JOB DESCRIPTION:

Level : Software Engineering - Quality & Innovation

Reports To : Senior Director - Chief Technology Officer - Function

Base Location : Noida

We are a global leader in primary source verification and background screening. We are the trusted partner of governments, regulators, licensing authorities and employers worldwide, protecting communities by ensuring that the professionals they license and hire are exactly who they claim to be.

Purpose of the Role :

The Senior Director - Software Engineering, Quality & Innovation leads the engineering organisation based in Noida and is accountable for the end-to-end delivery, quality and reliability of the DataFlow technology estate. This is a senior leadership appointment reporting directly to the CTO, with broad autonomy, significant scope, and a clear pathway for progression for the right individual.

The role combines three responsibilities: consistently shipping software that meets committed timelines; embedding a quality engineering culture where defects are prevented rather than found; and chartering a focused innovation agenda that keeps us ahead of a fast-moving verification market.

Key Responsibilities :

Engineering delivery :

- Own the delivery performance of the engineering organisation - predictable releases, credible estimates, and commitments that are met.

- Lead multiple engineering teams across platform, product and integration domains through their line managers, typically 80 - 150 engineers.

- Set and enforce engineering standards: architecture governance, code review, CI/CD, observability, security-by-design and technical documentation.

- Partner with Product, Operations and Commercial leadership to translate business priorities into a sequenced, resourced engineering plan.

- Manage the engineering budget, vendor and partner relationships, and workforce planning within agreed financial parameters.

Quality engineering :

- Own the quality strategy across the estate - test automation, environment and test data management, performance and resilience testing, and release assurance.

- Drive measurable improvement in defect escape rate, production incident volume, mean time to recovery and change failure rate.

- Embed quality accountability within delivery teams rather than at a downstream gate, while maintaining independent assurance where regulation or client contracts require it.

- Ensure engineering practice satisfies our obligations under ISO 27001, GDPR and the data protection regimes of the jurisdictions we operate in.

Innovation :

- Run a small, deliberately scoped innovation function that evaluates emerging technology - particularly applied AI, intelligent document processing and automation - against real verification problems.

- Take a disciplined approach to experimentation: clear hypotheses, time-boxed proofs of concept, honest kill decisions, and a defined route from prototype into production.

- Advise the CTO and Executive Committee on technology direction, build-versus-buy decisions and modernisation of legacy components.

Leadership :

- Build, develop and retain a high-calibre leadership bench; grow engineering managers and principal engineers into their next role.

- Represent Technology credibly with executive stakeholders, regulators, auditors and enterprise clients.

- Deputise for the CTO on operational and governance matters as required.

Experience & Qualifications :

Essential :

- 18+ years in software engineering, with at least 5 years leading engineering organisations of 50+ people through subordinate managers.

- Demonstrable track record of turning delivery predictability and software quality around, evidenced by metrics rather than assertion.

- Deep hands-on grounding in modern engineering practice - cloud-native architecture, microservices, API design, DevSecOps and test automation - sufficient to hold architects and principal engineers to account.

- Experience operating in a regulated, data-sensitive or compliance-driven environment.

- Proven ability to run an engineering budget and manage third-party delivery partners.

- A knack for turning information into knowledge to report on success and to drive change.

- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or equivalent practical experience.

- Excellent written and spoken English, with the presence to hold an executive room.

Desirable :

- Experience in background screening, digital identity, FinTech, GovTech or HRTech.

- Exposure to applied AI or machine learning in a production setting, especially with regards to Quality Assurance and automated delivery.

- Experience working across a multi-site, multi-time-zone organisation, ideally with a Middle East or global client base.

- Master's degree or MBA.

Competencies :

In this role we would be looking for the following traits to shine through in order to seal your successful career development:

- Ownership - treats delivery commitments as personal commitments.

- Judgement - makes sound calls with incomplete information and explains the reasoning.

- Candour - surfaces bad news early and accurately.

- Talent builder - measured by the strength of the leaders they develop.

- Commercial literacy - connects engineering choices to client outcomes and cost.

- Care - leads with empathy and holds a high bar at the same time.

Success in the First 12 Months :

- A clear, evidenced baseline of delivery and quality performance, and a published improvement plan against it.

- Measurable reduction in defect escape rate and production incidents.

- Release predictability materially improved against committed dates.

- A strengthened leadership team with succession identified for every critical engineering role.

- At least two innovation initiatives progressed from concept to a production decision.

What We Offer :

- A senior leadership seat with genuine scope, executive visibility and a clear route for further progression.

- Competitive base salary and performance-related bonus, benchmarked to the upper quartile of the Delhi NCR market, plus comprehensive benefits.

- The opportunity to lead engineering for a global business whose work protects the public in more than 200 countries and territories.

- Working from our Noida office with occasional work-from-home arrangements.

- Occasional international travel.