Director of Engineering

Location: Hyderabad IndiaDepartment: Engineering & Product DevelopmentCompensation: 40-50 LPA (Fixed)

About SmartDocs

SmartDocs is a 16-year-old profitable bootstrapped enterprise SaaS company providing procurement and spend management solutions to large enterprises globally. We compete head-to-head with SAP Ariba and Coupa serving 26 enterprise customersprimarily major US infrastructure organizations whose operations depend on our platform processing millions of dollars in procurement transactions daily.

Our platform processes millions of dollars in procurement transactions for Fortune 500 companies. Were in the midst of an ambitious R&D; transformation evolving from our successful bootstrapped roots to implement Silicon Valley-grade engineering operations processes and excellence.

This is not a corporate job. This is a builders role.

People who were associated with US tolling system spend management platform or Vendor Management system is highly preferable

Who Were Looking For

The Ideal Background

Were specifically seeking technical leaders with entrepreneurial battle scarsthose whove been founding engineers technical co-founders or early engineering leaders who built something from scratch. You understand what it takes to ship quality software when every decision matters. Youve made tough technical calls with real consequences. You know the difference between perfectionism and pragmatism because youve lived both.

You might be:

A technical co-founder or founding engineer who took a startup from idea to production

An early engineering leader (first 5-10 hires) who architected and scaled a product

A tech-savvy entrepreneur who built and shipped a technical product to real customers

A CTO or Engineering Director from a bootstrapped capital-efficient company

Someone who worked shoulder-to-shoulder with founders/CEOs on mission-critical applications where system reliability directly impacted business survival

What matters most: Youve built something significant with your own hands made critical technical decisions with constrained resources and understand the weight of engineering choices when real customers and revenue depend on your platform.

We value entrepreneurial experiencewhether your venture achieved unicorn status profitability got acquired or taught you invaluable lessons through a pivot or wind-down. What we care about is that you were in the arena making things happen.

The Technical Must-Haves

This isnt about checking boxeswe need someone who can actually architect build and fix things when necessary:

Core Technical Requirements

7-15 years of hands-on software engineering experience

Someone who have experience with products or projects in US tolling system Vendor management system or spend Management.

Expert-level proficiency in:

Java and Spring Boot (not just familiarityyouve architected and built production systems)

MongoDB (you understand document design indexing performance optimization)

React or Angular (you can jump into frontend code when needed)

Exposure to Azure (VMs cloud services deployments)

Experience with mission-critical applications where system failures have serious business consequences

3-5 years leading engineering teamsyouve managed managers and scaled teams

The Founder/Builder Technical DNA

Youve written production code recentlynot just reviewed it from a distance

You understand technical debt as business trade-offs not engineering failures

Youve made build-vs-buy decisions with real budget constraints

You know how to extract maximum value from lean teams

Youve shipped features with imperfect information and learned fast

Youve worked directly with business stakeholders (founders CEOs customers) translating technical complexity into business outcomes

The Role: What Youll Actually Do

Engineering Leadership (Not Just Management)

Lead 4 engineering managers and 15 engineers building our Java/Spring Boot/MongoDB/Angular platform

Own end-to-end execution: from sprint planning to production deployment to customer success

Make real-time technical decisionsarchitecture reviews production incident response technical feasibility assessments

Balance feature delivery against technical debt with P&L; consciousness (like an owner not just an employee)

Roll up your sleeves when critical issues need senior technical intervention

Building World-Class Operations (Without Corporate Bureaucracy)

Implement engineering processes that actually improve velocity (not ones that look good on slides)

Establish meaningful metricscode quality deployment frequency incident response times team velocity

Build CI/CD pipelines automated testing and deployment automation from scratch or improve existing ones

Create engineering standards that balance enterprise requirements with startup agility

Scale processes from 15 to 50 engineers without losing execution speed or creating red tape

Strategic Partnership with Leadership





Report directly to our CTOpartner on technical strategy and architecture decisions

Work closely with CEO on company trajectory R&D; transformation and growth initiatives

Translate technical constraints and opportunities into business language for stakeholders

Collaborate with Product Management on roadmap prioritization and technical feasibility

Coordinate with US-based customers on implementations integrations and technical requirements

Technical Transformation Initiatives

Consolidate customer-specific code branches into unified maintainable codebase

Reduce technical debt systematically without stalling feature delivery

Modernize legacy components while maintaining 99.9% uptime for enterprise customers

Build scalable architecture that supports future growth without over-engineering

Drive adoption of modern development practices that fit our business reality

What Success Looks Like

In 90 Days:

Built credibility with the team through technical competence and decisive action

Identified top 3-5 process improvements and started implementation

Resolved at least one critical technical issue that was blocking progress

Established clear communication rhythms with engineering managers CTO and CEO

In 6 Months:

Engineering velocity measurably improved with new processes yielding results

Technical debt reduction roadmap defined and actively in execution

Team morale demonstrably highengineers respect your technical judgment and leadership

Quick wins delivered that prove your impact to the business

In 12 Months:

Engineering organization operates with startup efficiency and enterprise reliability

Processes scale to support 30-50 engineers without adding bureaucracy

Technical foundation is solid for next phase of company growth

Youre the technical leader the CEO and CTO depend on for critical decisions

Youre thinking like a business owner not just an engineering leader

What Makes Someone Right for This

Must-Have Qualities

Execution obsession You ship. You dont just plan discuss and strategize endlessly.

Technical credibility Engineers respect you because you can do the work not just manage it.

Owner mentality You think about ROI customer impact and business outcomes.

Comfort with ambiguity Youve operated without perfect processes or unlimited resources.

Direct communication You tell it straight especially when delivering hard truths to leadership.

Customer empathy Youve felt the pain of production incidents affecting real users and business operations.

Pragmatic perfectionism You know when good enough now beats perfect later.

Strategic thinking You connect engineering decisions to business outcomes naturally.

Deal-Breakers

Pure process people whove never written production code or made technical decisions under pressure

Leaders who need perfect information before making decisions

Those seeking predictable 9-to-5 corporate roles with clearly defined swim lanes

Anyone uncomfortable with hands-on technical work when business needs demand it

Leaders who create process for processs sake rather than business value

People who see engineering as separate from business success

Why This Opportunity is Different

Its Real

Profitable company 16 years real revenue real customers (not burning through funding rounds)

Enterprise customers Major US infrastructure organizations depend on our platform for daily operations

Mission-critical systems When we go down procurement operations for major infrastructure companies stop

Technical challenges Scaling modernization integration complexitysubstantive engineering problems

Proven product-market fit Were not searching for PMF; were scaling what works

Its Rare

Bootstrapped DNA We think like owners not corporate employees spending someone elses money

Transformation opportunity Build Silicon Valley-grade engineering in a profitable established company

Direct impact Your decisions directly affect company trajectory and customer success

Leadership access Work directly with CEO and CTO no layers of middle management or politics

Entrepreneurial environment In a company with stability revenue and runway

Its Yours to Build

Autonomy Implement processes your way (as long as they deliver results)

Growth path Scale team from 15 to 50 engineers as you prove the model works

Culture creation Define the engineering culture and standards that will shape the companys future

Long-term impact This is a career-defining role not a stepping stone or a layover

Ownership mindset Treated like a business partner not just a hired hand

What We Offer





Compensation & Structure

40-50 LPA (Fixed) based on experience background and entrepreneurial track record

Performance-based bonus tied to engineering KPIs team performance and company success

Professional Growth

Direct partnership with CEO and CTO on strategic initiatives and company direction

Budget for conferences certifications and continuous learning

Opportunity to build and lead team from 15 to 50 engineers

Work on enterprise-scale technical challenges serving major enterprises

Shape the technical future of a company with real momentum

Work Environment

On-site in Hyderabad with our core R&D; team

Sustainable pacewe value intensity and focus during work hours not burnout culture

Collaborative environment with low politics high ownership and straight talk

No VC pressure unrealistic growth targets or quarterly fire drills

Work with people whove chosen to be here not waiting for their next opportunity

Stability Meets Opportunity

Profitable company with 16-year track record

Established customer base generating predictable revenue

Growth trajectory thats ambitious but sustainable

Resources to invest in the right talent and technology

Our Tech Stack

Current State:

Backend: Java Spring Boot

Frontend: Angular

Database: MongoDB (Atlas)

Infrastructure: Microsoft Azure (VMs)

Integration: REST APIs enterprise connectors

Serving: Enterprise companies across US time zones

Where Were Going (with your leadership):

Unified codebase consolidation across customer implementations

Modern CI/CD and deployment automation

API-first architecture for seamless integrations

Enhanced observability monitoring and incident response

Multi-tenant platform evolution (longer-term strategic initiative)

Whatever improvements you identify that drive business value

How to Apply

Send your application to:

Subject line: Director of Engineering - Hyderabad

What to Include:

1. Resume/CV highlighting:

Your startup/founding team/entrepreneurial experience

Technical hands-on work (not just management oversight)

Experience with mission-critical applications serving enterprise customers

Direct work with founders/CEOs/stakeholders on business-critical decisions

Track record of building and scaling engineering teams

2. Cover Letter addressing these specific questions:

a) Your entrepreneurial journey:

Tell us about a company/product you built or helped build from early stages. What was your role What were the outcomes What did you learn about building software that matters to customers and the business

b) A critical technical decision:

Describe a significant technical decision you made with incomplete information and substantial business consequences. What was at stake How did you decide What was the outcome

c) Process implementation under constraints:

Share an example of implementing engineering processes in a resource-constrained environment (startup small team limited budget). What worked What didnt How did you measure success

d) Why SmartDocs why now

Given your background and what youre looking for in your next role why does this opportunity appeal to you What specifically excites you about leading engineering in a profitable bootstrapped SaaS company

3. Optional but impressive:

Link to GitHub/GitLab with code youre proud of

Technical blog posts talks or content youve created

Reference from a founder/CEO/business leader youve worked closely with

Brief description of a technical problem youre particularly proud of solving

Final Note

This role requires a specific mindset.

If youre looking for a well-oiled machine with perfect processes already in place this isnt it. If you need clearly defined swim lanes and predictable days this isnt it. If you want to manage from above without rolling up your sleeves this isnt it.

But if youre a technical builder who misses the intensity and impact of startup life while wanting the stability of a profitable company...

If youre experienced enough to implement scalable processes but pragmatic enough to avoid corporate bloat...

If youve learned valuable lessons from entrepreneurial experiences (successful or otherwise) and want to apply them to a company with real traction real customers and real revenue...

If you think like a business owner and want to be treated like one...

Then lets talk.

Were not just hiring an engineering leader. Were looking for a technical partner who thinks about engineering outcomes in terms of business impact customer success and company growth.

If thats you we want to hear your story.

SmartDocs is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all employees. We especially welcome applications from those whove taken entrepreneurial risks built things from scratch learned from both successes and setbacks and are ready to channel that experience into building something exceptional with staying power.

Required Experience:

Director

📌 Director of Engineering (Hyderabad)
🏢 SmartDocs
📍 Hyderabad