Engineering Manager in Back End

About the role

Agoda is hiring an Engineering Manager to lead one or more back end engineering teams responsible for the systems powering inventory, pricing, payments, bookings, and customer data. This position requires strong technical ability alongside people leadership. You will write and review code while coaching engineers and shaping system architecture across a platform that handles dozens of daily releases with zero downtime. The role demands a balance of hands-on technical contribution and strategic people management to ensure high-quality, reliable software delivery. You will operate in a fast-paced environment where technical excellence and operational rigor are essential. Success in this position will be measured by the performance, scalability, and stability of the systems your teams build. You will be expected to set a high bar for engineering practices and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Contribute directly to the codebase by reviewing pull requests and providing hands-on technical guidance to your team members.
• Own architecture decisions for distributed, fault-tolerant systems that operate at scale and meet stringent business requirements.
• Lead, mentor, and grow engineers, helping them reach their potential and building a high-performing team with strong cohesion.
• Recruit and onboard strong engineering talent from outside the organization to support growing business needs.
• Work across the full technology stack, including infrastructure, client side, back end, performance, and data layers to ensure end-to-end solutions.
• Drive adoption of modern CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and DevOps practices to improve delivery speed and reliability.
• Operate with autonomy in setting technical direction and making critical decisions that impact the platform and user experience.
• Define and track key performance indicators to measure the effectiveness and health of engineering operations.
• Ensure production systems are operated with accountability, reliability, and a focus on incident prevention and response.
• Collaborate closely with product, design, and other stakeholders to align engineering efforts with business objectives.
• Mentor junior engineers through code reviews, technical design discussions, and career development conversations.
• Evaluate new technologies and tools to determine their applicability and potential benefits for the existing stack.
• Facilitate technical discussions and design reviews to promote best practices and architectural consistency.
• Support the continuous improvement of engineering processes, quality, and team productivity.

Requirements

• High proficiency in at least one language: Java, Scala, or C#.
• Solid background in systems architecture for complex, scalable, fault-tolerant distributed environments.
• Demonstrated ownership of production systems with operational accountability for uptime and performance.
• Understanding of low-level engineering concepts such as garbage collection, threading, and context switching.
• Familiarity with DevOps principles including automation, CI/CD, and lean development.
• Working knowledge of application security fundamentals to build resilient and secure systems.
• Prior success in agile development teams delivering iteratively in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience managing engineering teams with 5 or more direct reports to lead effectively at scale.
• Ability to operate independently, set KPIs, and make decisions with strong ownership and judgment.
• Comfort with data-driven decision making to guide technical investments and improvements.

Nice to have

• Proficiency in more than one programming language to provide broader technical leadership and flexibility.

Skills & tools

• Languages: Java, Scala, C#, Go
• Data technologies: Kafka, Aerospike
• Practices: CI/CD, agile, DevOps, automated testing

Practical notes

• Relocation package provided for this Gurugram-based role to support candidates transitioning to the location.
• Candidates from New Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, and Hyderabad may also be considered for this position due to proximity and talent availability.
• Review Agoda's Hiring Process Guidelines before interviewing to ensure full preparation and alignment with expectations.
• Applications will be kept on file for future openings, and candidates may request removal from consideration at any time.

About the company

Agoda.com is an online travel agency that facilitates reservations for lodging, flights, ground transportation, and activities. It is a subsidiary of Booking Holdings.