Senior Director, Travel Engineering

Navan is building the next generation of travel technology. We are now in the middle of a significant transition in the travel industry, with airlines and hotels rebuilding how they create, price, sell, and service travel. Navan is one of the few companies with both the technical capability and the industry partnerships to help turn this transition into working software at scale.

We are hiring a Senior Director of Engineering to lead the teams responsible for critical lines of business across air and lodging. You will drive organizational leadership, technical direction, and execution, while also representing Navan in detailed conversations with the providers shaping where the ecosystem goes next.

What You’ll Do

• Strategic Leadership: Own the technical direction and roadmap for critical lines of business across air and lodging domains.
• Scale the Function: Hire, develop, and mentor a high-performing organization of engineering managers and senior individual contributors across global regions.
• Industry Partnership: Work directly with airlines, hotels, and industry groups to influence API standards and push for consistent, modern technical approaches.
• Architect Core Systems: Drive the scalability, reliability, and extensibility of backend systems that handle complex real-world constraints and high-volume transactions.
• AI Integration: Lead the implementation of AI-driven workflows, leveraging Navan’s proprietary travel data to provide context-rich outcomes that go beyond generic models.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Partner closely with Product, Design, and Operations to deliver large, 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: Extensive background in building and operating large-scale backend systems, with a proven track record of managing managers and scaling multi-team organizations.
• Technical Breadth: Deep expertise in complex distributed systems and the ability to engage deeply with engineers on architectural details.
• Execution Excellence: A record of delivering ambitious, cross-functional outcomes in ambiguous environments where you help shape the direction.
• 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, Tel Aviv, India, and beyond).
• Stakeholder Influence: The ability to represent Navan in high-stakes conversations with external industry providers, building credibility through technical depth.
• Strong Ownership: A "builder" mindset with the follow-through necessary to place your teams at the center of a rare industry transformation.

About Navan

Navan (Nasdaq: NAVN) is the leading all-in-one business travel, payments, and expense management platform that makes travel easy for frequent travelers. Our team is our competitive edge — a high-performance group of smart, driven people committed to winning together. This dedication to excellence is why we’ve been recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In (2023–2026), a G2 Best Global Software Company (2025-2026), a CNBC Disruptor 50 (2022-2025), and a Forbes Fintech 50 (2022-2025).

Navan offers a comprehensive benefits program designed to support your well-being, financial security, and life outside of work. Our benefits include healthcare coverage, insurance offerings, and wellness resources for you and your family. We support long-term financial growth through retirement savings programs and opportunities to participate in our equity plans. To promote balance, we offer flexible time off, country-specific holidays, and paid parental leave for all new parents.

Workplace Policy

Navan believes in the value of in-person connections. Our employees work from the office four days a week. Please expect this policy for all roles that are tied to an office.

Navan is an equal opportunity employer. We make all employment decisions based solely on merit. We provide equal employment opportunity to all applicants and employees without discrimination on the bases of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

Accommodations

Navan complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability in connection with applications for employment as required by law.