Engineering Director, Specialty Travel

We believe “It’s all about the user. ” We’re passionate about providing a seamless one-stop experience for business travelers, no matter how they travel, where they stay, or where they’re going. Navan is hiring a Director of Engineering to oversee our Specialty Travel and Events division.

Requirements

As a pivotal technical leader, you will be responsible for setting the engineering roadmap, mentoring future leaders and hiring top talent, and ensuring our solutions remain reliable, scalable, and relentlessly user-focused.

What You’Ll Do

Technical Leadership: Guide the technical direction and roadmap for critical systems within the travel domain. Must have 10+ years of Software Development Experience with 5+ years of experience leading/managing cross-functional development teams and 3+ years of managing managers. Team Development: Hire, develop, and mentor a high-performing organization of engineers and engineering managers.

Industry Partnership: Work closely with vendors and suppliers to implement modern, API-driven technical approaches and integrate new standards. System Architecture: Drive the scalability, reliability, and extensibility of backend systems that handle complex real-world constraints and high-volume transactions. AI Integration: Guide the implementation of AI-driven workflows, leveraging Navan’s proprietary travel data to provide context-rich outcomes that go beyond generic models.

Cross-Functional Execution: Partner closely with Product, Design, and Operations to deliver ambitious, cross-team initiatives that redefine the traveler experience. Operational Excellence: Modernize long-standing technical assumptions into flexible models, ensuring rapid progress is balanced with the quality and trust required by enterprise customers.

What We’Re Looking For

Experience: Strong background in building and operating large-scale backend systems, with a proven track record of managing engineering teams and scaling team capabilities. Technical Depth: Deep expertise in complex distributed systems and the ability to engage deeply with engineers on architectural details. Execution Focus: A record of delivering complex, cross-functional outcomes in ambiguous environments where you help shape the direction.

Successful leaders at Navan know when to roll up their sleeves and work alongside their teams. Domain Curiosity: While travel experience is a strong plus, you must have a relentless desire to go "under the hood" to understand how the industry actually works rather than treating it as a black box. Global Collaboration: Ability to communicate clearly and work effectively across diverse cultures and time zones (SF, London, Berlin, Tel Aviv, and beyond).

Partner Engagement: The ability to engage effectively with external industry partners and providers, building credibility through your technical depth. Strong Ownership: A "builder" mindset with the follow-through necessary to guide your teams through a rare industry transformation.