Vice President of Engineering

• Washington , District of Columbia , United States
• $185,000 - $210,000 per year

The Democratic Data Exchange (DDx) is looking for a Vice President of Engineering who will be responsible for driving the technical strategy, architecture, and execution of our engineering efforts across two product lines. This senior leadership role will oversee all aspects of our engineering organization, ensuring that our technical infrastructure, security, and team development align with our mission and business objectives.

Reporting to the Chief Innovation Officer, the VP of Engineering will serve as the senior technical leader for DDx, directly contributing to the culture and success of DDx by shaping our products’ technical directions, overseeing the engineering organization, managing budgets, and driving technical excellence and execution across the organization.

At DDx, we believe:

Empathy is the most important part of being a good engineer

Inclusivity builds stronger, more supportive teams

Thoughtfulness is good for engineering and good for teamwork

Mentorship is something everyone should be involved in

A bias towards action is better than delaying for a perfect solution

Job requirements

Responsibilities:

These responsibilities are core areas of work that this role may have, but this role may also have additional duties as assigned and determined by business needs.

Technical Strategy and Implementation

Shape the product’s technical direction in alignment with DDx’s mission and strategic goals.

Collaborate closely with DDx leadership and peers on the company’s technical roadmap across two product lines - a data exchange and ecosystem API.

Partner with engineering leaders to evolve DDx’s system architecture, ensuring alignment with product and business priorities.

Facilitate architecture discussions and decision-making, balancing short-term execution with long-term technical sustainability with customer and market deadlines and opportunities for impact.

Lead tool selection processes and build vs. buy decisions.

Budget Management

Manage the engineering team budget, ensuring efficient allocation of resources.

Lead efforts to manage spend on engineering/technical infrastructure.

Work with the operations team to forecast engineering-related costs and optimize expenses.

Staff Management and Development

Recruit, lead, and nurture a team of software engineers, engineering managers, DevOps professionals, data engineers, and other technical staff, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Promote best practices in software development, security, and compliance.

Lead training efforts for technical staff, ensuring ongoing skill development.

Manage on-call rotation and emergency coverage company-wide.

Cross-Team Collaboration on Product Delivery

Foster strong relationships with cross-functional teams, including design, product management, and external stakeholders, to drive cohesive and strategic product development.

Implement and refine engineering processes and methodologies to achieve efficient and effective project execution.

Maintain a culture of accountability, ensuring that engineering team objectives are on track for timely, high-quality delivery.

Stay abreast of emerging technologies and industry trends to maintain a competitive edge and promote innovation.

Lead Company Security, IT, and Compliance Efforts

Serve as the primary point of contact for external security stakeholders.

Lead company-wide compliance efforts as needed (e.g., DNC security checklist).

Oversee IT strategy, including purchasing machines, and administration of tools like Google Workspace and Slack.

Act as the directly responsible individual for best practices in security, ensuring effective DevSecOps processes.

Thought Leadership

Be a visible technical leader for DDx in the political tech ecosystem.

Represent DDx at conferences or technical gatherings.

Engage with external stakeholders and partners to promote the usage of DDx’s products and services.

Shared Team Responsibilities

Be available to assist with escalations or outages as needed, which may require availability outside of standard working hours.

Join and participate in team retreats and collaborative opportunities.

Required Qualifications

Have proven experience leading and scaling engineering organizations

Be a strategic technical leader with experience in data platforms or similar complex systems

Have experience managing technical budgets and forecasting engineering costs

Have experience building and maintaining a secure infrastructure

Be comfortable making build vs. buy decisions and leading tool selection processes

Have experience balancing short-term execution needs with long-term technical sustainability

Have experience working in the political tech sector

Have expertise in security best practices and compliance requirements

Have experience in some of the following:

Python, Typescript, React

SQL, Snowflake Data Cloud, Google BigQuery

AWS: S3, EC2, Lambda, IAM, KMS, SQS, SNS

Terraform

DevSecOps practices and tools

Democratic campaign technology and data infrastructure

Desired Qualifications:

Strong experience with political data or equivalent experience is a plus.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Experience setting and monitoring key metrics for a team.

Adept at client management, stakeholder management, and political navigation.

Additional Requirement:

Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without restriction.

Location:

This is a remote position; anywhere in the U.S. DDx is a remote-first organization.

While this position is remote, this role may require 15% travel. Expected travel may include in-person team gathering in one location in the United States for retreats or in-depth collaborative opportunities. This would likely require travel and overnight stays in a location outside of one’s home location, though would be scheduled in advance to account for planning.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:

Ability to sit at a computer monitor for extended periods of time

Ability to lift up to 20 pounds occasionally

Salary and Benefits:
DDx offers a competitive compensation salary and benefits package, including:

Company-paid healthcare, dental, and vision insurance for full-time employees

Matching 401(k) contributions up to 3% after three months of employment

Unlimited paid time off (PTO) policy

16 weeks of paid leave for new parents

Other perks such as a generous holiday schedule and monthly team wellness days

The salary range for this position is $185,000-$210,000.

Hiring Process for This Role:

While there may be shifts to the hiring process, this is the anticipated hiring process’s steps for any candidates who advance from the application stage onwards:

Phone Screening: A 30-minute audio-only initial interview with a team member

First Round Interview: A 60-minute audio and video interview with a team member/multiple team members.

Second Round Interview/Written Prompt: A 60-minute audio and video interview with a team member or multiple team members OR a written prompt which may take 1-2 hours to complete.

Final Round Interview: A 60-minute audio and video interview with a senior or executive team member.

Request for References: This will be a request for 3 professional references, one of which should be a previous direct supervisor.

About Us:

Founded in 2019, the Democratic Data Exchange (DDx) is a for-profit company that aims to expand the possibilities of what data can accomplish by ensuring the accessibility and availability of high-quality, trusted data across the ecosystem.

DDx is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.