Director of Engineering

Socket.dev; Franklin (TN); On-site; USD 169,000 - 228,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Health Care Plan (Medical, D&#

Job summary

Zipliens is seeking a Director of Engineering in Franklin, TN to own and scale the engineering and QA teams, report to the CTO, and drive performance, processes, and delivery as the organization grows.

The role balances leadership with hands-on technical input, reviews of outputs, exploration of AI tooling, and guiding technical direction while partnering with Product and Data & Analytics to align priorities and resources.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, including demonstrated people management experience leading and developing engineering teams.
• Background in backend, frontend, full-stack, data, or generalist engineering; specific specialization matters less than experience in fast-paced environments with clear processes and procedures.
• Working proficiency in Python and JavaScript/React, with database and data modeling experience preferred.
• Experience implementing or piloting AI coding agents or other modern engineering tools is a strong plus.
• Comfortable working in a tech-enabled services business with a SaaS-leaning model rather than a traditional enterprise software environment.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and improve engineering processes, including delivery workflows, code review standards, and developer ergonomics.
• Experience owning performance reviews, expectation-setting, and coaching for direct reports.
• Strong cross-functional collaborator who can partner effectively with Product, Software Engineering, and Data & Analytics.
• Comfortable managing external vendors and partners and engaging directly with customers when needed.
• Ability to work on-site at least three days per week (60%) in our Franklin, TN office is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and scale the engineering team
• Improve engineering processes and delivery
• Improve developer productivity
• Set technical direction
• Coordinate cross-functional and external partners

Skills

People management

Leadership

Backend / Frontend / Full-stack

Python

JavaScript/React

AI tooling adoption

Cross-functional collaboration

On-site availability

Tools

AI coding agents

Database modeling

Job description

Zipliens is a leading lien resolution company that specializes in streamlining the lien process for personal injury law firms. We are looking for proactive, results-driven individuals to join our dynamic team.

Zipliens is looking for a Director of Engineering to own and lead our growing engineering team, currently about 10 engineers and QA professionals, and growing. Reporting to the CTO, this person will own the team’s performance, development, processes, and delivery—leading engineering and QA as the organization scales. The role will focus heavily on building a strong, accountable team, improving how we plan and ship work, and putting the right processes and guardrails in place to help the organization move quickly and effectively.

While this is primarily a leadership role, you’ll also stay close to the technology and the work being delivered. You’ll review technical output, help shape technical direction, evaluate new tools and AI coding agents, and jump into features or technical problems when useful. We’re looking for someone who can balance strong people and operational leadership with enough technical depth to make good decisions, earn the trust of engineers, and help the team build and ship high-quality software.

Responsibilities:

Lead, develop, and scale the engineering team

• Own day-to-day leadership of the engineering team, including performance management from day one — expectations, evaluations, feedback, and coaching.
• Lead and develop engineering and QA team members; strengthen the team's capabilities through hiring and ongoing development.
• Build a culture of accountability, collaboration, high-quality execution, and continuous improvement.
• Recommend and drive the evolution of team structure, roles, and capabilities as the team scales.

Improve engineering processes and delivery

• Assess how the team communicates, plans, develops, tests, and ships, building on the strong foundation already in place.
• Streamline and standardize workflows to improve delivery velocity, predictability, and communication.
• Establish lightweight process guardrails appropriate for a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
• Partner with Product and Data & Analytics to keep priorities, dependencies, and delivery aligned.

Improve developer productivity

• Identify opportunities to improve developer ergonomics, tooling, and engineering efficiency.
• Evaluate and pilot new technologies, development tools, and AI coding agents on the existing stack.
• Drive adoption of tools and practices that measurably improve productivity and quality.

Set technical direction

• Provide pragmatic technical direction and establish appropriate engineering standards and guardrails.
• Prioritize architecture, maintainability, quality, and delivery discipline without requiring deep specialization in a specific technology.
• Stay hands-on enough to review technical output, evaluate architectural decisions, and jump into features or new tools when needed, without personally owning committed delivery.

Coordinate cross-functional and external partners

• Partner closely with Product and Data & Analytics to coordinate priorities and execution.
• Manage relationships with outside partners and vendors, including AI-enabled service providers, to ensure effective use of resources and alignment with internal priorities.
• Engage in customer-facing or higher-level technical consulting conversations as needed.

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, including demonstrated people management experience leading and developing engineering teams.:)
• Background in backend, frontend, full-stack, data, or generalist engineering; specific specialization matters less than experience operating effectively in a fast-paced environment with clear processes and procedures.
• Working proficiency in Python and JavaScript/React, with database and data modeling experience preferred.
• Experience implementing or piloting AI coding agents or other modern engineering tools is a strong plus.
• Comfortable working in a tech-enabled services business with a SaaS-leaning model rather than a traditional enterprise software environment.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and improve engineering processes, including delivery workflows, code review standards, and developer ergonomics.
• Experience owning performance reviews, expectation-setting, and coaching for direct reports.
• Strong cross-functional collaborator who can partner effectively with Product, Software Engineering, and Data & Analytics.
• Comfortable managing external vendors and partners and engaging directly with customers when needed.
• Ability to work on-site at least three days per week (60%) in our Franklin, TN office is strongly preferred.

Benefits

• Private Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Company HSA contributions for HDHP participants
• Flexible Spending Accounts (Health & Dependent Care)
• Company-Paid Short-Term Disability Coverage
• Voluntary Long-Term Disability, Life, AD&D, and Supplemental Coverage Options
• 401(k) Plan with Company Match
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick Time & Select Holidays)
• Parental Leave

Pay Disclosure: The total base salary range for this role is $169,000 - $228,000 annually, with opportunity for a quarterly discretionary bonus. Final compensation will be determined based on skills and experience.

Work Authorization: Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer-sponsored visa support now or in the future.