Principal Architect

Responsibilities:

• Design and evolve the platform architecture to support 10x-100x growth.
• Own systems end-to-end from the first design decision to production impact.
• Lead system design discussions and set the long-term technical direction for the platform.
• Identify scale bottlenecks early and drive solutions.
• Mentor and elevate engineers through design reviews, code quality, and architectural thinking.
• Partner directly with founders and product teams to turn business priorities into scalable systems.
• Operate with high ownership in a fast-paced environment where priorities evolve quickly.
• Drive projects independently, own timelines, coordinate with teams, and see delivery through.
• Conduct rigorous code reviews and champion engineering best practices across the team.
• Proactively identify gaps in the system and come up with concrete approaches to address them.
• Solve technical problems across the company, not just confined to a single pod.
• Challenge existing architecture with data and reasoning pushback when it's the right call, and drive adoption of better approaches.

Requirements:

• 10-13 years of experience in backend or platform engineering.
• Strong computer science fundamentals (preferably from IIT, BITS, or NITs).
• Strong proficiency in backend development (Node.js, Java, Go, or equivalent).
• Proven experience scaling systems through high-growth startup phases (110 or beyond).
• Track record of building and owning critical platforms or systems from scratch.
• Exposure to high-volume transactional systems; fintech or lending is a strong plus.
• Bias for action: moves fast, makes sound decisions, owns outcomes end-to-end.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and evolving priorities in a startup environment.
• Strong problem-solving skills: ability to break down complex technical challenges and arrive at pragmatic, well-reasoned solutions.
• Hands-on experience with platform engineering, developer tooling, shared services, infrastructure abstractions, or internal platforms.
• Good to have: Experience scaling infrastructure for high-growth fintech, consumer tech, or high-transaction platforms from 10x to 100x scale.