About this role
Freshworks is seeking a Senior Director of Engineering to lead and scale the IT Operations Management (ITOM) product engineering organization based in San Mateo. This leader will be responsible for shaping the technical vision, driving execution at scale, and elevating organizational maturity across AIOps and Observability platforms that power Freshworks’ IT management offerings.
This role is suited for a seasoned leader of leaders who brings a strong track record of building and scaling high-performing engineering organizations, influencing cross-functional strategy, and delivering complex, AI-driven, cloud-native platforms. The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise with organizational leadership, enabling teams to operate with autonomy, accountability, and high impact.
Key Responsibilities
Lead and scale a multi-layered engineering organization, including managers and senior leaders, across the ITOM product portfolio (AIOps, Observability, and related platforms)Define and drive long-term engineering vision and strategy for AI-driven operations, monitoring, alerting, root-cause analysis, and system observabilityPartner with Product and Executive Leadership to shape roadmap priorities, aligning technical investments with business outcomes and customer impactOwn organizational execution at scale, ensuring predictable delivery across multiple teams working on complex, distributed systemsElevate engineering excellence and operational maturity across architecture, data platforms, ML/AI integration, reliability, and developer productivityDrive cross-functional alignment with Data, AI/ML, Infrastructure, SRE, Security, and Platform teams to deliver cohesive, end-to-end ITOM capabilitiesEstablish and evolve engineering operating models, including planning, prioritization, capacity management, and metrics-driven executionBuild and develop a strong leadership bench, mentoring engineering managers and senior leaders while creating clear succession pathwaysInfluence organizational and technical direction beyond immediate team scope, contributing to broader platform and company-wide engineering initiativesChampion a culture of accountability, ownership, and customer-first thinking, while fostering innovation and continuous improvementOwn and improve key engineering and operational metrics (reliability, scalability, latency, incident reduction, and efficiency) at an organizational levelPlease note this is a hybrid role with onsite expectations of 3x/week (Tuesday - Thursday) from our San Mateo, CA headquarters.
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field15+ years of software engineering experience, with 8–10+ years in engineering leadership roles, including managing managers and senior leadersProven experience leading large, multi-team or multi-org engineering functions in ITOM, APM, observability, or infrastructure platformsStrong background in distributed systems, microservices architecture, and high-scale SaaS platformsExperience operating at organizational scale, balancing multiple priorities, stakeholders, and long-term technical investmentsHands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and modern DevOps practicesExperience delivering or integrating AIOps, machine learning, or data-driven intelligence into production systemsDemonstrated success in building leadership depth, hiring and developing engineering managers and senior technical leaders The annual base salary range for this position is $296,000 - $365,000.
Compensation is based on a variety of factors including but not limited to location, experience, job-related skills, and level. Bonus/equity may be available.
Freshworks offers multiple options for dental, medical, vision, disability and life insurances. Equity + ESPP, flexible PTO, flexible spending, commuter benefits and wellness benefits are also offered. Freshworks also offers adoption and parental leave benefits.
At Freshworks, we have fostered an environment that enables everyone to find their true potential, purpose, and passion, welcoming colleagues of all backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and ethnicities. We are committed to providing equal opportunity and believe that diversity in the workplace creates a more vibrant, richer environment that boosts the goals of our employees, communities, and business. Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.