Senior Director, Engineering

Join Harness, a high-growth startup transforming how software is delivered. Our mission is to help 30 million developers ship code faster, more securely, and with greater reliability—fueling innovation and improving the developer experience. Backed by $425M in funding and led by AppDynamics founder Jyoti Bansal, we’re recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for DevOps Platforms and consistently ranked on Glassdoor, Forbes, Inc., and LinkedIn’s top workplace lists.

Our CI platform is the fastest and most intelligent on the market—cutting test cycles by 80% and accelerating builds up to 8x with features like AI-powered Test Intelligence™. Customers like United Airlines and Kajabi have seen massive gains in speed and cost savings by adopting Harness CI. This is your chance to drive innovation in a product line that’s reshaping how modern engineering teams build software.

We’re looking for a Senior Director of Engineering to lead our CI business—a high revenue line poised for 4x growth. This is a hands-on, high-impact leadership role combining product ownership, architectural oversight, and close customer collaboration. You'll define the long-term vision, deliver against strategic outcomes, and orchestrate engineering excellence across a globally distributed team.

As the Senior Director of Engineering for Continuous Integration, you'll own the vision, execution, and technical direction of a critical $25M+ product line. You’ll split your time between technology leadership (40%), product and roadmap ownership (30%), and communication and collaboration (30%)—interfacing across executive leadership, customers, and cross-functional teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and execute the long-term vision and strategy for Harness CI, grounded in market trends and customer value.
• Make high-impact decisions in ambiguous, cross-functional environments that shape company direction.
• Partner directly with customers to inform roadmap priorities, manage escalations, and ensure adoption success.
• Lead delivery of cutting-edge CI features including AI Test Intelligence, smart caching, and hyper-optimized infrastructure.
  Drive security and compliance enhancements such as SLSA L3, scanner integrations, and automated vulnerability triage.
• Ensure deep integration of Harness CI across the SDLC, supporting any SCM, language, or platform.
• Hire, grow, and lead globally distributed engineering teams; foster a high-performance, feedback-driven culture.
• Provide hands-on architectural leadership in areas like Kubernetes, Serverless, and policy-based pipeline governance.
• Modernize backend systems with a focus on distributed systems, Go, and GCP.
• Continuously improve internal processes, cross-team collaboration, and technical scalability across the org.

We’re looking for a seasoned technology leader with a startup mindset and deep technical roots—someone who approaches challenges like a product engineer and thrives in complexity.

Required Experience & Qualifications:

• 10+ years of backend software development experience; 6+ years leading high-performing engineering or DevOps teams.
• Proven success building and scaling orgs in fast-paced, high-growth environments.
• Strong track record in the software delivery/lifecycle domain with hands-on architectural and design leadership.
• Expertise in building high-throughput platforms, scalable APIs, and distributed systems.
• Familiarity with GCP, Go, and Kubernetes; strong grasp of the Google cloud-native ecosystem.
• Clear communicator and collaborator across teams, executives, and customers.
• Organized, action-oriented leader who can navigate complexity while driving results and team health.
• BS in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience.

Work Location

SF Bay Area, Hybrid

What You Will Have at Harness

• Competitive salary
• Comprehensive healthcare benefits
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Flexible Time Off and Parental Leave
• Quarterly Harness TGIF-Off / 4 days
• Monthly, quarterly, and annual social and team-building events
• Recharge & Reset Program
• Monthly internet reimbursement
• Commuter benefits

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $225,000 - $250,000 annually. Salary is determined by a combination of factors including location, level, relevant experience, and skills. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position. The compensation package for this position also includes a commission/variable component, which is based on performance, plus equity, and benefits. More details about our company benefits can be found at the following link: .

A valid authorization to work in the U.S. is required