Director of Technology

About the Company

Affinity is pioneering new frontiers in AdTech: developing solutions that push past todays limits and open new opportunities. We are a global AdTech company helping publishers discover better ways to monetize and enabling advertisers to reach the right audiences through new touchpoints. Operating across the US, Europe and Asia Markets with teams of 575+ experts, we are building privacy-first ad infrastructure that opens up opportunities beyond the walled gardens.

About the Role

We are seeking a Director of Technology who is not just a manager, but a hands-on technologist and architect. This role demands a leader who loves to code and will actively participate in the entire Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)from architecture and design to coding, testing, deployment, combining with strong people and architectural leadership, working closely with Product, Publisher Partnerships, Data, and Commercial teams. You will lead the engineering efforts for our core platforms, specifically focusing on our Connected TV (CTV) expansion, programmatic bidding engines, SDK architecture and our emerging AI-driven creative solutions. You will be the technical backbone of the company, balancing high-level strategic leadership with deep-dive programming execution.

Responsibilities

Think Future, Build Present

• Architect Scalable Systems: Design and build robust, high-availability ad-serving architectures capable of handling billions of requests with millisecond latency.
• CTV & Video Innovation: Lead the R&D for high-impact video advertising on Connected TV. You will own the technical roadmap for ORTB/VAST/VPAID integration, interactive CTV formats and SDKs for Various CTV OS like Roku, Tizen, WebOS, Android.
• AI Strategy: Spearhead the integration of AI/ML to automate creative optimization, predict user engagement, and enhance targeting capabilities.

Think Technology (Hands-on)

• Code, Develop & Architect: Architect solutions from scratch, Actively write production-quality code. You will not just review PRs but commit code for core modules, SDK updates, and critical bug fixes.
• Protocol Implementation: Personally oversee and code critical components of the OpenRTB (ORTB) implementation and VAST parsers to ensure compliance with global IAB standards.
• Full SDLC Ownership: Own the delivery pipeline. Ensure rigorous coding standards, automated testing, and seamless CI/CD processes are in place and followed.
• Stack Mastery: Make critical technology choices. Maintain a deep, hands-on understanding of our backend (e.g. Golang/Python/PHP), frontend (JS/React for rich media), and cloud infrastructure.

Think Data & AI

• Intelligent Algorithms: Design and implement algorithms for Real-Time Bidding (RTB) to optimize fill rates and yield for our publisher partners across Web, Mobile and CTV.
• AI-Driven Creatives: Develop software that leverages Generative AI to assist our creative studio in producing immersive ad assets at scale.
• Data Integrity: Oversee the data pipeline ensuring GDPR/CCPA compliance and privacy-first targeting methodologies.

Think Collaboration

• Cross-Functional Bridge: Work closely with the Product, Sales, Operations, Design and Creative teams to translate business requirements into technical specifications.
• Client Solutions: Occasionally interface with key clients or partners to understand technical integration challenges and provide custom solutions.

Think Leadership

• Mentor & Scale: Hire, mentor, and retain top engineering talent. Foster a "builder" culture where every engineer, including yourself, is close to the code.
• Operational Excellence: Manage the technology budget, optimize cloud costs, and ensure 99.9% system uptime.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of total software engineering experience, with at least 4+ years in a technical leadership role (Engineering Manager, Director).
• Deep understanding of the AdTech ecosystem is mandatory (DSP, SSP, DMP, RTB OpenRTB protocols, VAST/VPAID, Header Bidding).

Required Skills

• Expert Programmer: Proficiency in one or more core languages: Python, Golang, PHP or Node.js. You must be able to pass a live coding interview.
• Strong technical grasp of CTV ecosystems, VAST (Video Ad Serving Template), VPAID, and SIMID.
• In-depth knowledge of OpenRTB (ORTB) protocols (2.x and 3.0) and how to debug bid requests/responses.
• Experience in building, maintaining, and documenting lightweight, high-performance SDKs (Roku/Tizen/WebOS/Android/iOS/CTV platforms).
• MySQL/PostgreSQL, MongoDB/Redis, BigQuery, BigTable.
• Hands-on experience or strong familiarity with integrating AI models (TensorFlow, PyTorch, or OpenAI APIs) into software products, production workflows.
• Experience designing low-latency, high-throughput distributed systems (handling QPS in the thousands/millions).
• Understanding of modern web technologies (HTML5, WebGL, Sensors APIs) used in rich media ads.
• Deep knowledge of AWS/GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines.