Technical Director

Details

Over 7,500 companies — from scrappy startups to global brands — use our platform to send billions of emails, push notifications, in-app messages, and SMS every day. Customer.io powers automated communication that people actually want to receive.

We help teams send smarter, more relevant messages using real-time behavioral data. Under the hood, Go, React, Ember, and AI help us ship fast and scale with confidence.

We are looking for an experienced technical leader to drive innovation and shape the future of our platform. This role is built for someone who thrives in ambiguity, loves shipping new things, and brings deep technical perspective to early product bets. You will lead strategy, architecture, and execution on high-impact projects as an individual contributor, with room to grow as the work scales. You’ll report to our CTO and work closely with a small, highly collaborative team focused on building what’s next.

What We Value

Entrepreneurial Thinking

You turn ambiguity into opportunity. You move fast, connect technical ideas to real customer value, and build things that matter.

Architectural Leadership

You bring sharp technical judgment and a systems mindset. You make smart tradeoffs, set a clear direction, and design for scale that lasts.

Hands-On Execution

You ship. You write code, shape architecture, and stay close to the work from first commit through long-term adoption.

What You’ll Do

• Architect and build new capabilities from scratch and guide them through scale
• Prototype smarter product experiences using modern AI tools (LLMs, agents, embeddings, etc.)
• Lead technical strategy and decision-making on early-stage product bets
• Partner across disciplines to define what we build and why
• Write production code, shape architecture, and tell the story in a way others can follow
• Set up long-term success through clean handoffs, great documentation, and strong technical vision
• Influence without authority by driving big ideas forward from an IC seat

What We're Looking For

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ in founder, principal, or staff technical leadership roles
• Proven ability to take projects from concept to launch and transition them into durable systems
• Deep expertise in cloud-native architecture, distributed systems, and backend infrastructure
• Experience building with (or meaningfully evaluating) modern AI tooling and opportunities
• Excellent communication skills across writing, verbal collaboration, and architectural thinking
• A high-context thinker who moves fast, makes good calls, and ships with care

Compensation & Benefits

We believe in transparency. Starting salary for this role is $235,000 – $260,000 USD (or equivalent in local currency) depending on experience and subject to market rate adjustment.

We know our people are what make us great, and we’re committed to taking great care of them. Our inclusive benefits package supports your well-being and growth, including 100% coverage of medical, dental, vision, mental health, and supplemental insurance premiums for you and your family. We also offer 16 weeks paid parental leave, unlimited PTO, stipends for remote work and wellness, a professional development budget, and more.

Our Process

No gotchas, no trick questions - just a clear, thoughtful process to help both of us make an informed decision.

• Application - We review everyone with care. Tell us why you're interested.
• Recruiter Call (30 mins) - Let’s chat about what you’re looking for and how we work.
• Behavioral Interview (60 mins) - Talk to the hiring manager about your experience, values, and working style. We’ll explore topics like ownership, product thinking, and collaboration.
• Strategic Leadership Interview (60 mins) - Talk to one of our leaders about how you'd approach this role, how you view innovation, and your previous experiences leading similar efforts.
• Take-Home Assignment - Submit a short retrospective on a project you’ve led.
• Retrospective Review Call (60 mins) - We’ll use your written submission as the foundation for a deeper conversation.