Director, Software Engineering

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Director, Software Engineering based in India.

Lead the engineering strategy and execution behind a portfolio of high-impact software products in a globally distributed environment.

You’ll translate product strategy into scalable technology capabilities while balancing innovation, reliability, security, and delivery commitments.

The role has a strong focus on fraud detection engineering, where real-time, high-performance solutions are essential to combating financial crime.

You’ll lead and develop geographically distributed engineering teams while building a culture of accountability, technical excellence, and continuous improvement.

You’ll also guide cloud modernization, architecture evolution, secure software delivery, and the responsible adoption of AI across the engineering lifecycle.

Working closely with product, business, and senior leadership stakeholders, you’ll turn complex technology challenges into measurable business outcomes.

This is a high-impact leadership opportunity for an experienced engineering executive who thrives in transformation, scale, and technically demanding environments.

Accountabilities:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the design, development, deployment, and maintenance of software products, aligning engineering execution with the product roadmap and business objectives.
• Translate product strategy and organizational priorities into clear technology capabilities, architecture decisions, engineering plans, and predictable delivery outcomes.
• Lead organizational, cultural, and operational transformation while maintaining delivery momentum and developing strong engineering leadership across the organization.
• Establish and manage engineering KPIs focused on delivery, productivity, quality, reliability, customer impact, and operational performance.
• Balance innovation, customer commitments, technical debt, security, and operational stability while maintaining strong engineering accountability.
• Set architectural direction across complex on-premises, cloud, and SaaS environments, balancing scalability, security, maintainability, technical risk, and business value.
• Drive cloud modernization initiatives and guide the evolution of platforms and applications to support long-term scalability and resilience.
• Establish a secure and automated Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) covering CI/CD, testing, release management, vulnerability management, compliance, and operational controls.
• Improve engineering velocity without compromising software quality, security, reliability, or customer commitments.
• Lead and mentor geographically distributed teams of software engineers, fostering a culture of ownership, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Develop engineering leaders and create opportunities for team members to grow their technical and leadership capabilities.
• Drive the engineering strategy for real-time fraud detection and prevention solutions, ensuring systems deliver fast, accurate, and scalable outcomes.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, platforms, and vendors, and guide the responsible adoption of AI across the software development lifecycle.
• Partner closely with product, business, security, data, and other cross-functional stakeholders to ensure engineering priorities address business and customer needs.
• Provide senior leadership with clear recommendations, performance insights, risks, and progress updates.
• Lead multiple strategic initiatives concurrently, removing delivery barriers and ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget.
• Promote effective agile practices and, where applicable, support delivery using SAFe and modern software development methodologies.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 12+ years of experience leading software engineering teams, with a strong track record of managing geographically distributed or global teams.
• Proven experience delivering complex software programs and products on time and within budget.
• Demonstrated expertise in fraud detection engineering or a closely related domain, particularly real-time systems designed to detect and mitigate financial fraud.
• Strong understanding of modern software architecture, cloud platforms, SaaS environments, scalability, security, maintainability, and technical debt management.
• Extensive knowledge of secure software delivery practices, including CI/CD, automated testing, release management, vulnerability management, and compliance.
• Strong familiarity with software development technologies, frameworks, programming languages, and modern engineering practices.
• Experience with Agile and SAFe methodologies is preferred.
• Strong understanding of AI, machine learning, and data science concepts, with the ability to assess their practical application within software engineering.
• Proven ability to establish meaningful engineering metrics and KPIs and use data to improve delivery, productivity, quality, and customer outcomes.
• Exceptional strategic thinking, analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
• Strong executive presence and the ability to act as a trusted technology advisor to senior leadership and business stakeholders.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate complex technical information clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills, with the ability to build relationships across product, engineering, business, security, and other functions.
• Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change, challenge assumptions, remove barriers, and continuously improve engineering practices.
• Strong people leadership skills, including employee development, engagement, wellbeing, coaching, and succession planning.
• High degree of adaptability and comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-changing environments.
• Strong understanding of how technology can address business challenges, improve processes, increase efficiency, and create measurable value.
• Ability to translate technical product and solution capabilities into clear business benefits for customers and stakeholders.
• Strong ethical judgment, professional credibility, and commitment to creating an inclusive and high-performing engineering culture.

Benefits:

• Remote work from India.
• Full-time leadership position within a global software engineering and technology organization.
• Opportunity to lead geographically distributed engineering teams and large-scale technology initiatives.
• High-impact role with significant influence over engineering strategy, architecture, delivery, and transformation.
• Opportunity to work on sophisticated real-time fraud detection and financial crime prevention technologies.
• Exposure to modern cloud, SaaS, AI, data, security, and software engineering practices.
• Opportunity to drive cloud modernization and secure SDLC transformation at enterprise scale.
• Significant scope for leadership development, organizational transformation, and engineering excellence.
• Collaboration with senior executives and cross-functional business and technology leaders.
• Opportunity to shape the responsible adoption of AI-enabled engineering and emerging technologies.
• Environment focused on continuous improvement, innovation, accountability, and employee development.