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 team
- Own delivery of web and application development across platforms
- Coordinate internal developers and external vendors
- Drive Agile processes (Scrum, Kanban) for predictable delivery
- Design and oversee application architecture and systems integration
- Create information architecture and functional specifications
- Ensure scalability, performance, and maintainability of systems
- Contribute 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 integrations
- Partner with business stakeholders to translate needs into technical solutions
- Communicate project status clearly to leadership and cross-functional teams
- Support enterprise software selection and vendor evaluation security and quality
- Promote and implement secure development practices
- Contribute to IT security architecture and governance
- Drive QA processes and documentation standards
Required Qualifications
- 8+ years in application development, including 3+ years as a manager
- Experience managing full-stack teams and external vendors
- Strong background in web platforms, APIs, and system integration
- Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred)
- Solid understanding of modern web architecture
- Experience 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
- You should have demonstrable experience in at least one of the tools listed for each of the following categories:
- Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (ES6+), React (limited use)
- Backend: PHP (Symfony), REST APIs
- CMS / CRM: WordPress, CiviCRM, Ibexa
- Cloud: AWS (EC2, RDS, S3, CloudFront, IAM)
- Databases: MySQL / MariaDB
- DevOps: Docker, CI/CD (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, AWS CodePipeline)
- Monitoring: CloudWatch, New Relic, Datadog
- Version Control: Git / GitHub
- Security: RBAC, API auth, AWS best practices
Leadership Style
- Collaborative, pragmatic, and solutions-oriented
- Comfortable operating in a mission-driven, nonprofit environment
- Strong communicator—can translate technical concepts to nontechnical stakeholders
- Balances 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 and expected to be in the range of $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.