Senior Technical Director

Are you a passionate innovator looking to harness the power of technology to do more good? You've come to the right place. NGP VAN, together with ActionKit and Mobilize, delivers leading technology to Democratic and progressive campaigns as well as nonprofits.
Our parent company, Bonterra, was formed by bringing together leading solutions from CyberGrants, EveryAction, Network for Good, Social Solutions and their respective entities to form the second-largest and fastest-growing social good software company in the world. This collaboration will help NGP VAN accelerate enhancements in our platforms and continue to drive our top three areas of focus: reinforcing the core, committing to innovation, and helping lead in the Democratic ecosystem.
The ActionKit team at NGP VAN needs you to help our clients win fights to make the world a better place. ActionKit (actionkit.com) is used by over 150 progressive groups and not-for-profits to help tens of millions of online supporters contact decision makers, donate money, and take action online and offline. Our clients--the ACLU, MoveOn.org and others-use our tools to protect immigrant rights, fight climate change and more. Our scalable, flexible tools and APIs make us the choice of some of the most tech-savvy progressive organizations using the Internet to fight for good. ActionKit is built and maintained by a small, tight-knit team at NGP VAN, the top provider of technology for Democrats and progressives. ActionKit has been around over a decade, and the team has always worked together remotely.
If you'd like to use your tech skills to make the world a better place, read on.
Is this the job for you?

• We keep our eyes on the big picture. We prefer giving team members higher-level goals and flexibility rather than micro-managing. You're responsible for the detailed design of your features, not just coding them, and developers often propose feature ideas. Vision is as important a part of the job as execution.
• We all pitch in on a lot of things. All engineers' work touches various parts of the product, support, and operations. Other roles span sales and project management, or database administration and hiring (hi!).
• The work isn't over when the code ships. We're proud of the quality and reliability of our product, and our response when there are bugs, pain points, or production issues. Every engineer, including you, takes a shift of at least a few hours each week answering clients' support tickets.
• We appreciate our clients and the work they do: we're in this to make them more effective and make their day-to-day a bit easier, maybe even a little fun.
• If this sounds like where you want to be, please apply!

Must haves:

• Skills and judgment to produce high-quality work, from attention to detail in coding and testing to big-picture wisdom about risk and simplifying tricky plans.
• Communication and collaboration skills. It's critical to be able to talk through tradeoffs, ask for the information you need to get up to speed, and make your work understandable to others.
• Empathy with others' needs, from coworkers to clients.
• Substantial experience building database-backed web apps in Django.
• Experience managing software engineers

Additional pluses:

• Experience with (or at) nonprofits or political groups.
• Experience touching multiple aspects of a software business, such as development, design, cloud and database administration, and customer-facing roles.
• Experience with one or more of the specific technologies we use. ActionKit is written in Python using the Django framework, backed by a MySQL database, and hosted in AWS.

That said, we aren't judging candidates by a checklist and want anyone up to the job to apply. We come from a variety of backgrounds and would like future hires to as well.
Why choose us?

• • Work with an awesome team for awesome causes.
• • The ActionKit team is permanently remote (not just for the pandemic!). Hours and location are flexible as long as you get the work done.
• • We encourage you to use your vacation time; we are not the sort of workplace that pressures anyone into 60-hour weeks.

The ActionKit team and NGP VAN believe a diverse, inclusive staff makes us stronger and a better partner for our clients. Women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and members of other minority or marginalized groups are encouraged to apply. We're committed to hiring people on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need, and NGP VAN is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.
Compensation
The range displayed on this job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work, and in addition to benefits this role may be eligible for discretionary bonuses/incentives, and equity.
US base salary range: $172,600 - $310,600
Our Culture:
Our team is made up of industry experts and advocates who are 100% committed to supporting the doers of social good. We are currently undergoing an effort to create the vision and values that embody our collective organization and embrace the individuals who make up our community.
Our comprehensive and competitive benefits include:

• Generous Flexible Time Off (FTO) Policy
• Equity for ALL regular, full-time employees from individual contributors to management - share in our success!
• Up to 15 paid company holidays including some commemorating social justice events and self-care
• Paid volunteer time
• Resources for savings and investments
• Paid parental leave
• Paid sick leave
• Health, vision, dental, and life insurance with additional access to health and wellness programs.
• Opportunities to learn, develop, network, and connect

We are committed to being an equal opportunity employer and evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, diversity of thought and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.