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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
BlackRock’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 BlackRock.
About BlackRock
At BlackRock, 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 BlackRock, please visit @blackrock | Twitter: @blackrock | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock
BlackRock 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.
Top Skills
What We Do
As the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock partners with investors around the globe to help them (and those on whose behalf they invest) plan for life’s most important goals – like retirement, home ownership and their children’s education. Our clients range from governments, foundations and other large institutions to those investing on behalf of individuals, including firefighters, nurses, teachers and factory workers. BlackRock was founded with the idea of creating a better asset management firm — one that was purpose-driven, focused on clients and risk management, and propelled by data and technology. Our breakthrough Aladdin® platform is BlackRock’s technological backbone, helping investors see and manage their whole portfolios in one place – from constructing investments to monitoring risk and executing trades. Used by hundreds of external institutions around the world, Aladdin combines powerful analytics and a common language to help investment teams make faster, more informed decisions across public and private markets. It’s a key part of our business and one of the reasons we’re trusted to manage more assets than any other investment manager today. At BlackRock, we challenge conventions and raise the bar for what’s possible. We harness technology to unlock new solutions, simplify complexity, and deliver investment strategies that meet people where they are. Whether it’s retirement planning, wealth building or navigating market shifts, we’re here to help clients invest more easily, more affordably and with more choice as we chart a path toward financial well-being together. Learn more: Careers.BlackRock.com
Why Work With Us
Without our people, technology is irrelevant. When we combine the power of people with the power of technology, we amplify our ability to create better outcomes for our employees, clients, shareholders and society alike.
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Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
BlackRock has 25,000 employees across more than 100 offices in over 40 countries around the world.
