Happy Engineers’ Day! In a typical B2B SaaS company, the role of an engineer often seems defined by a JD: build features, fix bugs, and optimize code. At greytHR, we take pride in nurturing an engineering culture that goes beyond traditional roles, where every engineer contributes to impactful work that touches millions of lives. Here’s a glimpse into the life of an engineer at greytHR and why this is a place where talent thrives.
The greytHR platform is used by thousands of firms, ranging from companies with 5‒10 employees to those with 75,000. Every line of code we write brings countless smiles, as we streamline the lives of over 2.3 million employees in 25+ countries.
Who We Are: A Diverse and Dynamic Engineering Team
Our engineering team spans multiple specialties: Backend, Frontend, Site Reliability (SRE), Platform, Automation, and Performance Engineers. We are firm believers in Lean principles, using Kanban to maintain clarity and continuous progress. Collaboration, efficiency, security first, and customer-centric innovation are at the core of everything we do.
Scale and Impact: Engineering for the Future
The numbers speak for themselves:
- Over $20 billion in salaries processed through our system in the last 12 months.
- 2 releases per day, enabling us to constantly deliver value and improve functionality for our clients.
- A robust 99.5% uptime, supported by our 8x5 monitoring and 24x7 alerting, ensuring our system is dependable, secure, and high-performing.
Our cutting-edge technology stack reflects our ambition:
- We operate across multi-cloud, multi-tenant, and multi-country environments.
- Microservices and cloud-native architecture form the backbone of our system, built on tech such as Java, Python, Angular, React, Docker, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, and more.
- We leverage open-source and industry-leading monitoring tools like OpenTelemetry and Grafana to ensure we stay ahead of the curve.
Our Commitment to Performance, Learning, and Engagement
At greytHR, we are continuously evolving in three critical areas: Performance, Learning, and Engagement.
1. Performance:
Performance is non-negotiable for us. Through mob programming, peer reviews, and a focus on detailed documentation, we maintain excellence across the board. We dedicate 10–20% of our time each quarter to tackling tech debt, ensuring our systems remain scalable, reliable, and secure. Continuous improvement is embedded in our DNA. We use JIRA metrics to track and improve our time-to-market (TTM) and regularly hold Kaizen sessions focused on security, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
2. Learning:
Learning is a cornerstone of our culture. Weekly QA meetups, bi-weekly DevOps sessions, and monthly developer gatherings keep knowledge flowing. Our engineers openly share not only their successes but also their failures – turning each mistake into a valuable learning opportunity. On top of that, HR policies that support book purchases and course reimbursements ensure that every engineer has the tools they need to grow. Our meticulously crafted onboarding handbooks enable new engineers to break even faster, contributing from day one.
3. Engagement:
We believe happy teams build the best products. Team outings, lunches, and the flexibility to work from anywhere are integral to our engagement strategy. More than 50% of our team works remotely from Tier-2, 3, and 4 cities across India. Our R&R (Rewards & Recognition) programs, regular team appreciation, and a shared culture of success stories keep everyone motivated. Our turnover rate is an industry-leading 5%, far below the 12–16% standard, according to Bain. This is not just a statistic; it’s our competitive edge.
Fostering Psychological Safety and Building Trust
At greytHR, we don’t just build software; we build an environment where engineers can thrive. Psychological safety is at the heart of this. We encourage open conversations about failures, always focusing on learning, not blame. Every setback is treated as an opportunity for improvement, not as a failure of a person or team. Respect and dignity are non-negotiable values, and there is zero tolerance for rudeness or disrespect.
Our Hiring Process: Transparent, Fair, and Focused on the Candidate
Our hiring process reflects our values of transparency and fairness. With over 25% of our referrals coming from ex-employees, our impact speaks for itself. We provide timely feedback, keep candidates engaged post-offer, and support engineers holistically, offering wellness and financial education alongside career development.
Culture: A Holistic Approach to Well-being and Growth
Engineers at greytHR don’t just build their careers – they build fulfilling lives. Regular wellness sessions, financial education, and expert-led discussions on wealth-building are part of our commitment to holistic employee growth. We prioritize health and long-term success, fostering a culture where engineers can truly thrive.
Our engineers aren’t just solving problems; they’re shaping the future of work for millions. From cutting-edge technologies to a culture that prioritizes well-being and learning, we are more than just a workplace. We are a team united by purpose, impact, and the desire to make a difference.
About the Author
Surya is an expert in HR technology and serves as VP of Engineering, with 16+ years of experience ensuring the successful delivery of high-quality software solutions. As a senior leader at greytHR, Surya focuses on leveraging technology to solve complex HR challenges and enhance people's experience.
About greytHR
greytHR is a full-suite HRMS platform that simplifies, expedites, and even automates complex, recurring, and yet critical functions of HR and Payroll, in a compliant and secure way. greytHR offers productivity tools for better people management, simpler HR processes, and professional delivery of HR and Payroll services.
While it has a vast portfolio of HR and Payroll products, greytHR’s deep product expertise is in Administrative HR, Payroll, Workforce Management, and Employee Engagement. The platform also offers an app marketplace, mobile-first ESS, and expert-led implementation.
The greytHR platform is currently used by 23,000+ organizations and 2.3 million users in India and 25+ countries.
