Head of Engineering
Questhiring
Get a reply from this employer
Your resume and cover letter, tailored to exactly what they’re hiring for.
Job summary
Questhiring is seeking a technically strong, hands-on Head of Engineering – India to establish and scale the Bengaluru engineering org for a US-based AI & robotics startup. You will own product engineering execution, hire elite engineers, and partner closely with US founders to drive end-to-end delivery.
The role requires deep software architecture, end-to-end delivery experience, and a startup mindset with ownership.
Qualifications
- 12–15 years of software/tech leadership experience.
- Experience scaling engineering teams to 20–40 engineers.
- Strong knowledge of software architecture, distributed systems, and scalable platforms.
- Proven track record delivering multiple products into production.
- Experience building engineering teams from scratch in early-stage companies.
- Ability to lead across multiple technical domains and work with founders.
- Willingness to base in Bangalore and build the India engineering org.
Responsibilities
- Build and scale the India engineering organization from the ground up.
- Provide architectural leadership and end-to-end product delivery oversight.
- Collaborate with AI/ML, robotics, software, and cloud teams to align tech with strategy.
- Partner with US founders and global leadership to shape roadmaps and governance.
- Establish hiring, mentorship, and performance management programs.
Skills
Job description
We are hiring a Head of Engineering – India for an innovative, US-headquartered AI and robotics startup operating at the intersection of AI foundation models, robotics, autonomous systems, and industrial automation.
The company is building next-generation AI technologies that enable robots to autonomously execute complex industrial tasks. Its technology combines advanced AI foundation models with cloud-based intelligence platforms to automate customized Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and long-running industrial workflows.
With its leadership team based in Silicon Valley, California, the company is now establishing its engineering presence in Bangalore.
This is a unique opportunity for an entrepreneurial engineering leader to build the India engineering organization from scratch, hire exceptional talent, own product engineering execution, and work directly with the US-based founders.
We are looking for a technically strong, hands-on, and execution-driven engineering leader who can establish and scale a world-class engineering team in India.
The ideal candidate should have a strong combination of:
- Deep software engineering and architectural expertise.
- Proven experience building and scaling engineering teams.
- Strong product engineering and end-to-end delivery experience.
- Ability to lead multidisciplinary engineering functions.
- Experience working with founders and global leadership teams.
- A startup mindset with strong ownership and execution capabilities.
This role is particularly suitable for a Senior Engineering Manager, Engineering Director, VP Engineering, or startup CTO who enjoys building products, teams, and engineering organizations from the ground up.
- Establish and lead the Bangalore engineering organization from the ground up.
- Build and scale high-performing engineering teams across software development, AI/ML, infrastructure, and related technical disciplines.
- Define the engineering organization structure, hiring roadmap, and talent strategy.
- Hire and develop exceptional engineers, engineering managers, and technical leaders.
- Build a strong engineering culture focused on ownership, innovation, speed, and accountability.
- Drive hiring initiatives across premier engineering institutions, including IITs and other leading universities.
- Provide technical leadership across architecture, engineering design, development, and production deployment.
- Lead end-to-end engineering execution, from early-stage product development to scalable production systems.
- Guide engineering teams on system design, architecture decisions, scalability, performance, and reliability.
- Work closely with specialists across AI/ML, computer vision, robotics, software engineering, and cloud infrastructure.
- Establish engineering standards, code quality practices, development processes, and technical governance.
- Remain actively involved in technical discussions, architecture reviews, and critical engineering decisions.
- Translate the founders' technology vision into actionable engineering roadmaps.
- Drive the successful development and launch of multiple products and platform capabilities.
- Ensure engineering teams deliver high-quality solutions within committed timelines.
- Balance rapid innovation and experimentation with engineering reliability and scalability.
- Take complete ownership of product engineering milestones, execution, and delivery.
- Collaborate with AI research and product teams to convert advanced technologies into deployable, customer-ready solutions.
- Work directly with the US-based founders and leadership team.
- Act as the primary engineering leadership interface between the India and US teams.
- Align engineering priorities with product strategy and business objectives.
- Establish effective communication, collaboration, and execution practices across geographies.
- Provide strategic input on technology decisions, engineering investments, and organizational growth.
- Build an environment that attracts and retains exceptional engineering talent.
- Mentor engineering managers, technical leads, and individual contributors.
- Establish performance management, career development, and leadership development frameworks.
- Encourage technical innovation, experimentation, and continuous learning.
- Develop a strong culture of high ownership, technical excellence, and product thinking.
- 12–15 years of experience in software engineering, product engineering, or technology leadership.
- Proven experience managing and scaling engineering teams, ideally 20–40 engineers or more.
- Strong hands‑on engineering background with solid knowledge of software architecture, distributed systems, and scalable platforms.
- Demonstrated experience delivering multiple products or major product capabilities into production.
- Experience building engineering teams from scratch or scaling early-stage engineering organizations.
- Strong understanding of the complete software development lifecycle, engineering processes, and product delivery.
- Ability to lead teams working across different technical domains.
- Strong hiring, people management, stakeholder management, and organizational leadership capabilities.
- Ability to operate independently and work closely with founders in a fast‑paced environment.
- Willingness to be based in Bangalore and take ownership of establishing the India engineering organization.
- Exposure to AI/ML, Generative AI, computer vision, robotics, autonomous systems, or DeepTech.
- Experience working in a fast-growing technology startup or building an engineering organization from an early stage.
- Experience working with US‑based founders, engineering teams, or global technology organizations.
- Prior experience at leading product technology companies or high-growth startups.
- Strong academic background from IITs, BITS, NITs, or other leading engineering institutions.
- Demonstrated ability to attract, hire, and develop high-caliber engineering talent.
- Experience managing multidisciplinary teams across software, AI, infrastructure, and hardware‑adjacent technologies.
Direct robotics or AI research experience is an advantage, but strong software engineering leadership, product delivery, and organization-building capabilities are the primary requirements.
We are particularly interested in leaders from the following backgrounds:
Engineering Director / Senior Engineering Manager: A strong engineering leader from a leading product technology company who has managed sizable teams, shipped multiple products, and is ready to build an engineering organization.
Startup CTO / VP Engineering: A hands‑on technology leader who has successfully built and scaled an engineering team from an early stage to 20‑40+ engineers.
Product Engineering Leader: A technically credible leader with strong architecture, product development, and execution experience across multiple engineering functions.
The ideal candidate is not someone who operates only at a strategic management level, but a hands‑on engineering builder who can make technical decisions, attract strong talent, drive execution, and scale the organization.
- Build from Zero to One: Establish and shape the entire India engineering organization.
- Work Directly with Founders: Collaborate closely with a Silicon Valley-based leadership team.
- Cutting-Edge Technology: Work at the intersection of AI foundation models, robotics, and autonomous automation.
- High Ownership & Impact: Influence engineering strategy, architecture, hiring, and product delivery.
- Entrepreneurial Environment: Be part of a high-growth startup where decisions are fast and engineering impact is visible.
- Long-Term Leadership Opportunity: Play a critical role in building a globally distributed engineering organization.
'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M101.744%2012.4726L102.894%2016.1947L99.0021%2013.2201L101.744%2012.4726ZM105.3%208.40937H100.488L99.0026%203.59473L97.5116%208.41047L92.7%208.40385L96.5965%2011.3834L95.1055%2016.1942L99.0021%2013.2196L101.408%2011.3834L105.3%208.40992V8.40937Z'%20fill='white'/%3e%3cdefs%3e%3clinearGradient%20id='paint0_linear_5593_1381'%20x1='90'%20y1='9.44471'%20x2='99'%20y2='9.44471'%20gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3e%3cstop%20stop-color='%2300AD70'/%3e%3cstop%20offset='0.998594'%20stop-color='%2300B67A'/%3e%3cstop%20offset='1'%20stop-color='%23DCDCE6'/%3e%3c/linearGradient%3e%3c/defs%3e%3c/svg%3e){kind=small}
