R&D Director (Hands-On) – AdTech Startup

About the Role:

We are seeking a hands-on R&D director to lead the engineering function at a growing AdTech startup. This role is ideal for a strong technical leader coming from an AdTech background who enjoys building products hands-on while guiding and mentoring a young, ambitious development team. You will lead a team of 5–6 developers, define the technical direction, and play a key role in shaping both the product and the company’s long-term strategy. This position is part of the management team and works closely with Product, Business, and Leadership. This is an on-site role with high ownership, real impact, and a strong execution focus. Key Responsibilities Technical Leadership & Architecture Own the end-to-end technical architecture of the platform, with a strong emphasis on backend systems. Design, build, and maintain scalable, high-performance systems using Node.js and modern backend practices. Lead architectural decisions, technical standards, and best practices across the company. Hands-On Development Remain deeply hands-on in development, contributing code on a daily basis. Work across backend and frontend layers (Node.js, React) with a clear backend-first mindset. Lead implementation of core features, integrations, data flows, and infrastructure components. Team Leadership & Mentorship Manage, mentor, and grow a team of 5–6 developers, most of them junior-to-mid level. Guide developers through code reviews, design discussions, and problem-solving. Build a strong engineering culture focused on ownership, learning, quality, and delivery. Strategy & Management Participate in the management team and contribute to company-level strategy and planning. Translate business and product requirements into clear technical execution plans. Collaborate closely with Product and Business stakeholders to align technology with company goals. Delivery & Execution Own development velocity, sprint planning, and delivery quality. Balance speed and scalability in a startup environment with evolving requirements.

Requirements:

Must-Have Proven experience as a Team Lead / Tech Lead / R&D Lead in an AdTech company. Strong hands-on experience with Node.js (backend-focused). Solid experience with React or modern frontend frameworks. Strong system design, architecture, and backend engineering skills. Experience leading and mentoring young developers. Ability to work in a small startup environment with high ownership and ambiguity. Nice to Have Experience with programmatic advertising, RTB, SSP/DSP systems, or AdTech data pipelines. Familiarity with cloud environments, APIs, microservices, and performance optimization. Experience scaling systems from early-stage to growth-stage products.

Who You Are: A builder-leader: you enjoy writing code as much as leading people. Comfortable making decisions and taking responsibility. Passionate about mentoring and helping junior developers grow. Business-aware and able to connect technical decisions to company impact. Thrive in fast-paced, hands-on startup environments.