Director of Software Engineering

Job Title: Director of Software Engineering – Technical Change & Innovation (German-speaking preferred)
Location: Chennai, India (Hybrid)Work full-time in the UK/ EU timezone
Employment Type: Full-Time

About the Role: We are seeking a hands-on Director of Engineering based in India, ideally Chennai, to lead transformative technical initiatives in a growing, product-driven environment. This is a unique opportunity for an engineering leader who still enjoys coding, thrives in lean product teams, and brings deep expertise in ERP systems, legacy modernization, and real estate technology.

You will lead a nimble, high-performing team, drive architectural decisions, and work directly with global stakeholders to align business and technical outcomes, while remaining actively involved in development.

Key Responsibilities
Lead the architecture and development of ERP and real estate platforms, ensuring stability, scalability, and technical excellence.Drive modernization efforts across legacy systems using modern, cloud-native, and agile methodologies.Actively participate in coding, code reviews, and technical design alongside the engineering team.Guide and grow a team of engineers while fostering a collaborative, high-ownership culture.Champion the use of AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot) to increase team productivity and innovation.Collaborate cross-functionally with product managers, designers, QA, and business teams—communicating clearly in both German and English.Build strong engineering processes in an environment with smaller engineering teams requiring agility, creativity, and technical depth.

Required Qualifications
Currently based in India (preferably Chennai) and able to work full-time on UK/ EU hours.Fluent in English, with strong communication skills, fluency with German preferred.10+ years of experience in software development, with 3+ years in engineering leadership roles.Strong background in ERP platforms, including customization, integration, and system ownership.Experience leading GenAI, AI/ ML projects from scratch. Ability to demonstrate knowledge with GenAI.Expert-level proficiency in C#/.NET and SQL Server, with the ability to guide teams working across both legacy monolithic and modern service-based architectures.Solid experience with JavaScript/TypeScript and at least one modern frontend framework—Angular preferred.Demonstrated success in modernizing legacy applications, including refactoring monoliths and implementing microservices or modular service-based architectures.Deep familiarity with CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps, including hands-on implementation of source control (GitHub), environment configuration, and release workflows.Proven track record managing full-stack engineering teams across backend, frontend, mobile (Android & iOS), and QA disciplines.Comfortable with enterprise integration patterns, especially in environments with limited API availability—experience with screen scraping, browser automation, or GUI scripting is a plus.Working knowledge of mobile app development lifecycles, including codebases written in Swift (iOS) and Java (Android).Strong grounding in application security best practices, including secure coding, secrets management, and compliance in B2B SaaS platforms.ERP / EAI expertiseExperience working in or building systems for real estate management (e.g., leasing, property management, operations platforms).Ideally, come from a product company with a total engineering team of no more than 40–50 people.Demonstrated success leading engineering teams in lean, high-ownership environments with minimal layers of abstraction.Strong grasp of legacy modernization, microservices, CI/CD, and cloud-native development.

Preferred Qualifications
Experience leading hybrid or remote engineering teams in a high-growth setting.Familiarity with DevOps, infrastructure-as-code (e.g., Terraform), and observability practices.Experience leading or executing cloud migration projects, ideally to Azure Germany or AWS Germany, including infrastructure automation using tools like Terraform.Familiarity with ERP systems and custom ERP integrations, especially in environments without standard APIs.Working knowledge of UI component libraries, particularly DevExpress, and their role in legacy enterprise application design.Exposure to observability and monitoring stacks, including tools like Prometheus, Grafana, RedMonk, or Kaseya.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Benefits:

• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• UK shift

Supplemental Pay:

• Performance bonus
• Yearly bonus

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Guindy, Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Experience:

• Director level: 3 years (Required)
• GenAI, AI/ ML: 2 years (Required)
• Software Engineering: 10 years (Required)

Location:

• Guindy, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (Preferred)

Work Location: In person