Software Engineering Manager

Job Description

We’re searching for an experienced Engineering Manager to lead a team of talented engineers in modernizing and scaling our Custom Data Platform.

Your work will directly impact millions of users, ensuring our platform is performant, reliable, and flexible for customers managing complex business processes.

This role requires deep knowledge of Rails-based systems, UI development, and scalable software architecture.

Note: This is a hybrid role, combining remote and on-site work, requiring 3 days in our Pune office.

What You’ll Do

• Manage and mentor a team of 6-8 engineers, fostering a culture of innovation, growth, and inclusion.

• Guide your team through technical challenges, balancing new feature development with system scalability and performance.

• Develop and execute on adding more capabilities for our Custom Data Platform, ensuring our customers can seamlessly bring and model business-critical data into Zendesk.

• Champion engineering excellence, ensuring best practices in coding, testing, and observability.

• Drive a high-performance culture where clarity, ownership, and impact are at the forefront.

Deliver Scalable & High-Impact Solutions

• Oversee the design, build, and delivery of new features, ensuring seamless integration within Zendesk’s ecosystem.

• Work across the full stack—from UI components to backend services—to enhance admin customization capabilities and allow customers to configure their unique workflows.

• Optimize performance, scalability, and reliability, making it easier for enterprises to manage their business data within Zendesk.

• Collaborate closely with Product Managers, Designers, and other Engineering teams to align on strategy and execution.

• Take ownership of key initiatives, ensuring smooth rollouts, enterprise-grade reliability, and continuous iteration.

Drive Technical & Organizational Growth

• Help define and evolve our technical roadmap, balancing short-term improvements with long-term scalability.

• Introduce innovative approaches to problem-solving, exploring new technologies where appropriate.

• Improve agile processes, ensuring a healthy balance between speed and sustainability.

• Foster an environment where team members feel supported, challenged, and motivated to do their best work.

What We’re Looking For

• Proven experience leading and mentoring engineers (2+ years as an Engineering Manager).

• Strong coaching and career development abilities, helping engineers grow professionally.

• Ability to influence without authority and drive alignment across multiple teams.

• Exceptional communication skills, ensuring clear expectations and alignment.

• Comfortable leading a distributed, global team and working asynchronously when needed.

Technical Expertise

• Five or more years of software engineering experience in high-impact environments.

• Strong backend experience with Ruby on Rails and frontend experience with React, Typescript, Apollo, and GraphQL.

• Experience scaling complex enterprise SaaS platforms.

• Ability to identify and resolve performance bottlenecks in high-traffic applications.

• Experience with observability and logging tools such as DataDog.

• Familiarity with microservices architectures and transitioning from monoliths.

Tech Stack You’ll Work With

• Backend: Ruby, Ruby on Rails, MySQL

• Frontend: JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Redux, GraphQL

• DevOps & Monitoring: DataDog, CI/CD tools

• Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS, Kubernetes (nice-to-have)

Please note that Zendesk can only hire candidates who are physically located and plan to work from Karnataka or Maharashtra. Please refer to the location posted on the requisition for where this role is based.

Hybrid: In this role, our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection, collaboration, learning, and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to peopleandplaces@zendesk.com with your specific accommodation request.