strategy to business outcomes for senior leaders and cross-functional partners

• Experience partnering closely with Product, Design, Data Science, and Risk/Compliance functions in a regulated or high-trust environment (fintech experience a strong plus)

• AI-native fluency and a genuine interest in AI-native ways of working, with a track record of fostering that practice across teams rather than treating it as someone else’s job

• The desire to make a huge difference at a growing company, and the ability to motivate teams through delivery on aggressive schedules and goals

#LI-JC1 #LI-Onsite

A little about us

At the company, we believe that everyone can achieve financial progress. We created the company—a financial technology company, not a bank*—on the premise that core banking services should be helpful, easy, and free. Through our user-friendly tools and intuitive platforms, we empower our members to take control of their finances and work towards their goals. Whether it's starting a savings account, purchasing a first car or home, launching a business, or pursuing higher education, we're proud to have helped millions unlock their financial potential.

We're a team of problem solvers, dreamers, and builders with one shared obsession: our members. From day one, Chimers have worked tirelessly to out-hustle and out-execute competitors to bring our mission to life. Their grit and determination inspire us to work harder every day to deliver the very best experience possible. We each bring an owner's mindset to our work, refusing to be outdone and holding ourselves accountable to meet and exceed the highest bars for our teams, our company, and our members.

We believe in being bold, dreaming big, and taking risks, while also working together, embracing our diverse perspectives, and giving each other honest feedback. Our culture remains deeply entrepreneurial, encouraging every Chimer to see themselves as stewards of our mission to help everyday Americans unlock their financial progress.

We know that to achieve our mission, we must earn and keep people's trust—so we hold ourselves to the highest standards of integrity in everything we do. These aren't just words on a wall—our values are embedded in every aspect of our business, serving as a north star that guides us as we work to help millions achieve their financial potential.

Because if we don't—who will?

*the company is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC.

What we offer for our full-time, regular employees

• Our in-office work policy is designed to keep you connected - with four days a week in the office and Fridays from home for those near one of our offices, plus team and company-wide events depending on location. Whether you’re coming in regularly or are part of our fully remote program, you’ll stay engaged with your work and teammates.