Head of Engineering

Head of Engineering – Trading & Real-Time Systems Role Overview We are looking for a hands-on, high-impact Engineering Leader to own and drive our entire engineering function. This role demands a rare combination of deep technical expertise, architectural vision, and execution excellence. You will be responsible for building secure, scalable, low-latency, real-time systems in a stock broking / trading domain, while leading teams and solving mission-critical production challenges. This is not a managerial role—we need a builder, debugger, and decision-maker. What You Will Do 1. Engineering Leadership & Ownership

• Own end-to-end engineering delivery across backend and frontend systems.
• Lead, mentor, and scale multiple engineering teams.
• Establish strong engineering culture, processes, and accountability.
• Drive high standards in:
• Code quality
• System design
• Architecture governance 2. Architecture & System Design
• Design highly scalable, fault-tolerant microservices architectures.
• Ensure systems are:
• Highly available
• Low latency (real-time capable)
• Extensible and future-ready
• Standardize architecture across legacy and modern systems.
• Drive architectural decisions across the organization. 3. Security-First Engineering
• Enforce secure-by-design principles.
• Implement:
• Authentication & authorization frameworks
• Data protection & encryption strategies
• Ensure compliance with:
• OWASP standards
• API security best practices 4. Crisis Management & RCA
• Take ownership during production outages and incidents.
• Perform fast and accurate Root Cause Analysis (RCA).
• Drive:
• Immediate resolution
• Long-term architectural fixes
• Build resilient systems to minimize downtime impact. 5. AI-First Engineering Culture
• Drive adoption of AI across engineering workflows:
• Faster development
• Intelligent debugging
• Automation
• Enable teams to leverage tools like:
• AI copilots
• Code assistants
• Improve productivity and engineering velocity. 6. Distributed & Event-Driven Systems
• Architect systems using:
• Kafka / Event Streaming
• Asynchronous communication patterns
• Ensure:
• Data consistency
• Fault tolerance
• Real-time processing reliability 7. DevOps & Reliability
• Oversee:
• CI/CD pipelines
• Containerization (Docker)
• Observability (logs, metrics, tracing)
• Ensure:
• High uptime
• System resilience
• Performance optimization Core Technical Expertise Backend & Architecture
• Strong hands-on expertise in Core Java + Spring Boot (preferred) or equivalent.
• Deep expertise in:
• Microservices Architecture
• Distributed Systems Design
• Performance Optimization
• Solution Architecture Databases
• Strong experience with:
• PostgreSQL / MySQL
• MongoDB / NoSQL
• Expertise in:
• Data Modeling
• Query Optimization
• High-volume Data Handling Messaging & Streaming Must-Have
• Kafka Strong Understanding Of
• Event-Driven Architecture
• Real-Time Data Pipelines Security Strong knowledge of:
• JWT, OAuth2
• API Security
• Encryption Practices Experience building secure systems at scale. DevOps Hands-on with:
• Docker
• CI/CD Pipelines
• Monitoring Tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK) AI Enablement Practical experience with AI coding tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot) and proven ability to drive AI adoption across engineering teams. Leadership Expectations (Critical)
• Extreme ownership mindset
• Security-first thinking in every decision
• AI-first approach to productivity
• Strong decision-making under pressure
• Hands-on leader who writes code and performs deep reviews
• Fast problem solver and crisis handler
• High discipline, punctuality, and accountability
• Strong product and business understanding
• Proven ability to mentor and grow engineering teams Ideal Candidate Profile
• 8+ years of experience in software engineering and technology leadership.
• Experience leading backend and frontend teams for high-scale, real-time, low-latency platforms.
• Background in trading, stock broking, or fintech ecosystems is highly preferred.
• Proven track record of managing production-critical environments and handling outages effectively.
• Ability to balance Speed, Stability, and Security.
• Strong cross-functional leadership across diverse technology stacks. Success Metrics
• System uptime and reliability
• Incident response and RCA efficiency
• Scalability and architecture quality
• Engineering productivity and code quality
• AI adoption across teams
• Reduction in production issues Bonus Qualifications
• Experience with Kubernetes
• Exposure to distributed tracing systems
• Background in low-latency trading platforms
• Knowledge of building High-Frequency Trading (HFT) systems Experience

8+ Years Location

Mumbai