Director of Applications Development

Job Details

Columbia, MD Full Time $150,000.00 - $175,000.00 Salary/year Day Information Technology

Description

Why This Role?

This Is a High-impact Leadership Opportunity To

• Shape the future of Stage Front’s technology by leading best-in-class application development.
• Build and scale a high-performing team, defining the organizational structure in collaboration with the CIO.
• Lead innovation by integrating AI/ML, microservices, and DevOps strategies to enhance our platform.
• Drive IT operational maturity while balancing speed, agility, and stability.
• Work closely with executives, product owners, and IT teams to deliver solutions that drive business growth and customer experience.
  
  

Key Responsibilities

Technology & Product Development

• Lead the design, development, and optimization of customer-facing applications built on .NET, React, Node.js, ExtJS, SQL, and Azure.
• Develop and execute a strategic roadmap for legacy technology modernization.
• Shape and implement an AI-driven innovation strategy to enhance automation, pricing intelligence, and analytics.
• Ensure best practices in code quality, security, and performance while driving continuous integration & deployment (CI/CD).
  
  

Leadership & Team Management

• Directly manage a team of software developers (max 10 direct reports) and scale the organization over time.
• Define and evolve the development team structure in collaboration with the CIO.
• Cultivate a high-performance culture that values innovation, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders, including product owners, business executives, and IT teams, to align technology with business goals.
  
  

Operations & Process Improvement

• Champion Agile development methodologies to optimize project execution and delivery speed.
• Establish data-driven metrics to measure development efficiency, product quality, and system performance.
• Drive steady-state production support for mission-critical applications, ensuring scalability, stability, and security.
• Continuously evaluate and integrate emerging best practices, processes, and tools to maintain a competitive edge.
  
  

Qualifications

Who You Are

Must-Have Skills & Experience

• 5 years of leadership & people management experience, building and mentoring high-performing development teams.
• 5 years of hands-on software development & delivery experience, leading teams from ideation to production.
• Proven ability to build and maintain customer-facing web applications with 200 daily active users.
• Deep experience with microservices architecture, DevOps, AI/ML integration, and cloud-based platforms.
• Strong background in code security, software quality, and production system stability.
• Experience using data-driven metrics to manage and optimize development processes.
  
  

Key Traits for Success

• Hands-on technical leadership – Can review code, contribute to development when needed, and provide strategic guidance.
• Entrepreneurial mindset – Agile, adaptable, and thrives in a fast-moving, high-growth environment.
• Calm under fire – Leads with confidence and clarity in high-pressure situations.
• Proactive communicator – Prioritizes clear, effective, and transparent communication across teams and stakeholders.