TechBullion is thrilled to feature Gunjan Agarwal, a technology leader who has built and led high performing teams and innovative products across diverse sectors, including healthcare, e-commerce, IOT and AR/VR. With an impressive career spanning over a decade at industry giants such as Meta, Amazon, Nutanix and Itron, Gunjan has made a significant impact by shaping the career and growth trajectories of many aspiring professionals.
Currently, Gunjan serves as Engineering Manager in Meta, where he leads teams driving development of innovative AR/VR products and the virtual interactions that are re-shaping the future. His leadership philosophy emphasises creating autonomous, metric driven teams, fostering alignment around a shared vision, and nurturing individual talent across functions – a philosophy he has successfully implemented throughout his career.
In this exclusive interview, Gunjan shares his insights on leadership, cultivating a strong team culture and driving innovation within the dynamic world of Big Tech.
Q: Welcome; it is a pleasure to have you with us today. Tell us a bit about yourself and your work experience.
Gunjan: Thank you! My experience covers over 15 years of technology and engineering management in different fields including health care, e-commerce, IoT, conservative Support and AR/VR. I have had a great opportunity to lead and build teams at Meta, Amazon, Nutanix, and Itron where I have been a champion of product development and enabling engineers. I have managed Engineering teams that have developed high performing engineers into leading managers and supported organisations to establish an environment where engineers have independence, insights through data, and a common goal.
At the moment, I’m an Engineering Manager with Meta in the UK and my team works on AR/VR solutions. This position gives me the opportunity to be part of innovative projects that are changing the way people engage with virtual systems. My most recent work experience before Meta includes Amazon and Nutanix where I was given the opportunity to manage engineering teams and work on the development of products for the B2C and B2B segments and won awards like one of the top rated support products by ASP for the support portal at Nutanix.
Q: To begin with, you’ve had a fascinating career trajectory, leading teams that worked on some highly impactful and ambitious projects at Big Tech. What are some of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned as an Engineering leader at Companies like Meta, Nutanix and Amazon ?
Gunjan: I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked alongside and learned from some of the finest leaders, peers, and engineers at these companies. The insights and lessons from these experiences have profoundly shaped my leadership approach. Among the most impactful lessons I’ve learned, here are those that have consistently guided me and influenced my leadership style.
Build a Metrics-Driven Culture: Culture that is metrics-centric enables teams to make appropriate decisions and evaluate their efforts objectively. Metrics increase clarity, reduce uncertainty and promote responsibility which means that decisions will be made on the basis of facts rather than guessing. To encourage this culture, leaders have to sit down with their teams and look at the selected metrics on a regular basis, highlight achievements linked to the metrics, and most importantly, update the metrics as the challenges and priorities change.
Embrace a Customer-Centric Mindset: A successful product stems from an intense focus on the needs, pain points, and aspirations of the customers it serves. A focus on the customer, enables the teams to go beyond the requirements of the technical specifications and aim to bring benefit to the recipient. Leaders should encourage teams to actively listen to customer feedback, study user behaviour, and ensure that decisions are driven by the desire to solve real customer problems. I encourage my teams to connect with Sales; marketing; UXR functions that operate much closer to the real customers.
Encourage Experimentation and Innovation: Innovation thrives in environments where experimentation is embraced. By fostering a culture that celebrates creativity and accepts the possibility of failure, leaders can motivate teams to explore bold ideas and push boundaries. Encourage your team to prototype, run tests, and learn from outcomes, whether successful or not. Celebrating incremental wins, as well as the lessons from unsuccessful attempts, reduces the fear of failure and emboldens engineers to pursue groundbreaking solutions that can set your product and team apart.
Set a Clear Vision and Inspire Your Team: A well-defined vision aligns your team around a common purpose and creates excitement for the future. Leaders should articulate this vision in clear, compelling terms and connect it to each team member’s role and goals. Inspiring your team with a vision provides direction, reduces confusion, and helps everyone understand the “why” behind the “what.” Regularly reiterate the vision, celebrate milestones along the way, and ensure that it remains relevant as the team and product evolve. This clarity and inspiration can elevate engagement and drive performance.
Maximise Impact by Hiring the Best and Cultivating Talent: The Ultimate Multiplier: Investing in talent development is one of the most effective ways to multiply impact. High-growth companies succeed because they hire the best and continuously uplevel the skills of their workforce, and as a leader, it’s your responsibility to provide opportunities for growth. Regularly coach and mentor team members, offer opportunities to lead projects, and encourage learning through training and exposure to new challenges. Building a team of capable, empowered individuals not only strengthens your immediate group but also raises the bar for the broader organisation.
Set Up Effective Cross-functional and Cross-Team Collaboration Mechanisms: Cross-functional and cross-team collaboration are essential for delivering cohesive products in large organisations. Set up clear collaboration frameworks, such as regular check-ins, shared roadmaps, and open communication channels. These mechanisms ensure alignment across different domains, reduce friction, and enable teams to deliver solutions that serve the bigger picture. As a leader, prioritise transparency, clarify expectations, and foster strong relationships across teams to facilitate smoother collaboration and prevent silos.
Reward Craftsmanship and Engineering Excellence: Craftsmanship and excellence should be recognized as they are foundational to delivering quality products. Celebrate engineers who consistently go above and beyond in coding standards, system reliability, and technical innovation. By rewarding attention to detail and excellence in engineering, you set a standard that elevates the entire team’s performance. Establish a culture where high standards are respected and encourage the continuous improvement of technical skills.
Q: That’s an excellent list. Moving with speed is critical in today’s world. How do you harmonise the expectation for speed in getting new products onto the market with that for stability and reliability in products, particularly for critical ones?
Gunjan: Harmonising the need for speed with the demand for stability and reliability requires a balanced approach that prioritises both agility and robust engineering practices. Begin by identifying the product’s critical aspects and setting clear thresholds for stability and reliability that cannot be compromised. Then, apply an iterative development model where each phase includes built-in checkpoints for quality and resilience testing. Leverage feature flags, A/B testing, and staged rollouts to introduce new features incrementally, allowing you to assess impact and gather feedback in real time without compromising the stability of the entire product. Emphasise a culture of continuous integration and testing to catch issues early and make stability a non-negotiable element of your team’s definition of “done.” This approach enables teams to innovate and push updates rapidly while maintaining the reliability that’s critical for user trust.
Q: Following up on the point about innovation; the speed at which technology changes today is unprecedented. How do you encourage and enable your teams to continuously innovate ?
Gunjan: To foster continuous innovation in a rapidly evolving technological landscape, it’s essential to create a culture where learning, experimentation, and curiosity are ingrained into everyday work. During planning set aside some time for innovation; Encourage team members to dedicate time to exploring new technologies, whether through hackathons, side projects, or structured learning sessions. Provide access to resources like training, tech conferences to keep them ahead of industry trends. Embrace a fail-fast mindset by giving teams the freedom to test ideas and iterate quickly, without fear of repercussions if things don’t work out. Recognize and celebrate both small and significant innovations, reinforcing that every effort to push boundaries—whether successful or not—is a valuable step toward long-term growth and impact
Q: Many engineers hope to progress to management roles. So what tips would you offer them taking into consideration your experience?
Gunjan: Whether it’s about transitioning from an engineering role to Manager or becoming a more effective Sr. Engineer; it requires a shift in focus from individual contributions to enabling the success of others, which can be both exciting and challenging. From my experience, here are some key tips to help you prepare for and succeed in a management role:
- Develop a People-First Mindset: Management is about amplifying the strengths of your team, so a genuine interest in people’s growth is essential. Start practising mentorship—help junior engineers and peers with career guidance, provide feedback, and learn to coach rather than just solve problems.
- Master the Art of Clear Vision and Communication: Leaders must create clarity and align teams around shared goals. Practice articulating these goals and checking in regularly on progress, which helps in developing vision-setting and motivational skills.
- Build Strong Cross-Functional Collaboration Skills: Engineering managers spend a significant amount of time working with other teams, like product, design, and operations, to align goals and prioritise effectively. Practise clear, open communication and learn to appreciate different perspectives to ensure smoother collaboration and trust.
- Learn to Prioritise and Balance Technical and Business Goals: As a manager, you’ll need to bridge engineering priorities with business objectives. Get comfortable with business metrics and begin thinking about how your engineering work contributes to the company’s goals.
- Seek Out Leadership Opportunities: Volunteer to lead projects, organize team activities, or mentor newer team members. These experiences will allow you to develop skills in decision-making, conflict resolution, and team-building—all critical for management roles.
The journey to management is about consistently demonstrating ownership, a growth mindset, and the ability to uplift others. By focusing on these areas, you’ll not only prepare yourself for a future management role but also make an immediate, meaningful impact on your team and organisation
Q: You have emphasised the importance of growing talent. Any advice for engineers who want to become highly effective and grow in their career ?
Gunjan: To become highly effective and accelerate career growth as an engineer, start by mastering core technical skills and staying curious about emerging tools and trends—adaptability and a strong foundation will keep you relevant. Develop a problem-solving mindset by proactively identifying ways to improve processes, simplify workflows, and enhance product quality, positioning yourself as a valuable team member. Seek feedback regularly and focus on continuous improvement, as being receptive to constructive input shows maturity and a growth mindset. Additionally, I can’t overemphasise the value of honing your communication and collaboration skills; clearly explaining technical concepts and building strong relationships across functions enhances alignment and visibility within the organiыation. Take ownership by looking for leadership opportunities, mentoring others, and contributing to team initiatives, as initiative is a trait that managers value highly. Finally, understand the company’s business and customer goals and align your work with these broader objectives, enabling you to make more strategic decisions and create solutions that have a meaningful impact.
Q: Now, looking to the future, what are some of the most important challenges you anticipate for engineering leaders in the next few years?
Gunjan: There is one that stands out for me.
As hybrid and remote work continue to evolve, creating an environment that fosters connection, learning, and growth will be essential for retaining top talent. Leaders must develop new strategies for mentoring, building culture, and ensuring team cohesion despite physical distance, as well as providing clear paths for growth that work well in a decentraliыed setting.
Q: Those are certainly critical considerations. Any final thoughts you’d like to share with our readers?
Gunjan: Absolutely. Embrace resilience, cultivate curiosity, and always keep in mind that, at its core, every piece of work we do has a human element. Technology holds immense potential to transform lives in ways we may never fully see, but as engineering leaders, we carry a profound responsibility in wielding this power thoughtfully and ethically. Our purpose should extend beyond the code we write or the products we build to focus on creating meaningful change for others. At the end of the day, technology is a tool for positive transformation—let’s strive to drive that transformation in every project we undertake, working toward a future that is better for everyone
