Director of Software Engineering

Company Description Photon is a global leader in AI and digital solutions, helping clients accelerate AI adoption and embrace DigitalHyper-expansion® to make tomorrow happen today. The company partners with 40% of the Fortune 100, enabling them to stay agile and future-ready as digital and AI converge. Photon powers billions of touchpoints every day by combining AI management, digital innovation, product design thinking, and engineering excellence to drive lasting transformation for F500 clients. The organization employs several thousand people across dozens of countries, offering a diverse, international work environment focused on cutting-edge technology and innovation. More information is available at www.photon.com.
Role Description The Director of Software Engineering is a full-time, on-site role based in Bangalore. This position oversees multiple engineering teams, setting technical direction, defining best practices, and ensuring high-quality delivery of complex software solutions for global clients. The director collaborates with product, architecture, and business stakeholders to translate strategic objectives into executable roadmaps, manage project priorities, and remove delivery obstacles. Daily responsibilities include mentoring engineering leaders, reviewing system designs, guiding decisions on distributed architectures, monitoring performance and reliability, and promoting a culture of continuous improvement. The role also involves hiring and developing talent, aligning teams with Photon’s AI and digital strategy, and ensuring adherence to security, compliance, and operational standards. You will partner with business and technology leaders to define technology strategy, drive product delivery, modernize engineering practices, and build high-performing teams.
Key Responsibilities
Define and execute technology strategy aligned with business goals.
Lead and mentor engineering teams across front-end, back-end, mobile, platform, and quality engineering.
Drive delivery of scalable, secure, and customer-centric digital products.
Establish and champion engineering best practices including Agile, DevOps, CI/CD, TDD, and modern software delivery frameworks.
Lead cloud-native architecture and microservices adoption.
Partner with CXO stakeholders to translate business priorities into technology roadmaps.
Drive digital transformation initiatives that improve customer experience, operational efficiency, and business growth.
Evaluate technology investments, including build vs. buy decisions and SaaS/platform selection.
Ensure platform reliability, scalability, security, and regulatory compliance.
Provide hands-on technical guidance and support during critical architecture or production challenges.
Required Experience
15+ years of software engineering and technology leadership experience, including 5+ years in senior leadership roles.
Proven experience leading large-scale digital engineering organizations.
Strong background in modern application development across:
Backend: Node.js, Java, Microservices
Frontend: React.js,
Mobile: ReactNative
Experience building cloud-native solutions on Azure and/or GCP.
Strong understanding of DevOps, CI/CD, observability, cybersecurity, and software architecture.
Experience driving engineering excellence through XP practices, TDD, pair programming, and continuous delivery.
Strong stakeholder management and executive communication skills.
Preferred Qualifications
Strong software development expertise, including experience building scalable applications and overseeing end-to-end delivery.
Proven team leadership skills, with a track record of managing and coaching engineering managers and senior engineers.
Demonstrated project management capabilities, including planning, prioritization, risk management, and stakeholder communication.
Hands-on experience with distributed systems and high-availability architectures, including performance optimization and resiliency design.
Advanced software design skills, with the ability to review and guide architectural decisions and system designs.
Experience leading engineering organizations in AI, cloud, or digital product environments is highly beneficial.
Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in a global, cross-functional setting.
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
What You'll Bring
Strategic thinking with strong business acumen.
Proven ability to lead and inspire high-performing engineering teams.
Hands-on architectural and technical leadership.
Passion for innovation, engineering excellence, and continuous improvement.

Work arrangement
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