Sr Director of Engineering

Weekday AI (YC W21); Bengaluru; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 3,500,000; Full time

Job summary

A forward-thinking technology firm based in Bengaluru is seeking a Senior Director of Engineering. This role involves leading multiple product lines, ensuring the delivery of high-impact products, and building a high-performing engineering organization. Candidates should have 15+ years of experience, including substantial experience in engineering management and a deep understanding of cloud computing and distributed systems. The position offers an opportunity to influence global strategies while nurturing local talent.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of engineering experience with 7-10 years in management.
• Proven ownership of large-scale platforms with measurable impact.
• Experience managing distributed engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead multiple product lines and build a high-performing engineering organization.
• Translate strategic vision into actionable engineering plans.
• Drive improvements in engineering velocity and operational consistency.

Skills

Distributed Systems

Database Engine Development

Database Design & Management Systems

Storage & Persistence Layers

Replication & Metadata Management

Cloud-Native Architectures

Observability & Scalability Engineering

Job description

This role is for one of the Weekday's clients

Min Experience: 15 years

Location: Bengaluru

JobType: full-time

We are seeking a Senior Director of Engineering to lead multiple product lines, translate strategic vision into execution, and build a high-performing engineering organization. This role carries full ownership of major platforms and represents India Engineering in global leadership forums. You will ensure the delivery of scalable, reliable, and high-impact products while developing strong engineering leaders and fostering a culture of ownership, urgency, and customer focus.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

Engineering Leadership & Delivery

• Own the delivery of major product areas and platforms, ensuring roadmap execution, quality, reliability, and predictable releases
• Translate company strategy into actionable engineering plans, including org design, staffing models, and quarterly/annual execution frameworks
• Drive improvements in engineering velocity, operational consistency, and technical excellence across teams
• Lead modernization initiatives while balancing innovation with technical debt management

Technical Strategy & Architecture

• Provide architectural direction and technical oversight across core product domains
• Champion performance, scalability, security-by-design, and system resiliency
• Guide design reviews, deep technical discussions, and postmortems without becoming a bottleneck
• Drive long-term investments in platform scalability and distributed systems architecture
• Oversee initiatives related to database engines, storage systems, replication protocols, and persistence layers

India Site Leadership

• Serve as the senior engineering leader for India and represent the organization in global leadership forums
• Build and nurture a culture of accountability, urgency, and customer impact
• Manage budgets, headcount planning, and vendor/tooling strategy
• Hire, mentor, and retain top engineering talent, including Engineering Managers and Senior Managers
• Partner closely with US, EMEA, and APAC teams to ensure seamless cross-geography execution
• Drive leadership development and succession planning within the India organization

Cross-Functional Influence

• Collaborate closely with Product, Design, and GTM teams to deliver aligned business outcomes
• Influence priorities across time zones and functions, effectively managing trade-offs
• Communicate clearly and confidently at the executive level through written, asynchronous, and verbal updates

Required Experience

Leadership

• 10+ years of engineering experience, including 7-10 years in engineering management
• Experience managing multiple managers and leading organizations of 35+ engineers
• Proven ownership of large-scale product or platform domains with measurable customer or business impact
• Extensive experience leading India-based engineering organizations within distributed global teams
• Strong understanding of hiring, retention, and leadership development in India
• Experience managing budgets, organizational planning, and scaling teams

Technical Expertise

• Strong experience with database engine implementation and database systems architecture
• Deep understanding of distributed systems, cloud computing, and large-scale architectures
• Expertise in performance optimization, high availability, low latency, and massive throughput systems
• Experience with storage systems, replication protocols, metadata management, and persistence layers
• Familiarity with observability, monitoring, and DevOps practices
• Experience with NoSQL and relational database technologies

Communication & Influence

• Executive-level communication skills (written, asynchronous, and verbal)
• Demonstrated ability to influence and align stakeholders across regions and functions
• Strong track record of working effectively with cross-geography teams

Core Skills

• Distributed Systems
• Database Engine Development
• Database Design & Management Systems
• Storage & Persistence Layers
• Replication & Metadata Management
• Cloud-Native Architectures
• Observability & Scalability Engineering