How to Apply for the jobApplications should be submitted to: https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/APzuHz. Please note that applications not submitted through this form, could get missed from screening.

Full Stack Lead Engineer

Department Technology

Reports To Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Location Pune (Onsite, Full-Time)

Team Individual Contributor with responsibility to lead engineering team

Effective Date FY 2026–27

About AuthenticaAuthentica is a Pune-headquartered experiential learning and global education company specialising in study abroad programmes, global internships, executive education, and professional development. We serve 70+ university partners across the US, Canada, and Australia, operating programmes in 30+ countries. Our clients include Stanford, Dartmouth, NYU, and other leading institutions.

We manage flagship government-sponsored executive education programs including the UAE‑India Leaders Program, delivered in partnership with the National Projects Office (NPO) under the UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs and the Zayed Education Foundation.

We are on an ambitious growth trajectory targeting Rs. 60 CR revenue in FY 2026–27 and an IPO by 2030. This role is critical to achieving that vision.

Role SummaryThe Lead Developer is accountable for architecting and building Authentica’s internal technology platform — a hands-on engineering leadership role that sits at the intersection of product thinking, system design, and full stack execution. You will write production code every day while setting technical direction, making architectural decisions, and building the engineering function around you as the team scales.

Reporting to the CTO, you will own the full technology stack — MEAN stack at its core — and be the primary driver of engineering quality, system reliability, and product velocity. You will work closely with the Operations, Programme Design, and Marketing teams to deeply understand Authentica’s workflows and translate them into scalable, well-architected software solutions.

Your north-star metric is shipping reliable, high-quality software that enables Authentica’s operations to scale without friction. You will build the engineering roadmap, establish coding standards and review practices, and build the infrastructure that grows with the business.

This is a rare opportunity for an engineer who wants genuine ownership — the autonomy to make real architectural choices, the visibility of working directly with leadership, and the satisfaction of building technology that powers transformative global education experiences across 30+ countries.

Key Responsibilities1. Architecture & Technical LeadershipOwn the technical foundation and set the engineering standard for everything built at Authentica.

- Design and own the overall system architecture across frontend, backend, and data layers
- Make key technology decisions: frameworks, patterns, infrastructure, tooling, and third-party integrations
- Define and enforce coding standards, review practices, and documentation norms across the codebase
- Evaluate build vs. buy decisions and lead technical scoping for new product initiatives
- Identify and proactively address technical debt before it becomes a delivery risk
- Hands-On EngineeringLead by doing — you are a builder first, a leader second.
- Write, review,



and ship production-grade code across the MEAN stack daily
- Build and maintain scalable RESTful APIs, responsive interfaces, and optimised database architectures
- Implement authentication, authorisation, security standards, and performance optimisation across the platform
- Own deployments, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud infrastructure (AWS or equivalent)
- Debug complex issues across the full stack and drive root cause resolution
- Product & Roadmap OwnershipTranslate business needs into a coherent, prioritised engineering roadmap.
- Work closely with the CTO and cross-functional teams to understand operational workflows and product requirements
- Convert business requirements into well-scoped technical specifications and delivery plans
- Maintain a live engineering roadmap with clear milestones, dependencies, and delivery timelines
- Balance feature velocity with system stability — know when to move quick and when to build right
- Contribute product thinking to feature decisions, not just technical execution
- Team Building & MentorshipLay the foundation for Authentica’s engineering team.
- Define the hiring profile and contribute to recruiting the next layer of engineering talent
- Onboard, mentor, and develop junior engineers as the team scales
- Conduct code reviews that raise the quality bar and build engineering capability across the team
- Foster a culture of ownership, craftsmanship, and continuous improvement
- Systems & DevOpsOwn the reliability and scalability of everything in production.
- Manage cloud infrastructure, hosting, and deployment pipelines
- Implement monitoring, alerting, and observability frameworks to maintain system health
- Ensure data security, backup protocols, and compliance standards are in place
- Optimise system performance and plan for scale ahead of growth milestones

Required QualificationsEducation• Must Have:

◦ Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related engineering field

- Good to Have:

◦ Master’s degree or postgraduate qualification in Computer Science or Software Engineering

◦ Relevant certifications in cloud architecture (AWS Solutions Architect or equivalent)

ExperienceProven hands-on engineering leadership with a track record of building and shipping scalable products.

- 6–9 years of progressive software engineering experience, with at least 2–3 years in a technical lead or senior engineering role
- Demonstrated experience architecting and delivering production-grade, full stack applications end-to-end
- Proven track record of making and owning key architectural decisions on live products
- Experience working in early-stage or scaling technology environments where you have built things from scratch
- Experience hiring, mentoring, or leading a small engineering team

Technical SkillsDeep proficiency across the MEAN stack with strong system design and DevOps fundamentals.

- Expert-level proficiency in JavaScript and TypeScript




- Deep experience with Angular (v10+) and component-based frontend architecture
- Strong backend engineering with Node.js and NestJS or Express.js
- Advanced MongoDB schema design, indexing, and query optimisation
- Strong RESTful API design principles; experience with GraphQL a plus
- Hands-on experience with AWS (EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, or equivalent)
- Proficiency with CI/CD pipelines, Docker, and containerisation
- Strong understanding of system design, distributed systems, and scalability patterns
- Experience with monitoring and observability tools (Datadog, CloudWatch, or equivalent)

Preferred QualificationsAdvanced EngineeringCapabilities that will accelerate impact and product quality.

- Experience with microservices architecture and event-driven systems
- Experience with AI/ML integration or LLM-powered features in production applications

Domain & ProductContext that will sharpen product judgment.

- Experience building SaaS products or internal platforms for operations-heavy businesses
- Exposure to edtech, travel, or marketplace platforms is a plus
- Experience working directly with non-technical leadership to translate business needs into product

Skills and CompetenciesEngineering ExcellenceA craftsman who holds a high bar for quality, reliability, and maintainability.

- Deep system design intuition — ability to think in components, dependencies, and failure modes
- Disciplined approach to code quality, documentation, and test coverage
- Comfort making pragmatic trade-offs between speed and correctness under real delivery pressure

Leadership & CommunicationA technical leader who can influence without authority and communicate with clarity.

- Ability to translate complex technical decisions into plain language for non-technical stakeholders
- Confident in pushing back on scope, timelines, or requirements when technically unsound
- Collaborative working style that brings the best out of the people around them

Ownership & Growth MindsetSelf-directed, proactive, and always raising the standard.

- Operates with full ownership — treats the codebase and product as their own
- Proactively identifies gaps in systems, processes, and team capability and acts on them
- Stays current with emerging technologies and brings a forward-looking perspective to Authentica’s engineering

Work ExpectationsSchedule Full-time (40–45 hrs/week). Flexibility required during key product launches and delivery milestones.

Location Pune (Onsite, Full-Time)

Travel Minimal. Occasional travel for team offsites or key partner events.

Collaboration Internal: CTO, Operations, Programme Design, Marketing. External: Technology vendors and integration partners.

Probation Period 3 months

Compensation & Benefits• ₹18,00,000 – ₹21,00,000 per annum (Fixed + Performance Bonus)

- Professional development budget for courses, certifications, and conferences
- High visibility, high impact role
- Opportunity to build and lead an engineering function from the ground up
- ESOP eligibility after 24 months of service

How to Apply

Applications should be submitted to: https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/APzuHz
- CV highlighting relevant engineering experience and products built
- Cover letter (maximum 2 pages) highlighting A system or product you have architected end-end and the key decisions made

📌 Full Stack Lead Engineer (Pune)
🏢 Authentica
📍 Pune