Associate Director - Engineering

Principal International; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Principal is seeking an Associate Director - Engineering in Hyderabad to lead critical enterprise initiatives with deep technical knowledge and flawless execution. You will guide technology direction, collaborate with senior leaders, and drive modernization across IS.

You will build and mentor a team of senior technical specialists, deliver scalable frameworks, and establish governance and success metrics for high-impact programs, shaping the engineering culture and enterprise capabilities.

Qualifications

• 18+ years of experience in engineering leadership and enterprise initiatives.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, or related fields (or equivalent experience).
• Demonstrated track record leading senior technical teams and large-scale technology programs.
• Strong expertise in Cloud, Infrastructure/Platform Engineering, AI & Automation, Reliability, Modernization, Security Engineering.
• Proven ability to guide technology strategy and delivery across multiple teams/areas.
• Hands-on technical credibility with an engineering mindset.

Responsibilities

• Lead critical enterprise initiatives with deep technical oversight.
• Drive modernization, automation, cloud adoption, and platform transformation.
• Establish governance, standards, and success metrics for large programs.
• Build and mentor a team of senior technical specialists.
• Deliver reusable frameworks, accelerators, and playbooks for IS.
• Influence senior leadership and collaborate across business/tech functions.
• Act as trusted technical leader for architecture, engineering excellence, innovation, and transformation initiatives.

Skills

Executive leadership

Cloud & automation

Enterprise-scale delivery

Strategic technology direction

Executive stakeholder management

Hands-on credibility

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in CS/Engineering or related field

Tools

AWS Solutions Architect Professional

Azure Solutions Architect Expert

CKA

CCNA

SAFe Agilist/ Scrum/ Agile leadership

Job description

What You'll Do

What Makes This Opportunity Unique

At Principal, we foster a culture of innovation and collaboration, where your expertise and enthusiasm can truly make a difference. As the Associate Director - Engineering, you will lead critical initiatives that require deep technical knowledge, critical thinking, and flawless execution. This role offers an outstanding opportunity to influence our technology direction and drive significant enterprise-wide impact!

Primary Responsibilities

• - Contribute to the GCH - IS Capability Maturity strategy and deploy specialist teams to accelerate strategic enterprise initiatives.
• Drive technology modernization, engineering maturity, automation, cloud adoption, and platform transformation.
• Establish engagement models, execution standards, governance, and success metrics for high-impact initiatives.
• Build and mentor a team of senior technical specialists, strengthening organizational capability and technical depth.
• Deliver reusable frameworks, accelerators, playbooks, and guidelines that scale across IS.
• Work alongside business and technology leaders to tackle complex challenges, guide strategy, and deliver measurable outcomes.
• Influence senior leaders and collaborators across business and technology functions.
• Foster multi-functional collaboration to accelerate enterprise-wide outcomes.
• Act as a trusted technical leader for enterprise architecture, engineering excellence, innovation, and transformation initiatives.

Secondary Responsibilities

• Contribute to department and organization-level high-level initiatives.
• Represent the Automation vertical within various technical and other forums within PFG and the industry.

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• 18+ years
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, or related fields, or equivalent professional experience (B.E. / B.Tech / M.S. / M.Tech / MCA).
• Demonstrable experience leading senior technical teams and enterprise-scale technology initiatives.
• Strong expertise in one or more areas such as Cloud, Infrastructure/Platform Engineering, AI & Automation, Reliability Engineering, Infrastructure Modernization, Security Engineering.
• Established skill in guiding technology strategy and managing delivery across several teams and areas.
• Strong engineering approach with hands-on technical credibility.
• Experience leading large-scale change, modernization, or capability-building programs.
• Excellent collaborator management, communication, and executive engagement skills.

Preferred Certifications

• AWS Solutions Architect Professional, Azure Solutions Architect Expert, or equivalent cloud certification.
• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) or equivalent platform certification.
• CCNA or equivalent certification around Network & Infrastructure.
• SAFe Agilist, Scrum, or Agile leadership certification.

Required Behavioral Proficiencies

• Make sound business decisions.
• Embrace Change.
• Build positive relationships.
• Get results.
• Act Strategically.
• Lead and Cultivate Talent.

Additional Information

Why Principal

At Principal, we offer a setting where your expertise and passion for security can thrive. If you are ready to join a positive group committed to quality and creativity, we want to connect with you!

Our Engineering Culture

In our Agile/Lean DevOps environment, we've fostered a culture of innovation and experimentation across our development teams. As a customer-focused organization, we work closely with our end users and product owners to grasp and quickly address emerging business needs. Collaboration is embedded in every part of our work - from the products we create to the outstanding service we provide. We are driven by the belief that diversity of thought, background, and perspective is essential to designing the highest-quality products and experiences for our customers. Join us and become part of a highly ambitious team committed to delivering outstanding solutions!