Principal Engineer

Agency:

TMA

Job Function:

Technology

Job Subfunction:

Engineering

Job Description:

dotdotdash is a global experience & innovation agency. We decode shifts in culture, technology, and social behaviors to open up space for new ideas, new experiences & new growth. We turn these signals into systems. All to help our clients craft distinctive experiences across the brand ecosystem. 

 

At dotdotdash, we are more than marketers; we are architects, innovators and creators of what’s next. Our name is inspired by morse code. It’s a nod to our belief in putting people at the center of what we create.  And like morse code in its time, our work reimagines how brands and people communicate. 

 

We’re seeking to grow our team with individuals who share our passion for tangible creativity, our commitment to pushing boundaries, and our belief in the power of participatory experiences.  At the heart of everything we do are the principles that guide how we create and collaborate: 

 

• Play. We embrace curiosity, experimentation and fun in our work and our partnerships.  

• Take Risks. We challenge the status quo and take informed risks to push boundaries. 

• Stay Humble. We lead through example, listening and learning. 

• Adapt. We evolve at the pace of culture and technology.  

• Be Diligent. We commit to persistence and details through delivery. 

 

 

As a Principal Engineer at dotdotdash, you are the most senior individual-contributor (IC) engineer in the Creative Technology stream—the person the team turns to when the experiential problem is hardest and the craft bar is highest. You go deep where it matters: solving the toughest problems in real-time three-dimensional (3D), installations, and hardware, prototyping brand-new capabilities, and setting the standards that make our immersive and interactive work great. 

This is a technical-authority role, not a management one. You have deep expertise across real-time graphics, creative technology, physical computing, and the systems behind live experiences, and you use it to raise the whole studio's experiential work—mentoring engineers across teams, reviewing critical technical decisions, and proving out what's next before it hits a show floor. You lead through the quality of your work and your judgment, not through direct reports. 

 

 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: 

 

• Solve the hardest technical problems across the studio's experiential projects, from real-time rendering and performance to complex hardware and on-site integration. 

• Set and evolve technical standards, patterns, and best practices that raise craft and consistency across the Creative Technology team. 

• Prototype and prove out new capabilities—new platforms, frameworks, interaction techniques, and tooling—before they reach production or a live show. 

• Serve as a deep technical authority, making high-stakes architecture and implementation calls on the most critical experiential work. 

• Review critical technical decisions and code across teams, raising the bar without ego. 

• Mentor engineers and creative technologists across the organization, growing technical depth and spreading hard-won knowledge. 

• Partner with the Technology Director, Creative Technology to pressure-test approach and de-risk the toughest parts of a build. 

• Build reusable components, libraries, and internal tools that make the whole team faster and the work more reliable. 

• Champion real-time performance, reliability, and on-site resilience at the deepest level, profiling and optimizing where it counts. 

• Own research and development into emerging technology and creative artificial intelligence (AI), turning promising ideas into proven, usable capabilities. 

• Contribute hands-on to the most demanding builds, shipping high-craft, production-quality real-time and installation code. 

• Advise pitches and proposals on the feasibility and effort of genuinely novel creative-technology work. 

• Document architectures, patterns, and learnings so the studio compounds its technical knowledge over time. 

• Foster a culture of experimentation, play, and continuous learning across the engineering organization. 

 

 

QUALIFICATIONS: 

 

• 10+ years of hands-on experience building interactive, immersive, or installation-based technology. 

• Recognized depth in one or more core areas—real-time and web graphics (WebGL, three.js, shaders), creative technology, physical computing, or hardware and audio-visual (AV) systems. 

• A track record of solving hard technical problems and shipping high-craft, production-quality experiential work. 

• Strong architecture and systems-design judgment, with deep instincts for real-time performance, reliability, and on-site resilience. 

• A history of setting technical standards and patterns that other engineers adopt. 

• Proven ability to prototype and prove out new capabilities quickly under uncertainty. 

• A track record of mentoring engineers and technologists and raising the technical bar across teams. 

• Fluency with emerging technology and creative artificial intelligence (AI), and a point of view on where each creates value in experiences. 

• A portfolio or body of work demonstrating shipped, high-craft interactive, immersive, or installation experiences. 

• Agency, studio, or experiential-production background is strongly preferred. 

 

 

ABOUT DOTDOTDASH 

 

As part of Omnicom Advertising Group, we combine boutique service and craft with the reach and resources of a global network. 

 

 

Our Pulse. 

 

dotdotdash is where creativity meets reality and ideas take tangible form. We are rooted in making and producing, combining emerging media and technology to create industry firsts. 

 

 

Our People. 

 

dotdotdash is a for those who challenge the status quo and collaborate with curiosity and courage. We create work that goes beyond, to shift perspectives and influence the future.  

 

 

Our Purpose. 

 

dotdotdash is where innovation matters only matters and is valued if it inspires change. It’s not just about what we make; it’s about why it’s made.    

$200000 - $240000

To the extent permissible by local law, Omnicom’s policy requires employees to work in the office for a minimum of three days a week, unless additional in-office days are directed by their agency or manager.

Omnicom is committed to hiring and developing exceptional talent. We agree that talent is uniquely distributed, and we’re focused on developing inclusive teams that can bring the best solutions to everything we do. We strongly believe that celebrating what makes us different makes us better together. Join us—we look forward to getting to know you. We will process your personal data in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice.

Link to Recruitment Privacy Notice: https://www.omc.com/privacy-notice

For US Job Seekers:

It is the policy of Omnicom and any of its affiliates to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, ethnic origin, gender, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, disability, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local law. EOE/AA/M/D/V/F.