R&D Lead The Lead of R&D will spearhead technology discovery, applied research, and technical innovation across backend, APIs, web, mobile, cloud, and emerging platforms. This role focuses on identifying, validating, and de-risking new technologies and enabling their transition into product engineering teams. This position does not own day-to-day product engineering or feature delivery but works closely with Product Engineering to influence future platforms and architectures. Experience Level: 12+ yrs Skillset Required: Docker, Kubernetes, DevSecOps, CI/CD pipeline, Expertise in one or more of: Java, Node.js, Go (Golang), C / C++, JavaScript / TypeScript Key Responsibilities • Lead technology research and discovery initiatives across backend systems, APIs, web, mobile, cloud, and emerging domains. • Identify, evaluate, and prototype emerging technologies, tools, frameworks, and architectural patterns relevant to the company’s strategic roadmap. • Drive proof-of-concept (PoC), spike solutions, and experimental platforms to validate feasibility, scalability, security, and performance. • Establish structured research → validation → handoff model to transition successful innovations to Product Engineering teams. • Act as a technical thought leader, influencing long-term architecture, platform evolution, and build-vs-buy decisions. • Partner with Product Management, Product Engineering, Security, and QA teams to ensure research outcomes align with business and compliance needs. • Ensure research outcomes adhere to security, quality, regulatory, and compliance standards from inception. • Track industry trends, academic research, open-source ecosystems, and startup innovations to maintain a competitive technology edge. • Define success metrics for R&D initiatives and regularly communicate outcomes to executive stakeholders. Required Skills and Experience • 12+ years of experience in R&D, applied research, platform engineering, or innovation leadership. • Proven experience leading cross-functional technical research teams and exploratory initiatives. • Strong background in distributed systems, cloud-native architectures, and modern application stacks. • Demonstrated ability to translate research and experimentation into production-adoptable solutions. • Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills. • Experience managing multiple concurrent research tracks with varying levels of maturity. • Deep understanding of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies (AWS, Azure, GCP). • Ability to review, guide, and influence production-level code without being the primary implementer. • Strong architectural judgment with a security-first mindset. Good-to-Have Qualifications • Experience establishing R&D best practices, including experimentation frameworks and technical evaluation criteria. • Familiarity with DevSecOps principles, CI/CD pipelines, and secure software supply chains. • Hands-on expertise in one or more of: • Java • Node.js • Go (Golang) • C / C++ • JavaScript / TypeScript • Experience with containers and orchestration: Docker, Kubernetes. • Exposure to identity, security, cryptography, or authentication technologies (strong plus).