About this role

Role Overview We are looking for a Director of Application Engineering to guide a Shared Services engineering team located in Mumbai. This group plays a vital role in the Aladdin platform. They focus mainly on List / CIDS services and manage several Shared Services used worldwide by Aladdin product teams and clients.

This role requires a senior, hands-on engineering leader who combines deep technical credibility, strong people leadership, and delivery ownership. The Director will lead a high-potential yet relatively junior group. Their clear mission is to improve engineering maturity, enhance execution rigor, and safely expand impact across the platform.

This leadership role requires the Director to maintain technical engagement. Around 40–50% of their time will focus on architecture, evaluating system builds, performing essential coding, and addressing complex issues. They will also support the team’s growth in autonomy and quality.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering Leadership & Technical Strategy

• Deliver technical and architectural direction for shared services and data‑services that underpin the Aladdin ecosystem.

• Set and uphold high standards for software quality, reliability, scalability, and operational excellence.

• Lead build decisions for complex, distributed services and guide teams through trade‑offs related to performance, resilience, and maintainability.

• Remain hands‑on in critical areas, including building, code reviews, and selective implementation of high‑impact components.

People Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, manage, and mentor a growing engineering organization, with particular focus on developing junior engineers into strong, independent contributors.

• Build a culture of ownership, accountability, continuous learning, and psychological safety.

• Mentor senior engineers and emerging leads, crafting a strong internal leadership bench.

• Partner with recruiting and HR to attract, develop, and retain top engineering talent.

Delivery & Execution Excellence

• Own end‑to‑end delivery outcomes for the Shared Services portfolio, ensuring predictable execution and high service reliability.

• Drive SDLC rigor, including planning, estimation, prioritization, release management, and post‑production support.

• Identify and mitigate delivery, operational, and technical risks proactively.

Collaborator & Client Engagement

• Act as a senior technology partner to Product Managers, Aladdin collaborators, and clients.

• Translate product and business needs into scalable technical solutions.

• Communicate clearly with senior partners on roadmap, risks, dependencies, and investment needs.

Process, Governance & Continuous Improvement

• Define and evolve engineering processes aligned to Agile / iterative delivery models, with an emphasis on quality and operational safety.

• Improve documentation, runbooks, and operational readiness across shared services.

• Drive consistency and guidelines across globally distributed teams.

AI‑Enabled Engineering

• Champion responsible adoption of AI‑assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, or equivalent).

• Guide teams on bringing to bear AI to improve developer efficiency, code quality, testing, and design—without compromising engineering standards or security.

Required Qualifications & Experience

Technical Expertise

• Extensive experience developing and managing backend services and data‑services in large‑scale, production environments.

• Solid understanding of databases, data models, and data access patterns.

• Primary programming language is Java (or similar); language is less important than strong system build and engineering fundamentals.

• Experience working with distributed systems, interconnected architectures, and platform services.

Leadership Experience

• Proven experience leading engineering teams at scale, including direct people management and mentoring.

• Demonstrated ability to uplift teams and scale execution safely.

• Experience operating as a technical leader within a sophisticated, multi‑stakeholder environment.

Execution & Organizational Skills

• Strong grasp of SDLC, Agile practices, and engineering governance.

• Ability to balance hands‑on technical involvement with strategic leadership responsibilities.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence across engineering, product, and business partners.

Our benefits
To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of benefits including a strong retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive healthcare, support for working parents and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.

Our hybrid work model

Black Rock’s hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 4 days in the office per week, with the flexibility to work from home 1 day a week. Some business groups may require more time in the office due to their roles and responsibilities. We remain focused on increasing the impactful moments that arise when we work together in person – aligned with our commitment to performance and innovation. As a new joiner, you can count on this hybrid model to accelerate your learning and onboarding experience here at Black Rock.

About Black Rock

At Black Rock, we are all connected by one mission: to help more and more people experience financial well-being. Our clients, and the people they serve, are saving for retirement, paying for their children’s educations, buying homes and starting businesses. Their investments also help to strengthen the global economy: support businesses small and large; finance infrastructure projects that connect and power cities; and facilitate innovations that drive progress.

This mission would not be possible without our smartest investment – the one we make in our employees. It’s why we’re dedicated to creating an environment where our colleagues feel welcomed, valued and supported with networks, benefits and development opportunities to help them thrive.

For additional information on Black Rock, please visit @blackrock | Twitter: @blackrock | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock

Black Rock is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to age, disability, family status, gender identity, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and other protected attributes at law.