Senior Director of Software Engineering

GPL Technologies; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

GPL Technologies in Los Angeles is seeking a Senior Director of Software Engineering to lead the software development function while staying hands-on.

You will write production code, define architecture, mentor engineers, and align technical strategy with business goals in an AI-native, Azure-based environment.

The role emphasizes modern cloud architecture, AI tooling, and close collaboration with executive leadership to deliver scalable, reliable software.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• 5+ years in engineering leadership or management.
• Hands-on experience designing and building production software; remain coding.
• Experience leading software teams and developing technical talent.
• Strong software architecture and system-design skills.
• Experience building modern applications, APIs, and cloud-based systems.
• Strong experience with Microsoft Azure or comparable cloud platforms.
• Knowledge of databases, APIs, authentication, security, distributed systems.
• Experience with CI/CD, automated testing, monitoring, and DevOps.
• Ability to evaluate AI tools for security, quality, value.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a software engineering team of 5–10.
• Personally write and ship production code.
• Design and build applications, APIs, integrations, automation, internal tools.
• Own software architecture, technical direction, standards, security, reliability.
• Use AI-assisted development tools as part of the workflow.
• Establish standards for AI-assisted coding, testing, documentation, code review.
• Design scalable, secure solutions within Microsoft Azure.
• Review code and help engineers solve complex problems.
• Improve engineering practices including CI/CD, testing, deployment, monitoring.
• Identify and reduce technical debt.
• Lead technical planning, priorities, roadmap.
• Partner with SVP to translate business needs into software solutions.
• Identify opportunities where AI can improve operations.
• Evaluate emerging AI tools and platforms.
• Recruit, coach and develop engineering talent as team grows.

Skills

Software architecture

Team leadership

Hands-on coding

Azure

AI development tools

Cloud architecture

DevOps CI/CD

Mentoring

Code review

Stakeholder communication

Tools

Cursor

Claude Code

GitHub Copilot

AI coding agents

LLM APIs

Job description

Senior Director of Software Engineering

ABOUT US

Since 2003, GPL Technologies has helped studios around the world run faster, more reliable production environments. Trusted by 500+ studios in media, entertainment, post-production, and VFX, our team of engineers, consultants, and specialists understands the real pressure of creative deadlines. Our services span managed IT, software services, security & compliance (TPN), cloud, and production-ready technical staffing.

THE ROLE

GPL Technologies is recruiting a Senior Director of Software Engineering on behalf of our client. This is a hands‑on technical leadership role reporting to the SVP of Technology, leading the software development function while remaining actively involved in building software. You will write production code, design solutions, make architecture decisions, review code, troubleshoot complex issues, and lead a team of 5–10 engineers. This is not a meetings‑only management position; the role requires staying close to the technology and contributing directly to development.

The client's environment is primarily Microsoft Azure, but they are not tied to a specific programming language or framework. They value strong engineering fundamentals, modern cloud architecture, adaptability, and the ability to select the right technology for the problem.

A major focus of this role is AI‑native software development. You will actively use tools such as Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, AI coding agents, and LLM APIs to build software, and will help establish how AI is applied throughout the engineering lifecycle, with AI amplifying strong engineering judgment rather than replacing it. Our client is looking for a leader who builds: someone equally comfortable partnering with executive leadership on business problems, developing technical strategy, guiding the engineering team, reviewing architecture, mentoring developers, debugging production issues, and writing production code.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead, mentor, and develop a software engineering team of 5–10
• Personally write and ship production code
• Design and build applications, APIs, integrations, automation, and internal tools
• Own software architecture, technical direction, engineering standards, software quality, security, and reliability
• Use AI-assisted development tools (Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, AI coding agents) as part of the daily development workflow
• Establish standards for AI-assisted coding, testing, debugging, documentation, and code review, and help the engineering team become highly effective at developing software with AI
• Design scalable, secure, and reliable solutions within Microsoft Azure
• Review code and help engineers solve complex technical problems
• Improve engineering practices including CI/CD, automated testing, deployment, monitoring, and observability
• Identify and reduce technical debt
• Lead technical planning, development priorities, resource planning, delivery commitments, and the technical roadmap
• Partner with the SVP of Technology and business leaders to translate business needs into software solutions
• Identify opportunities where AI, automation, and custom development can improve business operations
• Evaluate emerging AI tools, models, frameworks, development platforms, and technologies
• Recruit, coach, and develop engineering talent as the team grows

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience
• 5+ years of engineering leadership or management experience
• Significant hands‑on experience designing and building production software; currently coding and committed to remaining hands‑on
• Experience leading software engineering teams and developing technical talent
• Strong software architecture and system‑design skills
• Experience building modern applications, APIs, integrations, and cloud‑based systems
• Strong experience with Microsoft Azure or comparable cloud platforms
• Strong understanding of databases, APIs, authentication, application security, distributed systems, and cloud architecture
• Experience with modern DevOps practices, CI/CD, automated testing, monitoring, and source control
• Demonstrated hands‑on use of Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or similar AI development tools and coding agents
• Experience with agentic development workflows and LLM APIs such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or similar platforms
• Practical use of AI for code generation, refactoring, testing, debugging, documentation, and prototyping
• Experience with prompt and context engineering, generative AI applications, RAG, AI agents, or workflow automation
• Ability to evaluate emerging AI tools based on security, quality, productivity, and business value
• Ability to quickly evaluate and adopt new technologies, frameworks, and development approaches
• Strong problem‑solving and debugging skills
• Experience taking complex projects from concept through architecture, development, deployment, and production support
• Strong communication skills with both technical teams and senior business leaders

NICE TO HAVE

• Familiarity with the following Microsoft Azure technologies is valuable. Experience with every service is not required; our client is looking for someone who understands cloud architecture and can quickly learn the services needed to build the right solution.
• Azure App Services, Azure Functions, Azure Container Apps
• Azure SQL, Azure Storage, Azure Service Bus
• Azure Key Vault, Azure API Management, Application Insights
• Microsoft Entra ID, Azure DevOps and/or GitHub Actions