Director of Software Engineering

Come join our Engineering team

Our Software Engineering team is dedicated to building the world’s most predictive, inclusive, and fair interviewing products for our clients and technical candidates alike.

What you will do

As a Director of Software Engineering based in India, you will be a hands-on engineering leader responsible for driving execution excellence within our global engineering organization. Reporting to the Senior Director of Software Engineering in the U.S., you'll lead a team of India-based Software Engineers while serving as a key contributor to our mission of transforming technical talent assessment. This role combines strategic thinking with tactical execution, requiring both technical depth and people leadership skills to deliver high-quality solutions that advance Karat's vision for the future of interviewing.

This position will be required to work a schedule overlapping with U.S. counterparts.

• Team Leadership & Execution: Build, lead, mentor, and develop a team of Software Engineers in India, providing hands-on technical guidance and people management to ensure consistent delivery of high-quality features and solutions aligned with company objectives.
• Hands-On Technical Contribution: Actively participate in software development activities, including code reviews, architectural discussions, and technical problem-solving while maintaining a leadership perspective that drives team productivity and quality standards.
• Delivery Excellence: Own end-to-end execution of assigned engineering initiatives, ensuring your direct team consistently meets deadlines and quality standards while maintaining alignment with global engineering practices and customer needs.
• Cross-Regional Collaboration: Partner effectively with engineering teams across the U.S., LATAM, and Sweden, serving as the primary liaison for India-based engineering activities and fostering seamless collaboration across time zones in our fully remote environment.
• Agile Development Leadership: Drive agile development practices within your team, facilitating sprint planning, demos, and retrospectives while ensuring rapid iteration and continuous improvement in an environment that values both speed and quality.
• Technical Innovation Implementation: Collaborate with global leadership to implement cutting-edge technologies, particularly AI innovations, translating strategic technical vision into practical solutions delivered by your team.
• Team Development & Culture: Foster an inclusive, high-performing team culture that embodies Karat's company principles, supporting the professional growth of your direct reports.
• Process Optimization: Continuously improve local engineering processes, development workflows, and team practices to enable high-velocity feature delivery while maintaining technical excellence and alignment with global standards.

The experience you will bring

• Extensive software engineering experience, with 5+ years building and managing engineering teams
• Strong technical background with current hands-on coding abilities, experience with modern development practices, and proven ability to make sound architectural decisions while maintaining active involvement in implementation
• Proven track record of building and leading engineering teams to deliver complex software projects on time and with high quality, including experience managing competing priorities and tight deadlines
• Experience working effectively with globally distributed teams, particularly with U.S.-based leadership, demonstrating strong communication skills and cultural adaptability
• Deep understanding of agile development methodologies with hands-on experience facilitating agile ceremonies and driving continuous improvement within engineering teams
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop software engineers, including providing technical guidance, career coaching, and performance management that drives individual and team growth
• Strong commitment to engineering excellence, including experience with code quality practices, testing methodologies, and maintaining high standards while delivering at pace
• Demonstrated interest in AI/LLM technologies through hands-on experimentation, personal projects, or technical exploration

This position is only available to candidates residing in Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore). While our team operates 100% remotely, we are currently limiting hiring to this specific location. Applications from other cities in India will not be considered at this time.

This position is open to candidates authorized to work in India only. No visa sponsorship provided.

Benefits of joining Karat in India

All India-based offers include a competitive salary in local currency and Karat-granted stock options. India employees of record (EOR) will receive all required, country-specific benefits.

Additional Karat-Sponsored Perks: 

• Private healthcare available (100% premium coverage for employees and eligible dependents)

Time Off:

Generous India time off policies

• Vacation: 18 days of vacation per year (accrued at 1.5 days per month)
• Sick Leave:  Three (3) work weeks per calendar year
• Karat ‘No Questions Asked’ Leave: one (1) work week per calendar year

India Holidays

• Public Holidays: 7 days
• Floating Holidays: 4 days
• Karat Summer Break: 5 days - July
• Karat Winter Break: 5 days - December