This is the classic Valley start up role. In short, this job builds the dream. I've got a pretty clear idea of what I think the technology platform should do, but absolutely no idea how to do it. I have spoken to a fair number of really smart geeks, though, and am pretty sure what I want to build is possible. This job will make it happen. It's full time, and we'll be spending a lot of time together in front of white boards to start, I am sure.

But there's more to it than that. This platform will be complicated in its business rules, and necessarily flexible - we'll be learning on the fly, and making lots of changes as the plane is in the air. We want to launch early and iterate constantly, and build a strong foundation that can scale as the business grows. I have a strong penchant for the LAMP architecture, and think what asynchronous javascript can do is pretty cool, but honestly, those decisions will be made by this position, not me.

It helps, without a doubt, if the candidate knows and understands the advertising business, but more important is a knowledge of what makes a blogger tick. The ideal candidate will almost certainly be a blogger who understands the frustrations of a limited back end, as well as a tinkerer, a maker of widgets, and a solver of clever problems. Clearly, you'll need strong database and at least passable UI skills as well. It helps if you've already built something that's been pounded on for a few years.

I'm looking for someone who thinks like a partner, not an employee. Because FMP will be driven by both technology as well as relationships, the VP Tech will be good with people, and able to work with designers as well as business folks. I know and respect the mythos of coder as societal flat foot, but so far I've found that trait remarkably absent in the tech-related entrepreneurs I've come to know in the Web 2.0 ecology.

So does this sound like you, or someone you know? Yup, here it comes...email me! UPDATE: I've filled this position....