Associate Director - Applications Development

Company: Mercer Description: We are seeking a talented individual to join our IT team at Mercer. This role will be based in Gurgaon. This is a hybrid role that has a requirement of working at least three days a week in the office. As a Squad Lead Engineer, you will play a key role in the design, development, and delivery of high-quality enterprise software solutions. You will provide hands-on technical leadership while helping ensure that engineering delivery is aligned with architectural standards, product goals, and long-term platform health. You will work closely with solution architects, developers, engineers, analysts, DBAs, product owners, and other stakeholders to deliver scalable, maintainable, and reliable software. In addition to contributing directly to development, you will mentor team members, promote engineering best practices, and help the team continuously improve how software is built and delivered. We will count on you to: Produce detailed technical designs for enterprise applications and implement technical solutions using modern technology stacks Design, develop, and enhance enterprise software solutions that are scalable, maintainable, reliable, and secure Translate business and technical requirements into effective software solutions Work closely with solution architects, developers, engineers, DBAs, analysts, and product owners to ensure alignment across design and implementation Provide technical leadership throughout the software development lifecycle, ensuring solutions align with agreed architectural goals and engineering standards Lead or participate in code reviews to ensure code quality, consistency, maintainability, and compliance with technical standards Act as a technical resource for the team, helping resolve technical challenges and guiding troubleshooting efforts. Act as a champion of AI adoption in Squad. Mentor and coach team members to support their technical development and help them reach their full potential Perform coding against Agile user stories, including unit tests, in line with coding standards and guidelines Investigate, analyze, and resolve reported defects through code fixes and enhancements Recommend and implement improvements to code, system design, and engineering practices based on current solutions and evolving best practices Advocate best practices, sound engineering principles, and continuous improvement across the team Champion Agile practices that support high-quality and predictable product delivery Support the balance of productivity, delivery, quality, and technical debt management within the functional areas you work in or advise on Contribute to technical documentation, training, presentations, and knowledge sharing to support team capability and consistency Build strong relationships with product owners, solution architects, analysts, and engineering leadership Be an active member of the wider technology community through collaboration, contribution, and continuous learning What you need to have: 14+ Years of total experience, with strong experience working on large-scale enterprise platforms or product-based environments Experience supporting architectural alignment across multiple workstreams or teams Experience improving development standards, team practices, and effective engineering Strong hands-on experience with: C# / .NET / ASP.NET Core REST APIs / Web API JSON Angular or other modern frontend frameworks TypeScript HTML, CSS, LESS/SASS gRPC GENAI/Agentic AI Solid experience with object-oriented programming fundamentals and common design patterns Strong understanding and knowledge of GENAI and Agentic AI frameworks/tools (especially Microsoft Co-pilot, Claude). Experience with unit testing and integration testing Experience with UI testing tools or test automation frameworks is desirable Good understanding of HTTP(S) and other common communication protocols Experience with messaging and middleware technologies such as: RabbitMQ MSMQ MassTransit