Leads and scales a 50+ member India-based engineering organization supporting merchandising, pricing, product information, CPQ, rebates, and marketplace platforms. Owns technology strategy, modernization, architecture, delivery, operational KPIs, stakeholder alignment, and talent development. Drives cloud-native, microservices, DevOps, CI/CD, automated QA, and AI-native engineering practices across distributed global teams.
Role Summary
This role is part of the global IT organization and will be instrumental in driving the evolution of Staples’ Merchandising and Pricing technology capabilities. The leader will oversee a team responsible for support, enhancements, and new initiatives across seven product PODs spanning three pillars: Product Lifecycle & Assortment Management, Enterprise Pricing & Revenue Management, and 3P Marketplace Enablement.
The Associate Director will lead and scale the India-based GCC engineering team (50+ members), ensuring seamless collaboration with US-based engineering managers, architects, and business stakeholders. This role demands a leader who combines strong delivery management with deep functional acumen across merchandising, pricing, and marketplace domains.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
- Lead and scale the India-based Merchandising & Pricing Technology team (50+ members) within the GCC
- Align technology strategy with global merchandising, pricing, and marketplace IT objectives
- Drive modernization of legacy systems and adoption of scalable, cloud-native platforms
Functional Oversight
Oversee systems supporting:
- Product Information Management (PIM) & Master Data Management (MDM) — item onboarding, enrichment, mastering, and syndication via STIBO STEP for 100,000+ SKUs
- Promotions & Pricing Platforms — promotional pricing, competitive pricing, price rules, and margin optimization across retail and digital channels
- B2B Vendor Rebates — rebate program management, accrual tracking, and vendor cost analysis
- CPQ Ecosystem & Contract Bid/Quote Management — B2B contract pricing, customer-specific quotes, and PROS CPQ integration
- 3rd Party Marketplace Price Engine — competitive pricing engine, listing management, and catalog syndication across Amazon, Walmart, and Target (powered by Merceo platform)
- Ensure seamless integration and performance across legacy, modern, and COTS platforms
Delivery & Operations
- Manage end-to-end delivery of support, enhancements, and strategic initiatives across all product PODs
- Establish and monitor KPIs for system performance, support SLAs, and project execution
- Promote automation in testing, deployment, and operations to improve quality and efficiency
- Strong program/project management and delivery ownership across large, distributed teams
Architecture & Systems Thinking
- Partner with domain architects to drive architectural decisions across the merchandising and pricing ecosystem.
- Evaluate technical trade-offs across a complex landscape of microservices, SaaS platforms, and enterprise integrations
- Ensure systems serve as the authoritative source for product and pricing data, supporting APIs and data services to 100+ downstream applications.
Modernization & Innovation
- Lead transformation initiatives to modernize merchandising and pricing systems and infrastructure.
- Evaluate and implement emerging technologies to enhance platform agility and resilience
- Drive adoption of DevOps, CI/CD, and automated QA practices
- Leverage event-driven, microservices-based architectures to build scalable and resilient systems.
AI-Native Engineering & Force Multiplication
- Champion an AI-native mindset across the GCC engineering organization — leveraging tools like GitHub Copilot, AI-assisted code generation, and intelligent testing to accelerate delivery and elevate engineering quality.
- Drive adoption of AI-driven SDLC practices across the team: AI-assisted design reviews, automated code analysis, intelligent documentation, and predictive quality assurance
- Embed AI tooling into everyday engineering workflows — not just coding, but requirements analysis, architecture exploration, incident resolution, and operational intelligence.
- Act as a force multiplier by enabling engineers at all levels to leverage AI tools to amplify their impact, reduce toil, and focus on higher-order problem solving.
- Establish best practices and governance for responsible AI tool usage across the engineering organization
Stakeholder Engagement
- Collaborate directly with US-based business stakeholders — merchants, pricing analysts, revenue management, and marketplace operations teams
- Partner with US engineering managers and architects to align on roadmaps, priorities, and delivery cadence
- Serve as a trusted advisor on merchandising and pricing technology strategy and execution.
Talent & Capability Building
- Attract, develop, and retain top engineering talent across merchandising, pricing, and marketplace domains
- Foster a high-performance culture focused on innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement
Requirements
Minimum Years of Experience
- Minimum of 12 years of experience in IT with a focus on merchandising, pricing, or e-commerce technology systems
- Minimum of 4 years of experience working in a full stack engineering role
Basic Qualifications
- Proven leadership experience managing large teams (50+) in a GCC or similar setup.
- Deep functional acumen across Product Information Management (PIM/MDM), Pricing & Promotions platforms, CPQ ecosystems, and marketplace technology
- Experience with B2B vendor rebate management, contract bid/quote systems, and 3rd party marketplace pricing engines
- Expertise in Java, Spring Boot, React/Angular, microservices architectures, and SaaS platforms
- Strong background in cloud platforms (Azure/GCP), system modernization, and automation
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills with ability to engage directly with business teams
- Champion of AI-native engineering practices — demonstrated experience driving adoption of AI tools (GitHub Copilot, AI-assisted testing, intelligent code review) as a force multiplier across engineering teams
- AI-driven SDLC mindset: proven ability to embed AI tooling across the software development lifecycle to accelerate delivery, improve quality, and amplify team productivity
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in global retail or B2B commerce environments
- Hands-on experience with STIBO STEP (PIM/MDM), PROS CPQ, or similar enterprise platforms
- Exposure to cloud-native transformation programs and event-driven architectures
- Ability to lead in a fast-paced, matrixed organization with a global footprint
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