Head of Engineering

Elevation Capital; Chennai District; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Elevation Capital portfolio company is seeking an execution-focused, technical Head of Engineering to lead our engineering, scale our digital lending platform, and manage RBI-compliant infra for NBFC operations.

You will own the tech stack from LOS/LMS to real-time ML credit decisioning, bridging architecture strategy with hands-on coding, leading a lean team of 6–12 engineers and implementing robust engineering practices.

Qualifications

• 10 years of software development experience with at least 3+ years in high-growth Fintech, NBFC, or digital lending startups.
• Experience building scalable LOS/LMS and payment integrations in a lean engineering setup.
• Hands-on technical depth with architecture reviews, code, and critical system design.
• Proven ability to scale engineering teams from ground up in early-stage environments.
• Experience with build-vs-buy decisions, vendor selection, and in-housing decisions.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain microservices-based lending infrastructure (LOS, LMS, Collections, Accounting/Ledger).
• Architect low-latency, event-driven integrations with payment networks, bureaus, e-KYC/Aadhaar pipelines, and bank statement parsers.
• Ensure uptime, fault tolerance, and high-concurrency performance across APIs and mobile apps.
• Scale and mentor a 6–12 engineer team across Backend, Frontend, Mobile, DevOps, and Data.
• Implement CI/CD, unit/integration tests, code reviews, and agile sprints.
• Foster an ownership-driven engineering culture balancing rapid delivery with technical debt management.

Skills

Technical Leadership

Fintech / NBFC domain

Startup Scaling

System Architecture

CI/CD

Testing & QA

Hands-on Coding

Vendor Evaluation

Job description

Role description: This role is with one of our portfolio companies (Series A)

We are seeking an execution-focused, technical Head of Engineering to lead our engineering, infrastructure as we scale our digital lending platform and NBFC operations.

In this role, you will own the entire technology stack from building high-throughput Loan Origination Systems (LOS) and Loan Management Systems (LMS) to embedding real-time ML credit decisioning engines and robust RBI-compliant infrastructure. You will bridge high-level architectural strategy with hands‑on coding, leading a lean team of 6‑12 engineers.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain our core microservices‑based lending infrastructure: LOS, LMS, Collections, Accounting/Ledger, and co‑lending partner integrations.
• Architect low‑latency, event‑driven integrations with payment networks (UPI, e‑NACH, IMPS), bureaus (CIBIL, Experian), e‑KYC/Aadhaar pipelines, and bank statement parsers.
• Ensure maximum uptime, enterprise‑grade fault tolerance, and high‑concurrency performance across all APIs and mobile applications.
• Scale, mentor, and lead a high‑performing engineering organization (Backend, Frontend, Mobile, DevOps, and Data).
• Implement rigorous engineering practices: CI/CD automation, unit/integration testing protocols, code reviews, and agile sprints.
• Foster an ownership‑driven engineering culture balancing rapid product delivery with manageable technical debt.

Key Requirements & Qualifications

• Experience:10 years of software development experience, with at least 3+ years within a high‑growth Fintech, NBFC, or digital lending startup.
• Startup Scaling (0-1-10): Demonstrated experience building products and engineering teams from the ground taking systems from (first build, first launch) and scaling them from and comfort with the ambiguity, resource constraints, and pace of early‑stage environments is essential.
• Domain Expertise: Deep understanding of loan lifecycles, underwriting rules engines, LMS ledger logic, repayment mandates (e‑NACH/UPI Autopay), and co‑lending/DSA partner integrations.
• Hands‑On Technical Depth: Willingness and ability to remain hands‑on with code, architecture reviews, and critical system design not a pure people‑management profile.
• Judgment on Build vs Buy: Track record of making pragmatic build‑vs‑buy calls at a fast‑growing startup, including vendor selection, integration, and eventual in‑housing decisions where warranted.

Note: We will check the fitment for multiple roles across our portfolios.