The Machine team at Code and Theory operates as a forward-thinking enterprise AI startup within the larger agency. We are always striving to balance the demanding nature of working on technologies with the real-world demands of high performance, high security, and accessibility. Working in collaboration with our multi-disciplinary engineering, design, and quality assurance teams, you will build an AI-native software ecosystem that powers marketing workflows for both internal and external users.
You are a passionate advocate for software quality, its role in our society, and its relationship to technology. You deeply understand nuances of how to achieve experiences which are high performance while being innovative, immersive and impressive for the end user.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
- Lead the technical direction of projects, making high-level architectural decisions for full-stack applications that integrate AI services
- Design and build robust backend services (Python) and intuitive, interactive frontend interfaces (React/Vue/Angular) that visualize complex data and AI interactions
- Architect and maintain data processing pipelines, agentic workflows, and LLM integrations to solve real-world client problems
- Foster a culture of excellence by performing rigorous code reviews, mentoring junior and senior developers, and driving the adoption of best practices
- Partner closely with Product Management, Design, and QA to translate complex requirements into technical roadmaps and deliverable software
- Evaluate system performance across the full stack, identifying bottlenecks in both the frontend rendering and backend AI inference layers to ensure scalability and reliability
- Stay ahead of the curve on the latest AI trends (e.g., SLMs, Agentic AI, Multimodal models) and web technologies, advising stakeholders on feasibility and implementation
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- 7+ years of total software development experience, with at least 2+ years in a leadership or lead developer capacity
- Expert proficiency in Python for backend development (FastAPI, Flask, or Django) and data processing
- Strong experience with modern JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks (React, Vue, or Angular) and state management
- Proven experience building applications on top of LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, OSS models), implementing RAG patterns, and using frameworks like LangChain or LlamaIndex
- Deep experience designing and consuming RESTful APIs, GraphQL, and WebSockets
- Mastery of Git, CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), and automated testing frameworks (Pytest, Jest, Cypress)
- Experience with both relational databases (PostgreSQL) and Vector databases (Pinecone, Milvus, Weaviate, or pgvector)
- Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
NICE TO HAVE
- Experience with Next.js and deploying to platforms like Vercel or AWS Amplify
- Familiarity with Data Visualization libraries (D3.js, Three.js, or Highcharts) for rendering complex AI data
- Experience fine-tuning LLMs or working with open-source models (Hugging Face)
- Cloud certification (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
- Expert understanding of web accessibility (WCAG) and animation performance
ABOUT US
Born in 2001, Code and Theory is a digital-first creative agency that sits at the center of creativity and technology. We pride ourselves on not only solving consumer and business problems, but also helping to establish new capabilities for our clients. With a global client roster of Fortune 100s and start-ups alike, we crave the hardest problems to solve. We have teams distributed across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The Code and Theory global network of agencies is growing and includes Kettle, Instrument, Left Field Labs, Create Group, Current, and TrueLogic.
Striving never to be pigeonholed, we work across every major category: from tech to CPG, financial services to travel & hospitality, government and education to media and publishing. We value the collaboration with our client partners, including but not limited to Adidas, Amazon, Con Edison, Diageo, EY, J.P. Morgan Chase, Lenovo, Marriott, Mars, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, and TikTok.
The Code and Theory network is comprised of nearly 2,000 people with 50% engineers and 50% creative talent. We’re always on the lookout for smart, driven, and forward-thinking people to join our team.
The target range of base compensation for this role is $150,000 - $185,000. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and location.
Top Skills
What We Do
Code and Theory is a strategically driven, digital-first creative agency that lives at the intersection of creativity and technology. We solve consumer and business problems across the entire customer journey that flex to meet the ever-changing needs of consumer expectations. We put the user, their behaviors and needs, at the center of everything we do — from our proprietary research methodologies, to product development processes, to how we create brand, channel and messaging strategies. Our goal is simple: to solve our clients business problems.
We bring big ideas to life by looking holistically at brand ecosystems where digital plays a prominent role in driving the consumer from first-touch through to conversion to relationship deepening over time. We identify gaps in the consumer journey and opportunities in culture that require products, services or communications to fill. We work across categories, ranging as far and wide as health care (Pfizer, Sanofi, Reach MD, Bioreference Laboratories) to financial services (JP Morgan Chase, Prudential, Morgan Stanley, First Data) to cpg (Mars, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson) to technology companies (Facebook, Xerox, Samsung, Comcast) to culture brands (adidas, H&M). And because our DNA is in publishing — we’ve embedded in over 135 newsrooms in the past decade — we bring unique expertise in understanding how content is created, distributed and optimized, including our work with CNN, NBC News, NBC Sports, and Bustle Digital Group.
At Code and Theory, we strive to only be limited by our own ambition and creativity. We believe in pushing our creativity beyond the easy and obvious answers in order to deliver the solutions that are right for our clients, their businesses, and their consumers.
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