Director, Engineering

Atlantic Media; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 185,000 - 215,000; Full time

Job summary

The Atlantic is seeking an experienced Director of Engineering to lead Reader Experience and Interactive teams, shaping how readers discover, engage, and consume our journalism across multiple formats.

You will manage engineering managers and senior leaders, collaborate with Product, Design, Editorial, and business stakeholders, and drive high-quality execution with durable technical decisions and strong operational practices.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience with multiple teams led or managed
• Strong technical background in modern web app development and architecture
• Experience recruiting, developing, and retaining engineering talent
• Experience leading teams through full product development cycles
• Strong judgment in prioritization, staffing, organizational design, and cross-team execution

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering across Reader Experience and Interactive with managers and senior technical leaders
• Recruit, develop, and retain a high-performing engineering organization
• Partner with Product, Design, Editorial, and stakeholders to plan, scope, and deliver impactful work
• Set expectations and support managers and engineers in goal attainment
• Clarify ownership, prioritization, and decisions across overlapping systems
• Stay close to the work to influence technical direction and tradeoffs
• Improve knowledge sharing and reduce single points of failure via durable documentation and architecture practices
• Represent teams in broader engineering and cross-functional conversations
• Contribute to engineering-wide standards, hiring, and organizational planning
• Participate in incident response leadership to improve resilience and reliability

Skills

Leadership experience

Web application development

Talent recruitment & retention

Full product development cycles

Prioritization & staffing

Job description

The Atlantic is looking for an experienced and technically grounded Director of Engineering to lead Engineering in our Reader Experience and Interactive engineering missions. We aim to support a more thoughtful American public by powering and expanding our Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism — and we want the products we ship to be worthy of that mission.

In this role, you will lead the teams responsible for Reader Experience and Interactive, including the systems and experiences that shape how readers discover, consume, and engage with The Atlantic across read, listen, watch, community, discovery, edit tooling, games, AI, and labs-style experiences.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, including experience leading engineering teams through managers 4+ years in engineering leadership roles with responsibility for multiple teams or a broad product area
• Strong technical background in modern web application development and architecture
• Demonstrated experience recruiting, developing, and retaining engineering talent
• Demonstrated experience leading teams through full product development cycles
• Strong judgment in prioritization, staffing, organizational design, and cross-team execution

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience leading engineering for consumer-facing digital products at scale
• Experience with editorial tooling, interactive products, content platforms, subscriptions, advertising systems, or audience-facing experimentation
• Experience working closely with Product, Design, Editorial, and business stakeholders
• Experience improving knowledge sharing, team operating cadence, and cross-team technical decision-making
• Experience in a media or publishing environment

As a Director of Engineering at The Atlantic, you will:

• Lead engineering across Reader Experience and Interactive, including managing engineering managers and senior technical leaders across multiple teams and product areas
• Recruit, develop, and retain a high-performing engineering organization
• Partner closely with Product, Design, Editorial, and other stakeholders to plan, scope, and deliver impactful work
• Set clear expectations and support managers and engineers in growing toward their goals
• Build clarity around ownership, prioritization, and decision-making across teams with overlapping systems and dependencies
• Stay close enough to the work to weigh in on technical direction, organizational tradeoffs, and execution risks
• Improve knowledge sharing and reduce single points of failure by establishing durable practices for documentation, architectural communication, and cross-team learning
• Represent your teams’ work and needs in broader engineering and cross-functional conversations
• Contribute to engineering-wide standards, hiring, and organizational planning as a peer to other engineering leaders
• Participate in incident response leadership and reliability practices to help improve system resilience, response quality, and operating expectations across the organization

The role will at times include night, early-morning, and weekend work.

As a Director of Engineering at The Atlantic, you are:

• A people-first leader: You care genuinely about the growth and wellbeing of the leaders and engineers on your teams
• A strong communicator: You distill complex technical and organizational issues clearly for a diverse set of stakeholders, and you advocate effectively for your teams across the organization
• Technically credible: You have a strong engineering background and can engage meaningfully on architecture, systems, quality, and technical tradeoffs
• AI-fluent: You have strong judgment about how AI tools and AI-powered product features should shape engineering execution, team practices, and technical decision-making. You help leaders and teams use these tools effectively without outsourcing critical thinking, quality standards, or accountability.
• A collaborator: You build trust across Engineering, Product, Design, Editorial, and business teams, and you navigate competing priorities without creating friction
• A pragmatic planner: You can break large, ambiguous initiatives into ordered, executable work while balancing short-term delivery with long-term team health and technical quality
• Adaptable: You are energized by variety. Shifting priorities, evolving team needs, and organizational change invigorate you
• An interest in the pursuit of truth: You recognize the fundamental importance of journalism and are genuinely excited to build the products and experiences that support it

Salary minimum: $185,000; Salary maximum: $215,000

This role is based in Washington, D.C.

About The Atlantic:

The Atlantic has, for more than 160 years, advanced ideas that matter and sparked global conversation on the most important issues of our time. We aim to bring clarity and original thinking to questions of consequence, on topics ranging from politics, the economy, and global affairs to technology, science, and culture. As the third-longest-running magazine in America, we find ourselves at a remarkable moment: one of both continuation and transformation, of upholding our legacy while continuously reinventing ourselves for the future.

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The Atlantic Monthly Group LLC ("The Atlantic") is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Atlantic is committed to diversity and encourages members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, LGBTQ people, people of color, and people with disabilities. We do not discriminate against our applicants because of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable law.

Job offers to work at The Atlantic are contingent upon the candidate’s successful completion of reference checks and compliance with The Atlantic's COVID-19 vaccination policy. The Atlantic requires all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, including subsequent boosters, and submit proof of vaccination status. Employees who cannot receive the vaccine because of a disability/medical contraindication or sincerely-held religious belief may request an accommodation (e.g., an exemption) to this requirement.

At The Atlantic, our Work Experience is the combination of everything that's unique about us: our culture, our core values, our commitment to advancing ideas that matter and sparking global conversation, but most importantly, it's our people. Our employees are generous, hardworking, curious, trustworthy, humble, and truthful. They live for opportunities to collaborate and make a difference. The Atlantic looks for three “pillar gifts” in you, and everyone else. In all of us, these are more aspirational than actual, but they are central in our intentions.

SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY The Atlantic seeks in its ranks a spirit of generosity—a natural disposition in each colleague toward service and selfless conduct.

FORCE OF IDEAS At the center of The Atlantic is a belief in the power of ideas. Our highest work is bringing rigor, insight, and honesty to their examination. We endeavor to cultivate new ideas, challenge existing ones, and seek out those that otherwise might go unheard. We do this because ideas have consequences—the power to shape our lives, our work, and the world around us.

SENSE OF BELONGING The Atlantic was founded in 1857 as a home for intellectual debate, but also in opposition to the great moral injustice of its time. More than a century and a half later, we continue to believe our purpose is larger than ourselves. At its best, our culture reflects this calling. It is characterized by goodwill and a deep sense of mutual concern. Our goal is not consensus—on the contrary, our best work may be born of spirited exchange and a diversity of views. What brings us together is a commitment to the mission of the Atlantic, to our readers, and to one another.

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