Application Engineering Technical Lead - II

About Vanguard
Founded in 1975, Vanguard is one of the world's leading investment management companies. The firm offers investments, advice, and retirement services to tens of millions of individual investors around the globe-directly, through workplace plans, and through financial intermediaries.

Vanguard's India Office

Vanguard's office in India is a significant milestone in our global expansion. We are committed to establishing an enduring technology center in Hyderabad, Telangana and are excited to be adding talent who will focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI), mobile, and cloud-based technologies that drive our business outcomes and deliver a world-class experience for our clients.

Role Summary

This role provides expert-level IT technical lead services, including the integration and implementation of technologies, while applying deep backend expertise to optimize performance, ensure secure architecture, and enhance system scalability.

Core Responsibilities:

• Provide senior level IT technical leadership for critical software projects initiatives on multiple platforms, technical expertise and completes complex development, design, implementation, architecture design specification, and maintenance activities
• Ensure the viability of IT deliverables, recommend development and architectural options and approves the team's technical deliverables. Conduct testing, including functionality, technical limitations, and security
• Identify & approve potential technical solutions proposed by team members, resolves complex technical problems and responds to technical issues in a timely manner, research issues and undertakes root cause analysis, anticipate technology problems and preventatives
• Communicate with key stakeholders on project issues and implications, evaluate the impacts of change requests on technologies and effectively persuades and influences others on ideas
• Maintain up-to-date working knowledge of IT development methodologies, architecture design, and technical standards. Mentor crew and identify training needs. As new standards are instituted, ensure their usage by team members
• Learn, and apply modern technology quickly, and be well versed in the latest technologies and tools supporting software development in the industry. Assist with the creation of strategic product roadmaps
• Ensure the viability of IT deliverables. Recommend development options, including design, build/buy, and vendor purchase. Partner with architects to design and implement high-performant, scalable and secure solutions
• Review and approve documentation and diagrams created by IT team members. Write documentation, including technical standards and processes
• Identify opportunities for continuous quality improvement of technical standards, methodologies, and technologies and lead recommended solutions
• Develop code that is well structured, backed by automated tests and is easy to understand and maintain. Employ contemporary software development techniques to ensure tests are implemented in a way that supports automation
• Amplify the productivity of entire teams through collaboration, coaching and the implementation of technology framework
• Thoroughly understand and comply with Information Technology and Information Security policies and procedures and verify that deliverables meet requirements. Work across organisational lines to improve both IT and Information Security policies and procedures
• Maintain a broad understanding of key functions, roles, external parties, and design systems to enable efficient business processes while maintaining necessary controls

• Minimum 8 years of experience in software development, architecture, and system integration.
• Bachelor's degree (B.E./B.Tech) in Computer Science or IT, or Bachelor's in Computer Applications (BCA), or Master's in Computer Applications (MCA).
• Expertise in software architecture, system design, and technical leadership for enterprise applications.
• Hands-on experience with one or more modern backend languages such as Node.js, Python, and Java.
• Strong experience designing and building solutions on AWS, including services such as DynamoDB, S3, Lambda, Step Functions, CloudFormation, SNS, SQS, AppSync, ECS, Athena, DataSync, Glue, DMS, GraphQL.
• Experience in data engineering concepts and platforms, including data pipelines, AWS Glue, PySpark, Databricks (highly desirable).
• Solid understanding of CI/CD practices and modern development workflows, with experience using tools such as Git/GitHub, GitHub Actions.
• Proven experience mentoring and leading cross-functional engineering teams, fostering high standards of code quality and engineering excellence.
• Strong grasp of modern software delivery practices, including Agile methodologies, full product lifecycle ownership, DevSecOps principles.
• Ability to design and deliver secure, scalable and maintainable systems, balancing technical excellence with pragmatic business outcomes.
• Experience working within regulated or complex enterprise environments; exposure to financial services or adjacent domains is an advantage.
• Interest or exposure to AI/ML technologies is considered a plus.
• Relevant AWS certifications (Developer and/or Solutions Architect) are highly desirable