Senior Manager, Engineering

Senior Manager, AI
Pune

About the role

The Senior Engineering Manager within the NIQ Analytics organization will report to the Director, Analytics Engineering and be responsible for leading a high-performing team of software engineers while driving the development of innovative AI-enabled product solutions for our rapidly expanding customer base. This role operates in an open, collaborative, and innovation-driven environment, leveraging modern client and server-side technologies, Generative AI, and Agentic AI to deliver scalable and impactful solutions. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring a balanced allocation of responsibilities, with approximately 50% focused on engineering leadership activities such as technical reviews, planning, stakeholder management, talent development, and delivery oversight, and 50% dedicated to hands-on software engineering, including architecture, coding, design reviews, technical problem solving, and the productionization of AI-enabled capabilities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the architecture, design, and productionization of scalable microservices and AI-enabled product capabilities from concept through production deployment.
• Lead AI platform system design and implementation, ensuring robust, secure, maintainable, and well-governed solutions across Java/Spring Boot and Python/FastAPI services where appropriate.
• Drive the architecture and delivery of Generative AI and Agentic AI solutions, including MCP-based architectures, agent orchestration, tool integration, intent classification, agent state management, and multi-agent workflows.
• Establish engineering patterns for integrating LLM APIs, including OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic, and equivalent providers, with attention to security, reliability, cost, rate limits, and token efficiency.
• Guide teams in productionizing GenAI use cases such as AI chatbots, summarization, classification, intelligent search, Q&A, and embedding-based retrieval.
• Lead the design of systems that query and manage large-scale structured and unstructured data, including SQL, NoSQL, MongoDB, SingleStore, and Postgres, with appropriate data modeling and performance practices.
• Establish architectural approaches for agentic AI systems, embeddings, vector search, context management, caching, latency optimization, and observability for AI enabled applications.
• Leverage GitHub Copilot and AI-assisted development tools to accelerate software delivery, improve code quality, and enhance engineering productivity.
• Take ownership of development, maintenance, testing strategy, design discussions, and operations of the team, including containerized API services.
• Participate in all aspects of agile software development, including design, implementation, deployment, sprint planning, and continuous improvement.
• Own the end-to-end lifecycle of new product features and components, partnering with product, design, data, and AI engineering stakeholders.
• Ensure application performance, uptime, scale, and reliability while maintaining high standards of code quality, security, and thoughtful application design.
• Work with a cross-functional team on products and features to drive growth and meaningful customer outcomes.
• Develop engineering talent through coaching, technical mentorship, constructive reviews, and clear accountability for delivery outcomes.
• Research, evaluate, and recommend emerging technologies, frameworks, and engineering practices that can strengthen the product and platform.
• Influence product development through important technical decisions, system architecture, development practices, and long-term technology strategy.

• 12+ years of experience in Software development with at least 5+ years of experience in team management. Experience and knowledge of server-side technologies: Java/ Python, Spring Boot/ FastAPI, SQL, Agentic AI, and API-centric distributed systems.
• Strong hands-on experience designing, building, and leading production-grade Generative AI, LLM, and Agentic AI systems.
• Strong experience with LangChain, LangGraph, OpenAI LLMs, or comparable agent orchestration frameworks.  Strong understanding of MCP-based AI architectures, including MCP servers, tools, resources, agent-tool interaction patterns, and multi-agent systems.
• Experience integrating LLM APIs such as OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic, Cohere, Mistral, or equivalent providers.
• Working knowledge of Python 3.x and FastAPI, Flask, or Django for AI services and REST API integrations, alongside strong Java/Spring Boot expertise.
• Strong experience in Angular/React and the ability to guide delivery of AI-enabled user experiences in partnership with front-end engineers.
• Experience with Docker containers, Kubernetes, and cloud environments such as AWS, Azure, or GCP. 
• Experience with hybrid MongoDB/Postgres data models and modern DevOps or CI/CD practices.
• Experience with large-scale SQL / NoSQL databases, including SingleStore, Postgres, and MongoDB; fluent with relational databases and data modeling.
• Deep understanding of RESTful API design, security, scalability, performance, and operational best practices. 
• Strong problem-solving and analysis abilities, with the judgment to make sound architecture and delivery trade-offs.
• Experience working in agile methodologies and sprint planning.
• Must have a bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent.

Our Benefits

• Flexible working environment
• Volunteer time off
• LinkedIn Learning
• Employee-Assistance-Program (EAP)

NIQ may utilize artificial intelligence (AI) tools at various stages of the recruitment process, including résumé screening, candidate assessments, interview scheduling, job matching, communication support, and certain administrative tasks that help streamline workflows. These tools are intended to improve efficiency and support fair and consistent evaluation based on job-related criteria. All use of AI is governed by NIQ’s principles of fairness, transparency, human oversight, and inclusion. Final hiring decisions are made exclusively by humans. NIQ regularly reviews its AI tools to help mitigate bias and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. If you have questions, require accommodations, or wish to request human review were permitted by law, please contact your local HR representative. For more information, please visit NIQ’s AI Safety Policies and Guiding Principles: https://nielseniq.com/global/en/info/niqs-ai-safety-policies/

About NIQ

NIQ is the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. In 2023, NIQ combined with GfK, bringing together the two industry leaders with unparalleled global reach. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View™. NIQ is an Advent International portfolio company with operations in 100+ markets, covering more than 90% of the world’s population.

For more information, visit NIQ.com

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Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At NIQ, we are steadfast in our commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace that mirrors the rich diversity of the communities and markets we serve. We believe that embracing a wide range of perspectives drives innovation and excellence.  All employment decisions at NIQ are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. We invite individuals who share our dedication to inclusivity and equity to join us in making a meaningful impact. To learn more about our ongoing efforts in diversity and inclusion, please visit the https://nielseniq.com/global/en/news-center/diversity-inclusion