What does a Technical Director do?
Are you smart, organised and tech-minded? Do you have the knowledge and determination to see a project through – from conception to final product? Do you enjoy the challenge of problem-solving? Have you thought about taking up a career as a technical director?
Planning and realising a technical vision
A technical director is also referred to as a development director or project director. As a director, you have the incredibly important job of overseeing every aspect of a company’s technical vision. Every step of the way, you work with a team of software developers, so you need great leadership skills!
To start, the job involves coming up with a technological strategy and making decisions about software architecture. At the same time, you need to devise a risk assessment and an appropriate procedure for dealing with problems.
Keeping things running smoothly
Once your vision is in progress, you need to make sure that things keep running smoothly. On one hand, this means being ready and willing to adapt to changes. You should keep a close on developments in your technical field and use them to modify and improve your particular project whenever possible. Great technical directors are often those who live on the cutting-edge! You also need the tools and ideas to deal with company growth, introducing new products and concepts as the need arises.
On the other hand, you must focus on keeping the established system working well. Occasionally, you have to respond to problems quickly and decisively – so it’s important that you can think on your feet. Most directors develop an automated system that tests their software on a frequent basis and put time and energy into fixing up weak areas, which may require coding improvement.
What experience and qualifications do I need?
Technical directors must be extremely knowledgeable in their particular field. You should be an expert in every aspect of it, from concepts to practices to procedures, whether you work in HTML, JAVA, Mac, UNIX or Windows platforms. You can study at tertiary level, but you don’t have to have a degree.
What is necessary, though, is a minimum of five years’ experience in the workplace. So, if you’re ambitious and driven enough to become a technical director, you should be doing everything you can to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible. Take initiative whenever you can and demonstrate that you’re a strong and competent yet fair leader.
Where can I find out more about digital careers?
This blog is the final one in our eight-part series concerning digital careers. We’ve been sharing secrets about what it’s like to be a social media manager, front end developer and digital designer, as well as a bunch of other roles. Check out our other posts to learn more.
Here at iFactory, we can help you with any of your digital needs – from website design and development to content marketing and social media management. To find out what we can do for do, get in touch today.
Want to know more about careers in digital or what a digital agency can offer you? Check out our blog series on Careers in Digital.
