Engineering Director (Pune)

About Agivant

Agivant Technologies is a fast-paced, AI-first IT services company helping clients design, build, and scale autonomous solutions. We combine deep engineering expertise with modern AI, cloud, and data capabilities to help our clients move faster and operate more intelligently. We move quickly, wear multiple hats, and expect our leaders to be builders first.

Role Summary

Agivant Technologies is looking for a hands-on, technically strong Engineering Director based in Pune. This is not a pure people- or project-management role - we're looking for a builder and solutioner who stays close to the technology, can architect and troubleshoot alongside their team, and brings a solid understanding of AI systems. You will lead a high-performing engineering organization, drive delivery excellence across client engagements, and act as a trusted technical voice for clients — all in a fast-paced startup environment where priorities shift quickly and hands-on ownership matters more than process for its own sake.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership and Solutioning

• Personally architect, review, and troubleshoot complex technical solutions alongside the team, rather than delegating all technical decisions.
  
• Bring a solid understanding of AI systems and how they can be applied to client solutioning and internal productivity gains.
  
• Set technical direction and standards across development, testing, and cloud administration.
  
• Get into the details when needed - code reviews, design reviews, production issues - especially in a fast-moving startup environment.
  

Team Leadership and Development

• Recruit, onboard, and retain top talent for development, testing, support, and cloud administration roles.
  
• Foster a culture of continuous learning and professional growth.
  
• Manage team performance, provide regular feedback, and resolve conflicts effectively.
  
• Mentor future leaders and build a strong leadership pipeline within the team.
  

Delivery Excellence

• Oversee the entire product development and maintenance lifecycle for client projects.
  
• Implement and enforce a robust quality assurance process.
  
• Drive the adoption of efficient engineering practices and methodologies (e.g., Agile, DevOps).
  
• Drive measurable productivity improvement through AI-led tooling and ways of working.
  
• Drive gross margin improvement through efficient delivery, resourcing, and process discipline.
  

Client and Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as a trusted technical voice for clients, providing regular updates and managing expectations.
  
• Understand client business objectives and translate them into a technical roadmap and hands-on solution design.
  
• Proactively identify opportunities to add value, including through AI-driven and autonomous solutions, new technologies, or process improvements.
  
• Treat revenue and account growth as a core part of client engagement, alongside technical delivery.
  

Core Competencies

• Technical depth - able to architect, code, and troubleshoot.
  
• Working knowledge of AI systems and how they apply to modern engineering and delivery.
  
• Solid grounding in distributed systems, product engineering, or advanced data analytics.
  
• Delivery excellence - a disciplined eye for quality, timelines, gross margin, and operational rigor across the project lifecycle.
  
• Commercial and business acumen - understanding of revenue, margin, and growth levers within an engagement.
  
• People leadership - building, motivating, and retaining large engineering teams.
  
• Client-facing communication and stakeholder management.
  
• Comfort with ambiguity and fast-changing priorities in a startup environment.
  
• Strong grasp of Agile/DevOps practices, QA discipline, and cloud infrastructure.
  

• 10–15 years of overall experience, including proven experience as an Engineering Manager / Director in a hands-on, technical capacity.
  
• Demonstrated experience managing a team of 30 or more.
  
• This is a technical leadership role, not a purely managerial one -  candidates must be comfortable staying close to architecture, code, and systems design