Project Lead/Manager

Job Summary

Role Overview We are looking for an experienced and customer-centric VSK Project Lead to lead product planning, technical architecture, development, and delivery of the Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK) solution under the DIKSHA ecosystem. The candidate will be responsible for translating stakeholder requirements and program objectives into product features, defining the product roadmap, overseeing technical design and implementation, and ensuring timely delivery of scalable, secure, and high-performance applications. The ideal candidate should have strong hands-on experience in application architecture, microservices, Java, Node.js, Angular, databases, and DevOps, along with a thorough understanding of the Sunbird open-source ecosystem. The role requires close coordination with government stakeholders, product teams, developers, QA, DevOps, and other implementation partners.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop product ideas and feature proposals based on user needs, stakeholder feedback, and program objectives.
• Conduct market and product analysis to evaluate features and offerings of comparable platforms.
• Assess the technical feasibility, implementation effort, dependencies, risks, and expected benefits of proposed features.
• Maintain a structured product feature backlog and document requirements, priorities, and acceptance criteria.
• Develop and maintain the product roadmap in consultation with stakeholders, considering business priorities, feasibility, effort, and available resources.
• Define product milestones, release plans, and delivery schedules for each phase of the roadmap.
• Track progress against planned targets and proactively address delivery risks and dependencies.
• Lead the architecture, design, and development of scalable, modular, and maintainable applications.
• Design and oversee implementation of microservices-based solutions and API-driven integrations.
• Ensure adherence to coding standards, architectural principles, security requirements, and performance benchmarks.
• Evaluate appropriate open-source technologies and frameworks to address evolving product requirements.
• Review technical designs, conduct architecture reviews, and guide developers in resolving complex technical challenges.
• Ensure solutions are designed for scalability, reliability, maintainability, and integration with the broader DIKSHA ecosystem.
• Provide technical leadership for applications developed using Java, Node.js, JavaScript, Angular, and Express.js.
• Guide application development using MongoDB and MySQL, including data modeling, query optimization, and database performance management.
• Evaluate and use databases such as Neo4j, Cassandra, and Elasticsearch where appropriate for graph data, distributed data storage, search, and analytics requirements.
• Design and oversee REST API development, system integrations, and inter-service communication.
• Review application code, enforce engineering best practices, and resolve complex technical issues.
• Ensure application components meet functional, non-functional, security, and performance requirements.
• Oversee implementation and maintenance of CI/CD pipelines, automated build processes, testing, and deployment workflows.
• Ensure effective use of GitHub for source code management, branching, code reviews, and release versioning.
• Collaborate with DevOps and infrastructure teams to manage application deployment, environment configuration, monitoring, and production readiness.
• Apply strong Linux fundamentals for application troubleshooting, system administration, and operational support.
• Evaluate cloud technologies and deployment options across environments such as Azure and AWS.
• Ensure appropriate logging, monitoring, security controls, backup mechanisms, and release management practices are followed.
• Own end-to-end delivery of product features from requirement analysis through design, development, testing, deployment, and stabilization.
• Prepare project schedules, sprint plans, release plans, and resource estimates.
• Monitor team performance and delivery progress against agreed milestones.
• Identify delivery risks, technical dependencies, and resource constraints, and implement corrective actions.
• Coordinate with development, QA, DevOps, business analysis, and support teams to ensure smooth execution.
• Ensure timely documentation of architecture, APIs, deployment procedures, technical decisions, and operational processes.
• Provide regular progress reports, status updates, and risk escalations to project management and client stakeholders.
• Act as a key technical and delivery interface between the implementation team and client stakeholders.
• Conduct requirement discussions, product demonstrations, technical reviews, and progress meetings.
• Translate business and program requirements into actionable technical plans.
• Communicate project status, delivery risks, dependencies, and mitigation plans clearly and proactively.
• Manage stakeholder expectations and ensure that agreed requirements and acceptance criteria are met.
• Maintain a customer-centric approach while balancing delivery commitments, technical feasibility, and product quality.

Mandatory Technical Skills

• Hands-on experience in software development and application architecture using Java, Node.js, JavaScript, MongoDB, and MySQL.
• Strong experience with microservices-based architecture and REST API design.
• Strong experience in Express.js and Angular; familiarity with AngularJS and legacy Angular versions is desirable where relevant to the existing platform.
• Thorough understanding of the Sunbird open-source software ecosystem.
• Experience with DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, GitHub, and software release management.
• Strong Linux fundamentals and application troubleshooting skills.
• Good understanding of application architecture, system design, scalability, performance optimization, and security.
• End-to-end understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
• Experience in effort estimation, product planning, release scheduling, and delivery tracking.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to interact effectively with customers and multiple stakeholders.

Preferred Skills and Additional Advantages

• At least two years of experience with one or more of Neo4j, Cassandra, or Elasticsearch.
• Exposure to Apache Kafka and Apache Samza for event-driven architectures and stream processing.
• Knowledge of cloud environments such as AWS and Microsoft Azure.
• Experience working with open-source platforms and technology stacks.
• Experience in large-scale, data-intensive, analytics-oriented, or government digital transformation projects.
• Prior experience with education technology, learning platforms, dashboards, or VSK implementations.
• Experience in production support, performance engineering, incident management, and system integration.

Experience and Qualifications

• Overall experience: Preferably 8-12 years in software engineering, technical architecture, product delivery, or technical project leadership.
• Relevant hands-on experience: At least 5 years working with and architecting applications using Java, Node.js, JavaScript, MongoDB, and MySQL.
• Product and delivery experience: Demonstrated experience managing requirements, technical feasibility, estimation, roadmaps, schedules, and stakeholder expectations.
• Leadership experience: Ability to guide development teams, coordinate across functions, and take ownership of end-to-end delivery.
• Education: Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline preferred.

Key Competencies

• Product thinking and customer-centric problem-solving.
• Strong technical decision-making and architectural judgment.
• Planning, prioritization, estimation, and execution.
• Stakeholder communication and relationship management.
• Team leadership, collaboration, and conflict resolution.
• Risk identification, issue resolution, and escalation management.
• Adaptability and willingness to explore emerging open-source technologies.
• Ownership, accountability, and commitment to delivery quality.

Expected Outcomes

• Maintain a prioritized product backlog and a stakeholder-aligned VSK product roadmap.
• Deliver product features within agreed timelines and quality expectations.
• Ensure architectural consistency, code quality, scalability, and maintainability.
• Prom ote reuse of Sunbird capabilities and appropriate adoption of open-source technologies.
• Improve coordination between product, engineering, QA, DevOps, and client teams.
• Establish predictable release planning, progress tracking, risk management, and production readiness.
• Maintain transparent communication with stakeholders and proactively address delivery challenges.

Ideal Candidate Profile

A hands-on technical leader who can combine product thinking, Sunbird ecosystem knowledge, application architecture, engineering leadership, and customer-facing delivery management to successfully lead the VSK initiative under DIKSHA.

Recommendation

Since this role needs to manage VSK under DIKSHA, prioritize candidates who combine Sunbird knowledge, hands-on architecture experience, and client-facing delivery ownership. A purely project-management-oriented candidate without technical depth may struggle with the role, while a purely technical architect may need stronger product planning and stakeholder-management capabilities.

Disclaimer: This job posting has been aggregated from external source. Role details, content, and availability are subject to change. Applicants are advised to confirm the latest information directly on the company website before applying.