Arvind Rangarajan profile photo

Arvind Rangarajan

Senior Director of Engineering at Zapier

Engineering LeadershipAI & AutomationPlatform EngineeringSaaS ArchitectureGrowth EngineeringStrategic Planning
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About

I'm Arvind Rangarajan, currently the Senior Director of Engineering at Zapier. My career has been defined by a journey from hands-on software engineering to leading global teams at high-growth companies like Branch and BrightEdge. I am deeply passionate about AI-native engineering and making automation accessible to everyone, from small businesses to large enterprises. At Zapier, I focus on orchestrating AI within our products and scaling platforms that handle hundreds of thousands of AI tasks daily. I'm a firm believer in the 'player-coach' philosophy—staying close to the technical details while empowering my team to ship fast and make an impact. Whether I'm recruiting customer-obsessed talent, mentoring the next generation of engineering leaders, or exploring new LLM integrations, I'm driven by the goal of using technology to solve real-world problems more effectively.

Networking

What I can offer

  • ›Engineering leadership mentorship
  • ›Insights on AI orchestration and LLM integration
  • ›Expertise in scaling global engineering teams
  • ›Guidance on building remote-first engineering cultures

Looking for

  • ›Customer-obsessed and outcome-oriented engineering talent
  • ›Partnerships within the automation and API connectivity community
  • ›Emerging engineering managers seeking mentorship

Best fit for

Engineering leadersSoftware engineersData scientistsAutomation enthusiastsProduct managers

Current Interests

AI-Native EngineeringIntelligent AutomationEngineering Leadership MentorshipRemote Work CultureLLM Integration

Background

Career

Progressed from Software Engineering Consultant to Senior Director of Engineering, with significant leadership tenures at BrightEdge, Branch, and Zapier.

Education

Master of Science (MS) in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University; Bachelor of Engineering (BE) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Anna University.

Opinions

  • AI should be used to serve customers more effectively, requiring more engineers rather than fewer, and should not be a justification for layoffs.
  • Leaders should stay in the details—reviewing designs and building prototypes—while scaling through coaching.
  • Decision-making should stay close to where the work actually happens.