VP Engineering & Managing Director, India
DNV · Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Full-time · Executive · Posted 17 days ago
About Platform Services
The energy transition has moved past the technology-proving phase. Today, the
defining challenge is orchestrating millions of distributed energy assets —
reliably, securely, and at the pace the grid demands.
Platform Services is the digital growth engine for DNV Energy Systems North
America, built on a fundamental conviction: the grid doesn't need more hardware.
It needs better intelligence.
Our mission is to bridge infrastructure complexity with commercial execution by
delivering secure, AI-native SaaS platforms that turn digital ambition into
operational reality for Tier-1 utilities and energy operators.
Our vision is to unify the fragmented legacy architectures of utility program
operations into a single, modern data model — building the operational nervous
system that accelerates the path to decarbonization. As we scale to support 4x
customer-account growth over the next three years, this is one of the most
consequential platform-engineering challenges in the energy sector.
The VP Engineering & Managing Director India Operations is the senior
India-based executive at Platform Services, accountable for the technology
foundation of the business and for the day-to-day health and culture of the
Chennai site. This is a dual-mandate role: chief technical leader for the SaaS
platform, cloud and AI infrastructure, data and platform engineering, and
engineering productivity and senior site executive for the 200+ person Chennai
organization, supported by Director of India Operations.
The role exists at the intersection of platform engineering, data, and AI-native
development. The leader translates product strategy into secure, reliable,
production-grade systems while building an engineering organization that uses AI
deliberately and responsibly. They drive the platform and infrastructure
investments required to scale to 4x customer-account growth — multi-program
platform adoption, expanded transaction volumes, and the technical foundation
for the AI tier.
Key Responsibilities
Platform & Engineering Leadership
* Own the SaaS platform architecture — cloud infrastructure, DevSecOps, data
engineering, AI model serving, MLOps pipelines.
* Architect and deliver the unification of legacy data models into a single,
modern platform foundation to unlock enterprise-scale cross-selling of
multi-program platform thesis and AI capability scaling.
* Translate product strategy into scalable, maintainable, production-ready
systems with clear engineering ownership and delivery discipline.
* Own engineering-side quality assurance, platform reliability, deployment
velocity, and engineering productivity.
* Drive disciplined execution using DORA metrics, automation, and continuous
improvement practices.
AI-Native Engineering Practices
* Drive deliberate adoption of AI-native engineering practices — responsible
use of LLMs for coding, testing, documentation, code review, and operational
tooling.
* Define how engineering teams leverage AI to materially improve development
velocity while preserving engineering fundamentals (code quality,
testability, security posture, observability).
* Ensure AI-enabled and data-driven capabilities are production-grade, secure,
scalable, and operable — not POCs in production.
Architecture, Platforms & Interoperability
* Oversee system architecture, platform design, and integration patterns
supporting long-term scalability and maintainability.
* Promote reusable components, shared services, APIs, and consistent data and
integration standards across the platform.
* Guide the appropriate balance between low-code platforms (eTRACK+ workflow
heritage) and custom engineering — knowing when each is the right tool.
* Enable interoperability across core systems in partnership with Product and
adjacent digital teams.
DevOps, Reliability & Security
* Establish and oversee end-to-end DevOps practices — CI/CD, automated testing,
deployment, monitoring, incident management.
* Ensure enterprise-grade reliability, performance, and availability of all
production systems.
* Act as the matrixed Operator — execute security remediations defined by
Information Security, run production infrastructure that serves AI models
defined by Enterprise AI.
* Lead engineering readiness and compliance for SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and
secure development standards.
India Site Leadership
* Serve as the senior Chennai site executive — accountable for culture,
engagement, talent retention, and the site's external presence.
* Own India HR partnership and statutory compliance — PF, ESIC, DPDP Act, POSH,
gratuity, and related obligations — supported by the Director of India
Operations.
* Oversee facilities, site operations, and India business continuity.
* Build and sustain a high-performance, accountable engineering culture that
India talent chooses to join and stay at.
Cross-Functional Partnership
* With Product: Engineering capacity allocation, delivery trade-offs, technical
roadmap input. Success looks like: clear quarterly capacity commitments,
transparent trade-off conversations, no roadmap surprises in QBRs.
* With Enterprise AI: AI infrastructure boundary, MLOps ownership, model
serving reliability. Success looks like: jointly-owned model serving uptime,
no friction at the capability/infrastructure boundary.
* With Trust & InfoSec: Independent policy execution. Success looks like: high
security remediation rate, no release-blocking conflicts.
* With US-based leadership: Senior India-based technical voice in global
forums. Success looks like: visible presence at customer architecture
reviews, executive QBRs, and strategic planning.
Success Metrics
* Unified data model Phase delivered; multi-program platform foundation
operational.
* Platform uptime ≥99.95% on enterprise tier with weekly production releases
and no quality regressions.
* AI model serving uptime ≥99.9% and reliable MLOps pipelines (jointly owned
with Enterprise AI team).
* Security remediation rate >95% against Trust & InfoSec-defined SLAs.
* Measurable engineering productivity improvement via AI-native practices.
People Development
* Build and strengthen a culture based on our Purpose, Vision, and Values
(PVV).
* Build a culture of learning and, through empowerment, ensure staff are
supported.
* Focus on driving the growth of the business through implementation of people
management strategies and a well-aligned workforce plan.
* Drive recruitment and staff retention across the department.
* Collaboratively develop competency and succession planning for critical roles
and capabilities within the department.
* Identify and plan staff development using the DNV development model
(70:20:10) to ensure continuous improvement and service delivery.
* Ensure the team is utilized at the appropriate level given the mix of
business development, innovation, and delivery responsibilities.
About Energy Systems
We help customers navigate the complex transition to a decarbonized and more
sustainable energy future. We do this by assuring that energy systems work
safely and effectively, using solutions that are increasingly digital. We also
help industries and governments to navigate the many complex, interrelated
transitions taking place globally and regionally, in the energy industry.