Otavo.ai is the hiring agency and is hiring on behalf of their client

Title: Head of Engineering

Location: Chennai (initial 3 months) and then Bangalore

Reports to: Founder

Compensation: ₹80L–₹1Cr fixed ESOPs (introduced after 12 months)

Experience Required: 10 years

Team Size: Currently 7–8 engineers, with plans to scale the team

About the Hiring Company - Name will be revealed to shortlisted candidates only after evaluating fit A Chennai-based electric auto ride-hailing company completing 60,000 trips per month and expanding into new cities. Built on a modern TypeScript microservices platform, the company is entering its next phase of growth and is looking for a strong, hands-on engineering leader to take complete ownership of technology, scale the engineering organization, and build infrastructure for rapid expansion.

The Role

> We are looking for a builder-first engineering leader who can own the company's entire technology function, drive product delivery, and scale the engineering team.

> You will initially lead a team of 7–8 engineers, hiring and developing the organization to 10–15 engineers as the business expands. You will work directly with the Founder and have significant autonomy over technology, architecture, hiring, and engineering execution.

Key Responsibilities:

> Take end-to-end ownership of the company's technology, engineering strategy, architecture, and execution.

> Lead, mentor, and expand the existing engineering team, building a strong engineering culture.

- Ship consumer-facing products rapidly, including recurring commutes, school rides, and metro first/last-mile integrations.

> Scale the platform for multi-city operations, high-volume dispatch, real-time tracking, and payments.

> Build reliable ride-matching and location-based systems supporting the company's promise of 5-minute pickups and zero cancellations.





> Remain technically hands-on through architecture decisions, code reviews, and solving critical engineering challenges.

> Own technical hiring, engineering processes, and long-term platform scalability.

What We're Looking For

> 10 years of software engineering experience, including 3 years of engineering leadership.

> Experience leading teams of 10 engineers, with proven hiring and team-building capabilities.

> Strong preference for engineering leaders from B2C product companies, particularly ride-hailing, mobility, logistics, delivery, and consumer marketplaces.

Relevant company backgrounds include Ola, Uber, Rapido, Grab, DoorDash, Swiggy, or similar high-scale consumer technology platforms.

> Proven experience shipping products quickly in high-growth startups, ideally from Seed/Series A through subsequent scaling stages.

> Deep expertise in Node.js and TypeScript (5 years), microservices, and distributed systems.

> Robust knowledge of PostgreSQL, Redis, Kafka/RabbitMQ/SQS, and real-time architectures.

> Ability to remain hands-on while leading engineering teams.

> Strong product mindset, ownership mentality, and ability to work closely with the Founder.

Important: Candidates from B2C product engineering backgrounds are strongly preferred

Must Haves:

- Experience with ride-hailing, mobility, fleet management, or on-demand delivery platforms.
- Built dispatch engines, location-based systems, ride-matching, or real-time tracking infrastructure.
- Exposure to electric vehicles, telematics,



driver payouts, or payment integrations.
- Experience scaling a product from tens of thousands to 1M monthly transactions.
- Experience taking a technology platform into multiple cities.
- Early-stage startup experience with demonstrated ownership of technical scaling.
- Education: IIT engineering background preferred. An MBA is not required.

Tech Stack:

Core: Node.js, TypeScript, Express.js, PostgreSQL, Redis, Kafka, Docker

Tools: Prisma ORM, Socket.io, Zod, Sentry, OpenTelemetry, PNPM Monorepo

Services: Customer, Driver, Admin, Ride Service, Ride Matching, Location, Notifications, and Real-time Systems

Why This Opportunity?

This is an opportunity to own technology at a rapidly growing consumer mobility company, work directly with the Founder, build an engineering team, and scale a real-world, high-frequency transaction platform across multiple cities. We are looking for someone who has built and scaled products, not just managed engineering teams.

About the Hiring Agency

Otavo.ai is a global AI-driven platform focused on senior recruitment for roles ranging from 40L to 2 Cr in compensation. Founded by serial entrepreneur Mahak Garg, a Stanford MBA and Forbes Under 30 honoree, the company builds on her prior experience scaling Udayy with leading global investors. Otavo.ai currently partners with 30 fast-growing companies worldwide to address their senior talent hiring needs.

The platform maintains a curated network of 10,000 high-performing candidates with 5–20 years of experience, including alumni from top global schools and leaders across marketing, product, and strategy in major firms and startups. For each open role, Otavo.ai provides a small set of pre-vetted, well-matched candidates rather than long lists of low-fit profiles, enhancing hiring efficiency and quality.

📌 Head of Engineering (Bengaluru)
🏢 Otavo.ai
📍 Bengaluru