Technical Lead – Creative Technology

Who We Are

Left Field Labs is the creative technology agency that builds what’s next. We partner with the world’s most ambitious brands to transform breakthrough technology into extraordinary human experiences. Since 2008, we’ve delivered end-to-end digital transformation services—from strategy to platform development to immersive experiences—for the biggest companies in the world, including Google, Amazon, and Meta.

What We Do

• Immersive & Experiential: We create interactive, cross-media experiences that blend software, hardware, spatial computing, and physical environments—bringing brands into the real world through installations, events, and emerging platforms.
• Applied AI: We integrate AI as a core system capability, not just a feature—building intelligent workflows, conversational interfaces, and adaptive systems that enhance decision-making, creativity, and real-time interaction.
• Digital Experience & Product Innovation: We architect and deliver scalable digital platforms and products that support and extend immersive experiences, balancing innovation with durability and real-world constraints.

What You Will Do

Left Field Labs is seeking a versatile and highly self-directed Technical Lead to support the delivery of complex experiential and emerging technology projects. This role is ideal for a developer who thrives in ambiguity, enjoys prototyping and problem-solving, and is comfortable learning and applying new technologies, systems, and hardware quickly.

You’ll work alongside a multidisciplinary team of producers, designers, and technologists to build innovative, real-world interactive experiences that blend software, hardware, and AI-driven systems. This role is both hands-on and leadership-oriented, requiring strong technical judgment and clear communication. You will help drive projects forward independently, enabling senior technical leadership to focus on strategy, team development, and client alignment.

The Technical Lead partners closely with the Technical Director to ensure the successful execution and delivery of all technical aspects of Left Field Labs’ projects. You will act as the day-to-day technical owner for assigned engagements, leading small development teams, coordinating with external vendors, and translating creative and business goals into robust, scalable technical solutions. 

Responsibilities Include:

Technical Ownership & Execution

• Serve as the lead developer and technical decision-maker on projects, owning execution from prototype through deployment
• Proactively move work forward, making pragmatic technical decisions under real-world constraints
• Ensure quality, maintainability, and scalability of delivered solutions through code reviews and technical oversight

Architecture, Systems & Documentation

• Translate business, creative, and experiential requirements into clear technical approaches and implementation plans
• Design and document system architectures, data flows, integrations, and deployment strategies
• Apply strong systems thinking to balance speed, risk, and long-term maintainability

Prototyping, AI & Emerging Technology

• Prototype quickly to validate ideas, de-risk approaches, and inform stakeholder decisions
• Build and integrate AI-driven systems, including LLM-based workflows, RAG pipelines, conversational interfaces, and automation tools
• Learn and apply new technologies, platforms, and hardware as project needs evolve

Collaboration, Vendors & Delivery

• Collaborate cross-discipline with Product, Creative, Production, and external partners to ensure alignment and momentum
• Support vendor selection and act as technical lead for specialty development partners when needed
• Participate in on-site installations, testing, and live deployments, representing Left Field Labs professionally

What You Bring

• 7+ years of professional software development experience in interactive, experiential, or emerging technology contexts or equivalent senior-level experience
• Strong systems thinking and solution architecture skills, with the ability to document and diagram complex systems clearly
• Proven ability to work independently, take ownership, and move projects forward without constant direction
• Comfort making pragmatic technical decisions under time, budget, and real-world constraints.
• Experience leading small development teams or acting as a technical lead across disciplines
• Strong communication skills with both technical and non-technical collaborators
• Ability to travel and be on-site for installations, rehearsals, and live events as needed
• Strong sense of ownership, accountability, and follow-through
• Collaborative, respectful leadership style with internal teams and external partners

Technical Experience

We value strong architectural judgment, systems thinking, and the ability to learn quickly over deep specialization in every tool or platform.

• Proficiency in Python and JavaScript
• Strong experience with AI systems, including working with LLMs, RAG architectures, conversational AI pipelines, and automation tools (e.g., n8n). 
• Familiarity with creative AI tools (e.g., ComfyUI) is a strong plus
• Solid web development experience (front-end, back-end, or full-stack)
• Experience integrating software with hardware systems, such as:
• Sensors, cameras, and computer vision setups
• Microcontrollers (e.g., Arduino or similar)
• LED panels, lighting, audio, and physical installations
• Comfort working across UI paradigms (web-based, Unity-based, or custom interfaces)
• Experience with cloud infrastructure and deployed systems (AWS, GCP, Azure, or similar)

Bonus / Nice-to-Have

• Unity or immersive development experience (AR/VR/MR)
• Experience with AR-focused projects and emerging wearable platforms (e.g., glasses-based experiences)
• Android development experience (Kotlin)
• DevOps or deployment experience for live, event-based systems
• Experience working with external development vendors

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $135,000 to $165,000 and applies only to jobs performed in Culver City, California. This range represents the lowest to highest salary we reasonably and in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. Please note that we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors, including but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs.

Equal Opportunities

Left Field Labs is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and team members, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. This includes the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance related to an applicant's criminal history (LAMC 189.00). Left Field Labs makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled team members.

Left Field Labs is an E-Verify employer. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees in the United States.