Manager, Engineering at Navan in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

About the Role Navan's Enterprise Team builds the critical "operating system" of our corporate travel platform—handling complex travel policies, dynamic approval workflows, user identity, and enterprise-grade analytics. As an Engineering Manager, you will lead a high-performing team of 5-10 full-stack engineers to build sophisticated configuration tools and scalable backend engines. You will be responsible for translating business requirements into technical strategies, balancing short-term execution with long-term architectural vision. By combining deep technical expertise with strong leadership, you will foster a collaborative environment where engineers can thrive and do the best work of their careers. What You’ll Do: Lead & Mentor: Manage, coach, and grow a team of 5-10 talented full-stack engineers. Set performance goals, conduct regular 1:1s, and provide actionable feedback. Drive Execution: Collaborate closely with Product Managers, Designers, and other stakeholders to define project scopes, deliverables, and roadmaps for our Admin and User portals. Technical Leadership: Guide architectural decisions and trade-offs for our stack (Java/Spring Boot, React/TypeScript, SQL/NoSQL), ensuring the team delivers scalable, secure, and highly available microservices. Process Optimization: Maintain and improve agile development processes. Organize schedules, track deliverables, check work for technical accuracy, and ensure robust operational reliability. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Effectively communicate and coordinate work with other managers and staff to seamlessly integrate complex, cross-domain features. Team Building: Identify staffing needs, lead hiring efforts, and onboard top-tier engineering talent to scale your team. What We’re Looking For: Experience: 5+ years of hands-on software engineering experience building scalable systems, plus at least 2+ years of direct engineering management experience. Technical Depth: Strong architectural background with a solid understanding of both backend (Java, Spring Boot, Hibernate) and frontend ecosystems (modern frameworks like React/Angular/Vue, and TypeScript). Leadership & Organization: Highly organized and detail-oriented. Proven ability to manage project delivery, balance competing priorities, and challenge the status quo to make our products better. Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills: Ability to evaluate complex technical information, solve intricate system challenges, and validate the engineering methods used by your staff. Excellent Communication: Strong verbal and written skills for overseeing staff, setting clear expectations, and presenting technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. Modern Workflow Awareness: An understanding of AI-enabled development tools (like GitHub Copilot or Claude) to help the team accelerate workflows while maintaining high quality. Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a technical discipline (Computer Science, Engineering, etc.) or equivalent practical experience.