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At the centre of everything we do at R/GA is a belief in human ingenuity and the power of technology to improve the world around us. The technology team at R/GA is dedicated to understanding the changing dynamics of the tech ecosystem, both the foundational layers, as well as emerging technologies that are around the corner, to help our clients navigate waters ahead, and ultimately to create new products and experiences that deliver untapped business and customer value. Our team operates as a global network of talent and collaborators. We combine broad knowledge of the tech landscape, with specialised areas of skill in the stack, and deep knowledge of specific domains in which technology is applied. Our approach is holistic: we understand and design technology solutions in the context of business, social, cultural, environmental and ultimately human impact, and we acknowledge our role as responsible technologists isn’t only to build things right, but to build the right things.

About the role

As the founding Technology Director (creative technologist) in Berlin, you will be responsible for establishing the technology offering, identifying client opportunities and building out capabilities to deliver work. You will be working closely with other disciplines heads and will be a key member of the office leadership team.

Fundamental to our way of working at R/GA, you will be working closely with other technology directors around the network, as well as the global CTO. As such, you will be tapping into a global team of experts to bootstrap the local growth initiatives, initially relying heavily on their support, but over time, building out the relevant capabilities in region.

You will be both a strategic advisor and architect, steering the implementation of programs and evolving them once they’re rolled out to end users. You are expected to lead technical research, evaluate and recommend optimal architectures around client needs and capabilities, and identify opportunities to innovate within the constraints of the operating environment. Clear communication will be critical as you engage with client stakeholders and partners and establish successful relationships and build trust.

Your expertise in marketing cloud platforms, commerce, mobile and emerging technologies will be critical as you provide guidance and understanding to the wider program, educating others on best practices, and bringing fresh ideas on how best to leverage platform capabilities.

Responsibilities:

  • Advise clients on optimal technology strategies, solutions and delivery models
  • Lead teams in the conceptualisation, design and delivery of work, overcoming challenges, not only technical but organisational and communication challenges, making adjustments on the fly to adapt to changing context
  • Grow and manage a team of talented software engineers, analysts, and QA specialists locally and across regions and timezones
  • Influence ideation, handle feasibility conversations, and prototype concepts in collaboration with engineers and designers
  • Anticipate challenges in complex programs, de-risking technical and operational pitfalls that may lie ahead
  • Manage third-party partner teams, relationships, and outside talent
  • Recommend to client stakeholders (technical and non-technical) the appropriate process, technology architecture, and frameworks to bring experiences to life
  • Negotiate and resolve business conflicts and address organisational challenges and evolving accountability
  • Advise on resourcing mix to execute projects and estimate work time and effort
  • Manage sprint process, daily tasks, and team workload efficiently, while communicating progress, blockers, and goals clearly with the bigger team
  • Enforce clear, cohesive, comprehensive, and well-written technical documentation at all times (diagrams, technical design document, technical approach, and summary presentations)
  • Enforce security guidelines around code writing, documentation, data, non-disclosure agreements, and client confidentiality at all times
  • Carry out regular code reviews, enforce coding best practices, source control, and deliverables
  • Jump into hands-on coding occasionally to help developers in the team to get tasks done and remove blockers
  • Understand team (individual and collective) strengths and weaknesses and balance workload and tasks accordingly to promote the best results
  • Educate and inspire technical teams with emerging technologies, frameworks, and tools
  • Educate and inspire non-technical teams around the use of technology
  • Mentor engineers and support their career growth
  • Participate in project scoping, estimation, and resourcing

Capabilities:

  • Experience working with clients to shape product roadmaps and develop capabilities, vendor assessments, and technical architectures to deliver complex programs
  • Broad technical expertise in modern digital platforms, across CMS, commerce, mobile, frontend and backend ecosystems
  • Hands on technical experience in one more specialised areas within domains, for example backend API development, frontend development, or specific platforms
  • Design and user experience sensibility, and ability to link technical solutioning with user and business need states
  • Experience with agile frameworks and program management methodologies, such as SCRUM
  • Strong communication and collaboration skills, and experience building and supporting teams across different geographies
  • Business acumen and ability to discern optimal approaches to delivering solutions that consider total cost of ownership, and ROI

Qualifications:

  • 10+ years experience as a technical leader or directly related experience, in best case within a digital agency and/or consultancy environment
  • Native or fluent in both German and English; additional language skills a plus

Values:

  • Decency. You do right by others, even if it means missing out on an opportunity.
  • Curiosity. You have a driving spirit of interest and inquiry. You love to learn.
  • Tenacity. You have mental resolve and grit, especially in the face of adversity.
  • Awareness. Your faculties of perception are finely attuned to the world around you.
  • Resourcefulness. You’re remarkably good at making do, and overcoming challenges.
  • Conscientiousness. You demonstrate extraordinary care and diligence in your work.
  • Pragmatism. You have a bias toward what’s useful over what’s ideal in theory.
  • Elegance. Your argument and presentation style is ingenious in its simplicity.

Remote / Hybrid Options

At R/GA Germany, we’ve been working remotely for the past two years, and fully embraced our ‘you do you’ philosophy. We’re planning gradually opening up our office space in Prenzlauer Berg, and exploring what our hybrid working environment will look like, which may include some requirements to work from the office. We’re also embracing and appreciating the potential fully remote working can offer our people, as well as the business - we’d love to hear about your home working experience and what your expectations are.

Diversity

No-matter who you are, where you’re from, who you love, follow in faith, disability (or superpower) status, ethnicity or the gender you identify with (please do tell us your pronouns), you're welcome at R/GA. If you have any requests or requirements to support you throughout any interview process, please do let us know!