Director of Engineering

Director of Engineering at HostGPO Location: Remote (U.S. only) Type: Full-time Compensation: $200,000–$240,000 total expected compensation, including bonus Bonus: Performance-based bonus eligible Equity: Stock options/equity package About HostGPO HostGPO is the leading group purchasing organization for the short-term rental industry. We help vacation rental hosts, property managers, and boutique hospitality operators save money, simplify procurement, and elevate the guest experience through best-in-class discounts, vendor partnerships, and operational buying power. We’re building a smarter, more scalable platform at the intersection of hospitality, e-commerce, data, and operations. This is a hands-on leadership role for an engineer who wants to build meaningful systems, influence strategy, and use modern AI tools in ways that actually help the business. About the Role We’re looking for a Director of Engineering to help shape the future of HostGPO’s platform, data systems, and technical direction. This person will be a senior builder and technical leader: someone who can architect and ship scalable systems, navigate messy real-world business logic, and partner across the organization to solve meaningful problems. This role sits at the center of a complex marketplace environment. You’ll work across product data, shopping catalogs, internal tools, integrations, reporting, and business-critical workflows. You should be comfortable designing reliable backend services, building data ingestion and transformation pipelines, and translating nuanced operational needs into durable technical solutions. You’ll also help HostGPO identify and implement practical AI opportunities across the business. That includes evaluating where agents, copilots, automation, and LLM-based tools can reduce manual effort, improve workflows, accelerate decision-making, or improve the member experience. We want someone who can separate real leverage from shiny-object theater. What You’ll Do Lead architecture and technical decision-making across HostGPO’s core systems Design, build, and maintain scalable backend systems, APIs, integrations, and internal tools Develop and improve high-performance data ingestion and transformation pipelines for large and sometimes messy datasets Implement complex business rules and logic across extensive shopping catalogs and marketplace workflows Partner closely with Product, Operations, Marketing, Partnerships, and Leadership to understand business needs and translate them into robust technical solutions Improve system interoperability, data reliability, reporting foundations, and operational efficiency across the business Assess friction points across functions and identify where AI or automation can create meaningful leverage Prototype and implement AI-enabled solutions such as agents, copilots, workflow automation, retrieval-based tools, and internal knowledge systems Evaluate build-vs-buy opportunities for AI and automation tooling across the organization Set a high bar for engineering quality, speed, documentation, reliability, and pragmatic execution Mentor other engineers and contribute to a strong, low-ego, high-accountability engineering culture Help shape the engineering roadmap so it aligns tightly with business priorities and growth goals What Success Looks Like A clear engineering roadmap tied directly to business priorities Improved reliability, scalability, and maintainability across core systems Better data flows, reporting foundations, and integrations across the company Technical solutions that support marketplace and catalog complexity without constant manual patchwork AI and automation initiatives that save real time or improve quality in meaningful workflows Cross-functional teams viewing engineering as a proactive and strategic problem-solving partner A culture of technical excellence that balances speed with sound judgment What We’re Looking For 8+ years of software engineering experience, including meaningful experience in senior, staff, lead, or principal-level roles Strong full-stack fluency, with particular preference for Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, and React Experience building and scaling backend systems, APIs, data platforms, and large-scale web applications Experience with GraphQL and modern application architecture Strong grasp of data engineering fundamentals, including ingestion, transformation, and processing pipelines at scale Proven ability to implement complex business rules and logic across large datasets, product catalogs, or marketplace environments Experience in startup or high-growth environments where ambiguity is high and ownership is real Experience assessing business needs across departments and translating them into thoughtful technical solutions Practical experience with AI-enabled tools or systems in a business setting Familiarity with LLM applications, agent workflows, retrieval-based systems, prompt orchestration, or workflow automation Strong judgment about where AI adds real value and where a simpler solution is better Working knowledge of security, compliance, uptime, and operational best practices Excellent communication and collaboration skills across technical and non-technical teams Strong problem-solving ability and comfort breaking complex problems into manageable pieces** Nice to Have Experience with Shopify Plus or similar e-commerce or marketplace platforms Experience in hospitality tech, procurement tech, or B2B commerce Experience building internal tools for operations, finance, or customer support teams Experience mentoring engineers or acting as a player-coach on a lean team Why Join HostGPO Competitive compensation: $200,000–$240,000 total expected compensation, including bonus Stock options/equity in a growing company Health insurance 401(k) Flexible PTO Learning and development reimbursement Free HostGPO membership A high-impact role with significant ownership The opportunity to help modernize a large, still-underbuilt corner of hospitality Equal Opportunity HostGPO is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all employees.