[Hiring] Director of Applied Innovation @Central Valley Ag Cooperative

Role Description

The Director of Applied Innovation leads the team that builds, deploys, and runs Central Valley Ag's custom business applications — products such as RouteForge and Gravis, the grower portal, and the applications that follow them. This is a working leadership role. The Director sets direction, develops the team, and also writes code, reviews it, and carries the hardest problems personally.

The team is small on purpose and fast on purpose. It uses AI-assisted development as a normal part of how work gets done, and it is measured on working software in the hands of CVA employees and growers — not on documents, roadmaps, or demonstrations. The Director is accountable for the availability of every application in the portfolio, for the experience of the people who use them, and for equipping CVA's support organization to carry routine support over time.

Qualifications

• Seven or more years building and supporting business software, including substantial time in a hands-on engineering role.
• Demonstrated leadership of a team, a product, or a significant delivery effort. Formal management experience is not required where the leadership track record is clear.

Requirements

• Hands-on proficiency with a modern application stack — for example TypeScript/JavaScript with React or Next.js, C#, or Python — and with relational databases and SQL.
• Cloud application delivery: deployment, application hosting, identity and authentication, secrets management, monitoring, and cost control (AWS and/or Microsoft Azure).
• System and data integration: APIs, file interfaces, and integration with ERP or third-party platforms.
• Judgment on scope. Able to decide what not to build and to ship a narrow first version that earns the next one.
• Strong written and verbal communication with non-technical stakeholders. Able to run an intake conversation with a business leader and leave it with a decision.
• Demonstrated ownership of production systems, including release management and incident response.

Benefits

• All work product created in the course of employment with Central Valley Ag Cooperative — including software, source code, applications, integrations, data models, reports, documentation, designs, processes, analyses, inventions, and any other developments, whether created during or outside normal working hours and whether or not created using CVA equipment — is the sole and exclusive property of Central Valley Ag Cooperative.
• Employment in this position is contingent upon agreement to CVA's confidentiality, intellectual property, and non-disclosure terms.

Physical Demands

• Sit and stand for extended periods of time.
• Use hands and fingers with dexterity to operate a computer keyboard and mouse.
• Occasionally lift and transport computer equipment and peripherals.
• Be available for occasional after-hours work in support of deployments and production issues.
• This position may be based at any Central Valley Ag location or worked remotely. Periodic travel to CVA locations is expected for user engagement, onboarding, and team meetings.

Company Description

Central Valley Ag is a farmer-owned cooperative headquartered in York, Neb. CVA has locations in Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. CVA is an innovative leader providing products and services in grain, agronomy, feed, and energy. You can find more information about Central Valley Ag by visiting www.cvacoop.com.