Head of Application Development

Head of Application Development About Us The Modern Language Association (MLA) is a mission-driven nonprofit serving approximately 20,000 members in the humanities. We operate at the intersection of scholarship, publishing, and technology—supporting digital platforms, publications, and data systems that power research and academic collaboration. We’re investing in modernizing our digital ecosystem and are looking for a Head of Application Development to lead that evolution. This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for overseeing our software development function—spanning web platforms, publishing systems, APIs, and data infrastructure. The successful candidate will lead a team of developers, work cross-functionally with stakeholders, and partner with vendors to deliver scalable, secure, and high-quality applications. The Head of Application Development plays a key role in shaping architecture, integration strategy, and long-term technical direction. We are looking for a candidate who wants to help influence how our 140-year-old organization evolves digitally by modernizing a mission-critical digital ecosystem and bringing structure, scalability, security, and strategy to engineering. Responsibilities Lead and mentor the application development teamOwn delivery of web and application development across platformsCoordinate internal developers and external vendorsDrive Agile processes (Scrum, Kanban) for predictable deliveryDesign and oversee application architecture and systems integrationCreate information architecture and functional specificationsEnsure scalability, performance, and maintainability of systemsContribute hands-on when needed (player-coach model)Oversee development across CMS platforms (WordPress, Ibexa), CRM integrations (CiviCRM), and data platforms (MarkLogic)Lead API strategy and microservices integrationsPartner with business stakeholders to translate needs into technical solutionsCommunicate project status clearly to leadership and cross-functional teamsSupport enterprise software selection and vendor evaluation security and qualityPromote and implement secure development practicesContribute to IT security architecture and governanceDrive QA processes and documentation standards Our Tech Stack You should be comfortable navigating a modern, mixed ecosystem including the following: Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (ES6+), React (limited use)Backend: PHP (Symfony), REST APIsCMS / CRM: WordPress, CiviCRM, IbexaCloud: AWS (EC2, RDS, S3, CloudFront, IAM)Databases: MySQL / MariaDBDevOps: Docker, CI/CD (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, AWS CodePipeline)Monitoring: CloudWatch, New Relic, DatadogVersion Control: Git / GitHubSecurity: RBAC, API auth, AWS best practices Required Qualifications 8–12+ years in application development, including 3–5+ years in leadershipExperience managing full-stack teams and external vendorsStrong background in web platforms, APIs, and system integrationExperience with cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred)Solid understanding of modern web architectureExperience with CMS-driven ecosystems (WordPress or similar)Familiarity with data platforms / search / NoSQL (MarkLogic a plus)Ability to evaluate and evolve legacy and modern systems together Leadership Style Collaborative, pragmatic, and solutions-orientedComfortable operating in a mission-driven, nonprofit environmentStrong communicator—can translate technical concepts to nontechnical stakeholdersBalances strategy with execution This is a full-time, mainly remote position, with an in-person requirement for the two annual all-staff meetings and when otherwise needed at the MLA’s office in downtown Manhattan. You must be able to work legally in the United States. Salary is commensurate with experience, in the range of $135,000–$145,000. The MLA provides generous vacation and sick time, flexible work hours, a 403(b) retirement plan, and individual health and dental plans with no shared premium cost. Please submit a cover letter and résumé to Hiringmanager@mla.org. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. The MLA is an equal opportunity employer and is firmly committed to complying with all federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws.