Director - Software Engineering

AstraZeneca; Chennai; On-site; INR 3,500,000 - 5,200,000; Full time

Job summary

AstraZeneca plc. is seeking a Director of Software Engineering in Chennai to lead a full-stack DevOps organization delivering secure, scalable software used across global R&D.

You will guide a high-performing team, set engineering standards, and drive automation, observability and continuous improvement. You will shape product roadmaps, manage end-to-end delivery, and collaborate with product owners to align with business goals.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of IT experience.
• Experience crafting and implementing Cloud Native applications.
• 5+ years administering cloud infrastructure (Azure, AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform).
• 5+ years Linux and Network administration.
• Experience in Identification/Access Management (SAML, OAuth).
• Experience with MongoDB database administration.
• Software development skills in Python and SQL.
• GxP regulatory knowledge is a merit.
• Experience with distributed Agile and CI/CD.
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to apply technical knowledge to multiple systems and teams.
• Excellent communication with global teams.

Responsibilities

• Product Strategy and Road mapping with stakeholders.
• End-to-End DevOps ownership across lifecycle.
• Hands-on technical leadership and code reviews.
• Drive an Agile POD to deliver enterprise systems.
• Monitor performance, metrics, and optimization.
• Mentor engineers and foster AI-augmented practices.
• People leadership including hiring and training decisions.
• Align engineering roadmaps with business priorities.
• Ensure security-by-design and compliance.
• Collaborate across functions to remove delivery obstacles.

Skills

IT experience

Cloud Native

Cloud infrastructure administration

Linux administration

Identity/Access Management

MongoDB

Python

SQL

CI/CD

Communication

Agile

Education

Bachelor's degree (Computer Engineering / CS / IT)

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

Terraform

Prometheus

Grafana

ELK/OpenTelemetry

Job description

Job Title: Director - Software Engineering

GCL: F

Introduction to role:

Are you ready to lead a full-stack DevOps organization that turns modern science into secure, scalable software used across global R&D? In this role, you will shape and deliver in-house products that help our scientists move faster from discovery to delivery, ultimately improving outcomes for patients. What could you accomplish by combining your cloud-native depth, AI-augmented engineering practices, and leadership to scale critical platforms across the enterprise?

Based in Chennai, you will guide a high-performing, multi-functional team and partner closely with Business Product Owners and collaborators. You will set the engineering bar for quality, security and compliance, drive measurable product outcomes, and cultivate a culture of modern, agile development where automation, observability and continuous improvement are standard.

Accountabilities:

• Product Strategy and Road mapping: Collaborate with collaborators to validate requirements, prioritize features, and define timelines and achievements that deliver clear business outcomes.
• End-to-End DevOps Ownership: Lead the full product lifecycle from planning and build through development, testing, launch and operations, ensuring reliability, security, and cost efficiency.
• Hands-on Technical Leadership: Give to build and code reviews; act as a senior developer on sophisticated features to unlock velocity and uphold engineering excellence.
• Agile Pod Leadership: Drive an agile POD to deliver sophisticated enterprise systems; embed enterprise standards focused on maintaining quality, security, and conformity; foster continuous integration and del ivery.
• Performance, Observability and Optimization: Supervise product performance, analyze metrics, and implement improvements using robust logging, monitoring and alerting to raise availability and user experience.
• Engineering Culture and Coaching: Mentor engineers, promote cross-team teamwork, and evangelize modern, AI-augmented software practices and rigors.
• People Leadership: Develop talent; handle performance, hiring, pay and training decisions; shape a diverse, high-trust team environment that scales.
• Collaborator Partnership and Communication: Align engineering roadmaps with business priorities; communicate progress and risks clearly; remove obstacles to delivery.
• Risk, Security and Compliance: Uphold security-by-design, identity and access guidelines, and supervised ways of working appropriate to R&D contexts.

Essential Skills/Experience:

• 10+ years of IT experience
• Experience in crafting and implementing Cloud Native applications
• 5+ years working with administrating cloud infrastructure, e.g., Azure, AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, 5+ years within Linux and Network administration
• Experience in Identification/Access Management such as SAML and OAuth
• Experience working with Database administration, i.e. MongoDB
• Software development skills in Python, SQL,
• Regulatory knowledge, i.e GxP is a merit
• Should have worked in distributed agile model and continuous integration
• Analytical skills with attention to detail in quality
• Experiences in CI/CD pipeline implementationDemonstrate ability to apply technical knowledge to multiple systems and support multiple business groups and applications
• Superb communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to work with global teams to achieve objectives, phenomenal teammate
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Science, or equivalent degree is helpful.

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• Proven leadership of full-stack product teams delivering enterprise systems at scale
• Experience in life sciences domain or R&D workflows
• Expertise with microservices, event-driven architectures, and API design
• Strong observability practice (logging, metrics, tracing) with tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, or OpenTelemetry
• SRE and operational perfection experience, including reliability patterns and on-call leadership
• Cost optimization and managing prioritisation in public cloud environments
• Experience with modern frontend frameworks (React, Angular) and Python frameworks (FastAPI, Django)
• Familiarity with data privacy, security by build, and regulated environments (GxP)

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash ambitious thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

Why AstraZeneca:

Here, engineering directly accelerates science to patients. You will work alongside diverse experts who unite sophisticated data, machine learning and modern software to translate complex information into practical decisions that move medicines safely and quickly. We bring surprising combinations of talent together to solve hard problems, value courtesy alongside ambition, and give you the scope to learn fast, raise your profile and see your ideas move from prototype to production at scale.

Lead the team that turns ambitious ideas into reliable products that reach patients faster—take the next step and tell us you’re ready to make this impact today!

Date Posted

11-Nov-2026

Closing Date

03-Dec-2026

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.