Web Applications Director Job at BrightLeaf Group in Austin

BrightLeaf Group is looking for a senior technical leader who can drive engineering excellence, coach high-performing teams, and deliver mission-critical web applications and digital platforms for state and local government clients — with calm, clarity, and discipline. ABOUT THE ROLE The Web Applications Director is the senior technical leader of BrightLeaf’s web application practice. Reporting directly to the COO of Client Delivery & Services, you’ll own delivery excellence across our Drupal-based and custom web applications and Employee Experience (EXP) platform implementations — while building the engineering culture, standards, and playbooks that make it all repeatable and scalable. This is a hands-on leadership role. You’ll set direction, make architecture calls, mentor teams, partner with government agency clients, and be the steady hand when things get complex. You’ll also play a direct role in business development — bringing technical authority to proposals, client presentations, and opportunity solutioning. WHAT YOU’LL OWN Web Application Delivery Own delivery quality and client outcomes across BrightLeaf’s web application engagements — new builds, enhancements, migrations, integrations, and ongoing maintenance and support Serve as BrightLeaf’s Drupal authority in client-facing technical conversations — including architecture reviews, platform assessments, and technical discovery sessions with agency IT teams and development leads. Government agency clients with sophisticated technical teams expect to engage with a peer; this role delivers on that expectation Lead, mentor, and set the technical standard for BrightLeaf’s development team — establishing architectural patterns, code quality expectations, and development best practices that the team operates by Ensure UX/UI, accessibility, and other team members are integrated effectively into project teams, delivering to client standards and BrightLeaf’s quality bar Ensure WCAG accessibility compliance is core to all development workflows — as a quality standard Serve as the senior delivery point of contact for active engagements — ensuring projects are on scope, on schedule, and meeting client expectations Anticipate and resolve delivery risks before they become client issues; escalate to the COO when executive involvement is needed Architecture & Technical Decision-Making Own key architecture decisions and patterns for Drupal and custom application work Guide platform, hosting, and integration choices based on client constraints Document and communicate decisions across engineering and PM teams Engineering Quality Establish and enforce coding standards, branching strategies, peer review, and definition of done Drive appropriate testing practices — unit, integration, regression, and accessibility Ensure security best practices across secure coding, dependency management, and access control Build a culture of defect prevention and continuous improvement Playbooks & Scalability Establish and systematize BrightLeaf’s AI-driven delivery practice — creating scalable SOPs, QA standards, and onboarding frameworks across engagements Advance CI/CD pipelines, release practices, and operational handoffs to match the scale of a growing organization Codify institutional expertise into repeatable delivery frameworks — turning what works into what scales Implement delivery dashboards that give leadership real-time visibility into project health, team capacity, and risks EXP Platform Delivery Lead delivery of BrightLeaf’s EXP platform implementations for government agency clients Partner with the EXP Director on delivery methodology, client onboarding, and platform configuration standards specific to the government market Ensure EXP implementations produce strong client outcomes and serve as references for future pursuits Team Leadership & Coaching Mentor developers, tech leads, project managers, and other team members Support hiring, onboarding, and skills development Set clear expectations and build accountability, ownership, and a learning culture Client Technical Partnership Lead technical discoveries, solution walkthroughs, and client-facing escalation resolution Communicate tradeoffs clearly to non-technical government stakeholders Serve as BrightLeaf’s trusted technical advisor and Drupal authority for key accounts — including clients with sophisticated agency IT and development teams who expect to engage with a peer Business Development Serve as BrightLeaf’s technical sales advisor on new pursuits — providing solutioning expertise, scope definition, and effort estimation that makes proposals credible and competitive Participate in client presentations and capability demonstrations, representing BrightLeaf’s technical approach with authority and clarity Contribute to proposal development — writing or reviewing technical sections, approach narratives, and past performance documentation Identify growth opportunities within active client accounts and surface them to the COO for consideration REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS 7+ years of progressive web/application development experience, with 3+ years in a senior leadership or director-level role Deep Drupal expertise (v9/10) — custom modules, site building, content migration, multisite architecture. Must be recognized as a Drupal authority by technically deep development teams and sophisticated government agency clients alike Strong full-stack background: PHP, JavaScript/Node.js, HTML5, CSS3, LAMP/LEMP environments Demonstrated experience delivering web applications for government, education, or regulated-sector clients Solid understanding of WCAG accessibility compliance Experience managing blended internal/subcontractor teams in distributed or remote environments Demonstrated ability to systematize and scale delivery operations — maturing SOPs, QA frameworks, engineering standards, and CI/CD practices alongside a growing technical team Strong communication and stakeholder skills; comfortable presenting to agency leadership and navigating government procurement ★ PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS Experience with government contracting environments AWS, Acquia, or government-grade cloud hosting experience Familiarity with NIST, FedRAMP, or TX-RAMP cybersecurity frameworks Experience with Agile, Waterfall, and Hybrid delivery methodologies State or local government client experience Experience implementing AI-enabled project delivery dashboards and operational reporting tools WHY BRIGHTLEAF? BrightLeaf Group is an Austin-based digital transformation firm with 30+ years serving Texas state and local government agencies. We specialize in web applications, accessibility, EXP platforms, and strategic digital communications — and we take quality seriously. This is a rare opportunity to lead a focused, expert technical practice, shape its engineering culture, and make a direct impact on how government agencies serve the public. A senior leadership role with real authority over a growing delivery practice The opportunity to build an AI-enabled, best-in-class delivery infrastructure for an expanding company Direct collaboration with an experienced COO and CEO who are invested in making this role successful A technically strong team in a positive, supportive, team-oriented environment Remote-first work with an Austin, Texas home base for periodic team and client connection Competitive compensation commensurate with experience A mission-driven company focused on modernizing government services through technology and talent Interested? Please apply. We’d love to hear from leaders who are ready to build something that matters. #WebApplications #Drupal #TechLeadership #GovernmentTechnology #Hiring #Austin #FullStack #AccessibilityFirst #EXPPlatforms #DirectorJobs #PublicSector #NowHiring #DigitalTransformation