Director, Technology Architect - Engineering Excellence & AI

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Job Overview

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The Applications Development Senior Group Manager is a senior management level position responsible for accomplishing results through the management of a team or department in an effort to establish and implement new or revised application systems and programs in coordination with the Technology Team. The overall objective of this role is to drive applications systems analysis and programming activities.

Level: C15 (Director)

Job Overview:

We are seeking a transformative and hands-on Technology Architect to lead our engineering and delivery functions at the Director level. This strategic role is based in Chennai and is pivotal in shaping the future of our technology landscape. You will be responsible for architecting and delivering next-generation solutions, with a strong focus on Generative AI, agentic frameworks, and cloud-native paradigms.

The ideal candidate is a visionary leader with a proven track record of hands-on, full-stack development and a passion for driving engineering excellence. You will be accountable for delivering tangible results by influencing cross-functional teams, modernizing our infrastructure, and embedding a culture of quality, security, and high performance. This role requires a leader who can champion API-centric design, create automated CI/CD pipelines for release-on-demand, and take ownership of improving key delivery metrics (DORA) across the organization.

Responsibilities:

• Architectural Leadership & Vision: Architect and lead the development of innovative, full-stack solutions with clean, simple interfaces, leveraging open-source components and API-centric design principles.
  
• AI and Agentic Innovation: Drive the exploration and implementation of Gen AI solutions and agentic frameworks. Lead teams in creating proofs-of-concept and scalable applications that push the boundaries of software development paradigms.
  
• Cloud-Native Strategy: Champion cloud-ready and cloud-agnostic architectural patterns, ensuring applications are built for Kubernetes-native environments. Drive the migration from legacy hardware to modern, containerized cloud infrastructure, taking accountability for delivery targets.
  
• Engineering & Delivery Excellence: Take ownership of improving the organization's DORA metrics. Design, implement, and optimize automated CI/CD pipelines to enable Release-on-Demand (ROD) and foster a culture of continuous delivery.
  
• Organizational Influence & Transformation: Influence and guide teams that do not report directly to you to ensure cohesive and timely delivery. Champion and lead the adoption of a developer and testing manifesto, promoting best practices in code hygiene and repository ownership.
  
• Security by Design: Deliver solutions that are inherently secure and less prone to vulnerabilities by integrating automated security tools like Renovate directly into the development pipeline.
  
• Metric-Driven Performance: Define and promise the effectiveness of engineering excellence based on objective, measurable metrics. Hold teams and yourself accountable for achieving these targets.
  
• Stakeholder Management: Interface effectively with senior stakeholders across business, product, and technology to align architectural strategy with business objectives and ensure seamless execution.
  
• Mentorship & Guidance: Act as a senior technical mentor to engineering teams, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
  

Qualifications:

• Experience: 20+ years of progressive experience in technology, with a significant portion in hands-on architecture, software engineering, and senior leadership roles.
  
• Technical Expertise:
  

+ Proven track record as a full-stack architect with deep expertise across multiple technology layers.

+ Demonstrable experience in designing and delivering Gen AI solutions, with hands-on expertise in agentic frameworks and tools.

+ Expertise in API-centric design, microservices architecture, and leveraging open-source components.

+ Extensive experience with cloud-native architecture, including containerization (Kubernetes, Docker) and building cloud-agnostic applications.

• DevOps & Engineering Excellence:
  

+ Strong background in establishing mature CI/CD pipelines for Release-on-Demand (ROD).

+ Proven ability to improve DORA metrics and integrate security tools (e.g., Renovate) into the development lifecycle.

• Leadership & Influence:
  

+ Exceptional leadership skills with a demonstrated ability to drive change and deliver results through cross-functional teams, often without direct authority.

+ Experience championing engineering best practices for code hygiene, repository management, and developer/testing manifestos.

• Delivery & Accountability: A strong sense of ownership with a track record of taking on and delivering against ambitious targets for technology transformation and legacy system modernization.
  
• Industry Knowledge: Experience within financial services or a similarly complex, large-scale enterprise environment is highly advantageous.
  

Education:

Academic Credentials: Bachelor’s degree/University degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. An advanced degree is highly desirable.

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Job Family Group:

Technology

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Job Family:

Applications Development

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Time Type:

Full time

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Most Relevant Skills

Please see the requirements listed above.

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Other Relevant Skills

For complementary skills, please see above and/or contact the recruiter.

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