Job Description
Job DescriptionAre you ready to revolutionize the advertising industry? At Cognitiv, we are not just another AdTech company—we are industry trailblazers redefining media buying with our Deep Learning Advertising Platform. Since 2015, we have harnessed the power of cutting-edge deep learning technology and data science to transform how brands connect with their customers. Our mission? To bring intelligence to advertising and deliver unparalleled precision, relevance, and impact at scale. With our innovative platform, advertisers enjoy unprecedented flexibility—whether it is activating Dynamic Deals through their preferred DSP, leveraging our managed service DSP, or utilizing our industry-first ContextGPT product. As a part of Cognitiv, you will be at the forefront of AI-driven advertising solutions, driving change and achieving remarkable growth in a rapidly evolving industry.Now, we're growing!The Mission
This role serves as the engineering leader and primary representative for Engineering in New York, where Cognitiv's CEO, CMO, President and key commercial leaders are based.
The Director of Engineering will act as a trusted partner to senior leadership, translating business strategy into technical execution, representing engineering priorities, and ensuring strong alignment across departments.
This role is designed with significant ownership, executive visibility, and the mandate to shape engineering execution and influence across the business.
Your Impact
You will lead a team of engineers responsible for some of the most business-critical products and services at Cognitiv. This scope includes the data and reporting platforms that measure internal and external performance across our entire book of business, the Insights product that powers client-facing performance experiences, and the systems that transform petabyte-scale data into clear, actionable intelligence. Beyond day-to-day execution, you will set the technical and product vision for how these platforms evolve—taking them to the next level in scale, reliability, and insight—to better serve our clients and empower teams across Cognitiv. The platforms owned by this team inform decisions across nearly every function at Cognitiv, every day.
In this role, you will:
- Be the face of Engineering to our New York HQ and executive leadership team
- Shape how engineering priorities are understood, communicated, and executed across the business
- Influence product direction, data strategy, and technical investment decisions
- Build trust, clarity, and momentum in a fast-moving, high-stakes environment
- Lay the foundation for future team and scope expansion as the organization scales
This is a role for a leader who thrives on ownership, influence, and responsibility, not just people count.
What You'll Own
Engineering Leadership and Representation
- Serve as the primary engineering leader embedded in the New York office
- Represent Engineering in executive, commercial, and cross-functional discussions
- Act as a trusted thought partner to the President, CEO, CMO, and senior stakeholders
- Proactively surface risks, tradeoffs, and opportunities with clarity and credibility
Stakeholder Management and Communication
- Translate complex technical topics into clear, business-relevant insights
- Navigate challenging conversations with confidence, empathy, and sound judgment
- Build strong, durable relationships across Product, Data, Sales, Marketing, and Operations
- Ensure alignment between business goals and engineering execution
Technical and Data Leadership
- Provide leadership across backend systems, data architecture, and reporting platforms
- Partner closely with data and analytics teams on insights, measurement, and reporting datasets
- Guide technical decision-making related to scalability, reliability, and performance
- Ensure engineering solutions support Cognitiv's ad tech platform and real-time systems
Team Leadership and Growth
- Lead and develop engineers within your scope
- Foster a culture of accountability, high standards, and continuous improvement
- Partner with senior engineering leadership on org design and future hiring plans
- Grow team scope and ownership over time as business needs evolve
Who You Are
You are a senior engineering leader who has led teams and complex technical initiatives in high-growth environments. You earn trust quickly, navigate ambiguity with confidence, and communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences. You enjoy being close to the business and influencing outcomes beyond engineering, and you think in systems—technical, organizational, and human.
Experience and Capabilities
- Engineering Leader. You bring deep engineering experience and have led teams through complex, high-impact technical work in fast-moving environments.
- People Builder. You have a strong track record of developing engineers, team leads and/or managers, creating clarity, accountability, and momentum while raising the bar for performance.
- Backend and Data Systems Expert. You have a strong background in backend systems, data architecture, or data engineering, with the ability to design scalable, reliable platforms.
- Reporting and Insights Builder. You have experience building or supporting reporting, analytics, or insights platforms that enable better decision-making across the business.
- Technical Operator. You have a deep understanding of modern SDLC practices, engineering workflows, and scalable system design.
- Executive Partner. You are proven in partnering with senior business stakeholders, translating technical tradeoffs into clear business impact, and influencing decisions at the leadership level.
- Bonus - Ad Tech Practitioner. You have exposure to ad tech, programmatic advertising, or other highly data-intensive platforms and understand the pace and complexity of these environments.
Salary: $200,000 - 280,000 Base Salary + equity
What We OfferCompensation is based on experience, skills, and other factors. Base salary is just one part of your total rewards at Cognitiv—you'll also receive equity and a comprehensive benefits package.Highlights include:
- Medical, dental & vision coverage (some plans 100% employer-paid)
- 12 weeks paid parental leave
- Unlimited PTO + Work-From-Anywhere August
- Career development with clear advancement paths
- Equity for all employees
- Hybrid work model & daily team lunch
- Health & wellness stipend + cell phone reimbursement
- 401(k) with employer match
- Parking (CA & WA offices) & pre-tax commuter benefits
- Employee Assistance Program
- Comprehensive onboarding (Cognitiv University)
- …and more!
What You'll Find at Cognitiv
- Festiv – We make work fun with cross-team games, events, and creative team bonding.
- Responsiv – You'll be close to clients and leadership, influencing real outcomes.
- Inclusiv – Diversity and individuality are celebrated across all levels.
- Inventiv – We reward curiosity and embrace bold ideas.
- Transformativ – We support your growth with training, mentorship, and flexibility.
- Collaborativ – We operate across coasts, connected by purpose and teamwork.
Cognitiv is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all.