VP, Engineering (Final Draft)

About Us

At Cast & Crew, we’ve empowered creativity and supported the global entertainment industry for decades. Together with our family of brands - Backstage, CAPS, Checks & Balances, Final Draft, Media Services, Sargent-Disc, and The TEAM Companies – we operate as a combined entertainment technology and services provider offering industry standard screenwriting accounting software, digital payroll products, data & reporting, and a host of creative tools.  The industry continues to move faster than ever, and the need for our expertise, our technology, and our people has never been greater.  We are a production’s best ally every step of the way. #OneCastOneCrew

About Final Draft

Final Draft has published Final Draft® software – the number-one selling screenwriting application in the world – for 27 years. Final Draft automatically paginates and formats your script to industry standards, allowing writers to focus on what they do best – writing scripts. Used by such industry giants as J.J. Abrams, James Cameron and Aaron Sorkin, Final Draft software is the professional’s choice and the entertainment industry standard. In addition to its flagship software product, Final Draft offers the annual Big Break℠ Contest – a screenwriting competition that launches careers, and awards over $80,000 in cash and prizes. Final Draft also offers the Final Draft Mobile® app for iPhone and iPad, making creativity truly portable.

Final Draft is seeking an experienced and dynamic VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING to lead the Final Draft engineering department and drive technological innovation and vision within our organization. The VP of Engineering plays a pivotal role in developing the leading software serving film and television writers. We are looking for an engineering leader who is ambitious, driven, leads from the front and unafraid to make difficult decisions. Final Draft has a desktop application and is moving very quickly toward a cloud-based, AI-enabled web offering.Looking for someone who has worked on developing and implementing complex technology strategies designed to empower and support customers. This person will work closely with both customers and internal stakeholders to create elegant solutions that not only solve real-world production problems but also delight our creative users. While we are open to US-based remote workers, there is a strong preference for Los Angeles-based applicants, as this role will require occasional in-office meetings.

The Final Draft engineering department features 5 high-performance engineers, designers, 2 product managers, a scrum manager and UI/UX Designer, as well as robust quality assurance resources. We value curiosity, trust, and impact, and we foster a culture of constant learning and improvement where teammates work together to accomplish user-focused initiatives.

The VP of Engineering should have experience leading complex tech transformation and understand the value of keeping a strong core for an engineering organization with software development quality, operational excellence and team culture. 

The VP of Engineering will report to the President of Final Draft.

What You’ll Do:

• Collaborate with product development partners to create and execute both long-term and short-term roadmaps, ensuring alignment with the company’s vision and goals.
• Define clear strategies for engineering teams to bring the product vision to life, while supporting growth opportunities in close collaboration with senior leadership and stakeholders.
• Increase velocity to support business innovation and rapid experimentation with a healthy balance of quality and excellence.
• Oversee and refine the software development lifecycle, ensuring transparency across the organization and addressing challenges and opportunities proactively.
• Build solutions that align with market trends and evolving customer needs, elevating the product from "very good" to a truly world-class user experience.
• Explore the ethical integration of AI to enhance writer efficiency and create transformative tools for users.
• Lead data-driven decision-making in evaluating build-versus-buy opportunities, ensuring the most strategic and effective use of technology resources.
• Attract, mentor, and retain top-tier engineering talent, fostering a team passionate about our mission and focused on measurable success.
• Ensure technology is secure, scalable, maintainable, and seamlessly integrated across platforms, meeting current needs and preparing for the future.
• Provide technical leadership by offering guidance and direction on critical engineering decisions and challenges.
• Cultivate a culture of excellence, innovation, and ongoing learning within the engineering team and throughout the organization.
• Build and sustain a collaborative and positive team environment that empowers creativity and teamwork.
• Drive development velocity, continuously identifying and implementing strategies to increase efficiency over time.
• Facilitate effective daily standups to maintain alignment, address blockers, and keep the team focused on priorities.

What we’re looking for from you:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business,  Engineering, or a related field
• 12+ years of software development and engineering leadership experience
• Highly motivated self-starter with strong experience in product lifecycle management and familiarity with cloud-based, platform-agnostic technology environments
• Experience integrating modern technologies and AI to create a better user experience
• Working knowledge of C++ a plus!
• Excellent stakeholder skills; you have experience with presenting for board meetings, driving consensus, and communicating complex themes to technical and non-technical audiences
• Strong problem-solving skills and willingness to roll up one’s sleeves to get the job done
• Skilled at working effectively with cross-functional teams in a matrix organization
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to compile and interpret data from various sources to make actionable recommendations
• Experience leading Agile/Scrum development methodology
• Strong leadership, communication, and collaboration skills.
• High EQ with soft skills in adaptability, conflict resolution, and stakeholder management. 
• Demonstrated experience setting and managing a departmental budget

Special Work Conditions    

• Sedentary – Involves sitting most of the time but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time. Some positions may entail exerting up to 15 lbs. of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force to lift, carry, push, or pull.

Benefits 

Cast & Crew provides a comprehensive package of employee benefits including: Medical, Dental, Vision, PTO, health and wellness programs, employee discounts, and more! Note: Cast & Crew benefits are subject to eligibility requirements.

Cast & Crew is an equal opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse workforce and sustaining an inclusive culture. It is our policy to provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals based on job-related qualifications and ability to perform a job, without regard to age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, creed, national origin, disability, genetic information, veteran status, citizenship or marital status, and to maintain a non-discriminatory environment free from intimidation, harassment or bias based upon these grounds.

CA residents
Your personal information may be collected in connection with certain services provided by Cast & Crew or its affiliated companies.  A summary of your California privacy rights can be found at: https://www.castandcrew.com/privacy-policy/

Compensation is commensurate with various factors including, but not limited to, relevant experience, qualifications, skills, training, licensure, certifications, geographic cost of labor, and other business and organizational needs. Compensation range for candidates in other locations may differ based on the cost of labor in that location. The compensation range for this position is: $210,000.00 - $240,000.00 per year.