Head of Engineering

Terrantic; India; On-site; INR 6,000,000 - 12,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity stake

Flexible schedule

Startup environment

Job summary

Terrantic is seeking a Head of Engineering to own technical direction, build a high-performance team, and personally contribute code on the most complex parts of the platform. You will mentor engineers, hire talent, and set ambitious technical roadmaps that align with customer needs in the food processing sector.

The role combines hands-on coding with strategic leadership, requiring deep expertise in data platforms, AI/ML systems, and integration with legacy ERP/MES/SCADA environments.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of software engineering experience with at least 4 years leading engineering teams.
• Active coder who has shipped production code within the last 6 months.
• Proven track record scaling an engineering organization.

Responsibilities

• Own engineering direction and technical architecture for the platform.
• Lead and grow the engineering team from ~5–10 to 25+ engineers.
• Ship features in collaboration with the Product team and CPO.
• Translate real-world requirements to robust technical abstractions and solutions.
• Balance speed, quality and technical debt while delivering customer value.

Skills

Leadership

Hands-on coding

Team scaling

Data platforms

Ontology/knowledge graphs

AI/ML systems

Agentic frameworks

B2B SaaS

Communication

Software engineering

Education

Engineering degree (CS, EE, or related)

Tools

CrewAI

LangChain

AutoGen

Job description

Terrantic builds AI-powered operations software for fresh food processors—packhouses, growers, co-ops, and food manufacturers. We help operations teams who've been running on spreadsheets and gut instinct finally get real visibility into what's happening on their floor, in their storage, and across their supply chain.

Our platform connects to the messy reality of food processing: ERPs that were installed 15 years ago, PLCs on aging pack-lines, WMS systems that don't talk to anything else. We pull it all together, make sense of it, and use AI agents to automate decisions that used to require someone walking the floor at 5 AM.

The Role

We're looking for a Head of Engineering who can own our technical direction, build the team to execute it, and personally write the most complex code in our platform.Today, you'll lead a team of about 5-10 engineers. Over the next 12-14 months, you'll grow that to 25+. But in the early months, you'll spend a significant portion of your time coding—especially the intricate pieces: our ontology layer, agentic AI frameworks, and the integration logic that connects to messy real-world systems.This is a player-coach role. You'll be in the codebase daily, shipping features alongside your team, while also hiring, mentoring, and setting technical direction. As the team scales, the balance shifts—but we need someone who wants to be hands-on, not someone counting the days until they can stop coding.

What You'll Do

Write Critical Code

• Build the most technically complex pieces of our platform: ontology models, agentic AI systems
• Set the technical bar by shipping production code, not just reviewing it

Lead the Technical Vision

• Design our platform architecture with an eye toward scale—but ship what works today
• Make pragmatic tradeoffs between speed, quality, and technical debt
• Unblock hard problems by diving in, not delegating

Build and Scale the Team

• Hire, onboard, and develop engineers across frontend, backend, data, and AI/ML
• Define roles, levels, and career paths as the team grows
• Create a culture where smart people ship great work

Ship Product

• Partner closely with our CPO to turn customer problems into working software
• Own engineering delivery—timelines, quality, and what gets cut
• Keep customers unblocked when integration work gets gnarly

Connect to the Real World

• Exposure to the systems our software touches: ERPs (Famous, Computech, PackManager), MES, WMS, SCADA, and machine PLCs
• Occasionally visit customer sites to see how our product runs on the floor
• Translate messy operational realities into clean technical abstractions

Technical & Architectural Expectations

In addition to leadership responsibilities, the Head of Engineering is expected to act as the principal architect and most senior technical authority across the platform.

• Ownership across frontend, backend, data, infrastructure, and AI
• Design scalable, fault-tolerant systems integrating legacy IT/OT environments

Our Stack

• Data Platforms: PostgreSQL and Analytical Database ClickHouse
• Frontend: ReactJS, NextJS, TypeScript, and micro-frontend patterns
• Cloud Native Infrastructure: Azure and GCP (CI/CD pipelines, containerization, and observability)

AI/ML Experience

• Hands-on experience building AI Agents using CrewAI, LangChain, AutoGen, or similar frameworks
• Familiarity with Model Context Protocol (MCP) concepts for secure tool access and agent communication
• Experience integrating LLMs, vector databases, and decision/optimization engines into production SaaS

What We're Looking For

Required

• 15+ years of software engineering experience with at least 4 years leading engineering teams
• Still an active coder—you've shipped production code in the last 6 months, not just managed people who did
• Proven track record scaling a team—you've grown an engineering org, not just inherited one
• Deep technical expertise in at least two of: data platforms, ontology/knowledge graphs, AI/ML systems, or agentic frameworks
• B2B SaaS experience—you understand enterprise customers, integrations, and long sales cycles
• Engineering degree (CS, EE, or related field) or equivalent experience
• Strong communication skills—you can explain complex technical decisions to non-technical stakeholders clearly

Preferred

• Experience with industrial data integration: ERPs, MES, WMS, PLCs, or SCADA systems
• Background in process manufacturing, supply chain, or logistics software
• Familiarity with modern AI/ML infrastructure: LLMs, vector databases, agent orchestration frameworks

Nice to Have

• Knowledge of food supply chains, agriculture, or perishable goods operations
• Experience with specific platforms we integrate with (Famous, Ignition, TOMRA, Compac)
• Startup experience—you know how to make progress with constrained resources

What We Offer

• Competitive salary (commensurate with experience and startup stage)
• Meaningful equity in a growing company
• The chance to build an engineering org from near-scratch
• A team that respects your time and trusts you to lead
• Real problems worth solving—food waste is a $400B problem and we're actually fixing it

Terrantic is an equal opportunity employer. We value diverse perspectives and believe the best teams are built by people with different backgrounds and experiences.