Director, AI Engineering

Couchbase; Bengaluru; Hybrid; INR 4,000,000 - 8,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible time off

Health & wellness programs

Financial security & retirement plans

Career growth opportunities

Ergonomic office setups

Job summary

Couchbase is seeking an experienced technology leader to drive the Operational AI platform capabilities from Bangalore (Hybrid – in office at least 3 days/week). You will own strategy, architecture, delivery, and operational excellence for AI cloud platform capabilities, leading a large engineering organization across distributed systems and cloud-native infra.

You will partner with Product, SRE, and GTM teams to deliver differentiated enterprise AI features while ensuring reliability,

Qualifications

• 15+ years of software engineering experience with 5+ years leading multiple teams.
• Strong background in distributed systems, databases, or large-scale cloud platforms.
• Deep experience in Cloud Platforms - AWS, GCP, Azure.
• Hands-on familiarity with Data and AI infrastructure concepts like vector search, RAG, embedding pipelines, LLM and inference systems.
• Experience building and operating production SaaS services at scale.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow engineering teams focused on the Operational Data platform for AI.
• Drive architectural decisions at the intersection of databases, PaaS and AI.
• Ensure production-grade scalability for large-scale workloads.
• Partner with Product, Field, Support, and Customer Success to deliver enterprise AI capabilities.
• Balance innovation with operational rigour and ensure reliability, performance, and security.
• Build cross-functional collaboration with database, storage, and cloud infra teams.
• Mentor engineering managers and senior leaders to build a strong leadership team.
• Drive KPIs for engineering performance, reliability, and productivity.

Skills

Distributed systems

Cloud platforms

Go / Python / Java

Large-scale SaaS

LLM inference

RAG

Embedding pipelines

Tools

AWS

GCP

Azure

Job description

Couchbase, the operational data platform for AI, empowers businesses to succeed by bringing data to life in new ways. Major market-leading companies rely on Couchbase for mission critical operational, analytical, mobile and AI workloads. Built to replace legacy infrastructure and fragmented data services, Couchbase empowers enterprises with a unified platform architected for performance, flexibility and global scale.

With Couchbase, organizations bring their data to life, launching game‑changing customer experiences, exploring the limitless potential of AI, and seamlessly extending applications from the cloud to the edge and beyond. Couchbase’s AI‑ready technology and enterprise partnership model eliminate complexity and reduce total cost of ownership, enabling teams to stay agile, innovative and secure.

Couchbase believes data should never slow you down, but act as the foundation for your next breakthrough. Discover why Couchbase is trusted to help the world’s biggest players scale, move fast and stay resilient, no matter what’s next on their roadmap.

Visit couchbase.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X.

AI Platform Engineering

Location: Bangalore (Hybrid - in office at least 3 days/week)

About The Role

We are seeking an experienced and visionary technology leader to lead the development and scaling of our Operational AI platform capabilities. This role will own the strategy, architecture, delivery, and operational excellence of Couchbase AI Cloud Platform capabilities. This is a strategic leadership role at the intersection of distributed systems, cloud-native platforms, and AI. You will lead a large, multi-layered engineering organization responsible for delivering The Operational Data Platform for AI, while partnering closely with Product, Design, SRE, and Go-To-Market teams. Your leadership will directly influence company growth, customer adoption, platform reliability, and Couchbase’s competitive position in the market. This role requires a balance of strategic vision, organizational leadership, and technical depth.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and grow high-performing engineering teams focused on building the Operational Data platform for AI.
• Drive architectural decisions for multiple platform capabilities at the intersection of Databases, PaaS and AI.
• Ensure production-grade scalability for large-scale workloads.
• Partner closely with Product, Field, Support, and Customer Success to deliver differentiated enterprise AI capabilities.
• Balance innovation with operational rigour and ensuring reliability, performance, and security standards are met.
• Build strong cross-functional collaboration with core database, storage, and cloud infrastructure teams.
• Partner Cross-Functionally at the Executive Level
• Manage Risk, Investment, and Efficiency
• Mentor engineering managers and senior technical leaders to build a strong leadership team.
• Drive Execution Excellence at Scale by establishing metrics and KPIs for engineering performance, reliability, and productivity.

Required Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in software engineering, with 5+ years leading multiple teams.
• Strong background in distributed systems, databases, or large-scale cloud platforms.
• Deep Experience in Cloud Platforms - AWS, GCP, Azure
• Hands-on familiarity with Data and AI infrastructure concepts such as:
• Vector search and indexing
• Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)
• Embedding pipelines
• LLM and inference systems
• Agent architectures and memory systems
• Experience building and operating production SaaS services at scale.
• Deep understanding of performance engineering, reliability, and cost optimization in cloud environments.
• Experience in Go, Python or Java.

Working at Couchbase

At Couchbase, Innovation Thrives When Diverse Perspectives Come Together. Our Culture Is Driven By Four Core Values That Guide How We Build Mission-critical Technology And Collaborate Every Day

• Put the Customer First: The customer must be at the center of everything we do.
• Be a Good Human, Always: Integrity, empathy, and respect are our non-negotiable bedrock.
• Win as One Team: No one wins alone. Collaboration is how we erase silos.
• Build for Mission Critical: Our product earned customer trust. We honor it by relentlessly pushing what’s technically possible.

We actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds—including women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ professionals, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. We also value unconventional career paths and unique life experiences.

A note on qualifications:

A note on qualifications: Studies show that underrepresented talent is less likely to apply unless they meet 100% of the criteria. If you are excited about this role and feel you can make strong contributions to our team,

If you require reasonable accommodations during the recruitment process, please let your recruiter know. We are happy to support you.

Why Couchbase?

Modern customer experiences demand a flexible cloud database platform that powers applications from the cloud to the edge and everywhere in between. Couchbase’s mission is to simplify how developers and architects build, deploy, and consume modern applications. With Capella—our fast, flexible, and affordable cloud database platform—we enable organizations to deliver premium user experiences backed by best-in-class price performance.

More than 30% of the Fortune 100 trust Couchbase to power their mission-critical applications. We’re also proud to be consistently recognized as a Best Place to Work in both the Bay Area and the UK.

What We Offer (Total Rewards)

We offer a holistic approach to benefits that recognizes the value you create, helping you care for yourself and your family:

• Generous Time Off: Flexible programs designed to support your work-life balance.
• Health & Wellness: World-class medical, dental, vision, mental health, life insurance, and employee assistance programs.*
• Financial Security: Competitive retirement plans* and business travel coverage.
• Career Growth: A "Be Valued, Create Value" philosophy focused on your continuous growth.
• Fun & Comfort: Ergonomic setups for both WFH and in-office employees, plus snacks and meals when you’re in the office.
• Note: Specific benefit programs vary by country. Your recruiter can share details for your location.

Disclaimer

Couchbase is committed to being an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans’ status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Join an impact initiative group and experience the amazing feeling of Couchbase can-do culture.

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