Engineering Lead

About the Role & Team
IDC recently launched Quanta, a new AI platform that puts autonomous buyer and seller agents to
work on IDC's global technology market-intelligence data — helping tech buyers and vendors make
faster, evidence-backed decisions. It's a genuinely new kind of product for a research company that's
spent decades defining the category, and it's live today for customers outside China.

The Opportunity: Bringing Quanta to China
We're now extending Quanta into China, and it's a real engineering problem, not a copy-paste rollout.
China's data-residency requirements mean large parts of the platform have to be independently
rebuilt to run in-country: user data, uploaded documents, and query handling all need to stay in
China, and some of the AWS and agent infrastructure we rely on elsewhere isn't available there at all.
You'd be the engineer who solves that. You'll be the founding member of a new China-based
engineering team: architecting and building the in-country version of Quanta yourself, then running it
and growing the team around you. It's an unusual combination — a 0-to-1 build on top of an
already-proven product, genuinely hard technical constraints to design around, and long-term
ownership once it's live.

What You’ll Do

• Architect and build a China-resident version of Quanta's user data platform, including modernizing
  a 10+ year old access model behind a new API layer
• Get Quanta's AI agents running in China without AgentCore, by adapting or forking the agent
  orchestration layer to a China-compatible alternative
• Rebuild the document upload, storage, and search/vector-index systems to run independently
  inside China
• Design the data boundary that lets China-based search and agents operate while keeping IDC's
  proprietary research and verbatim user queries appropriately separated from crossing in or out of the
  country
• Recruit, hire, and lead the long-term China engineering team, starting as its first member
• Own the system on an ongoing basis after launch — this is a long-term build-and-run role, not a
  one-time migration handoff
  
  

What You Bring

• 8+ years of full-stack or backend software engineering experience, including ownership of
  architecture decisions under real infrastructure and regulatory constraints
• Direct experience building or operating systems inside China's infrastructure/data-residency
  environment
• Experience with API design and migrating legacy systems (databases, access models) onto modern
  service layers
• Working knowledge of search/vector-index systems and LLM agent orchestration frameworks
• Experience leading or mentoring engineers — you'll be building a team, not joining one
• Fluency in Mandarin and English
• Comfort operating with real autonomy and ambiguity, including constraints that may still shift as
  the project proceeds
  Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with China-specific cloud providers (Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, Huawei Cloud) as
  AWS alternatives
• Prior 0-to-1 or greenfield build experience, ideally in a regulated or data-sovereignty-constrained
  market
• Experience working on a distributed team across US/EU/China time zones
• Familiarity with MCP (Model Context Protocol), as our broader agent orchestrator migration is
  moving that direction
  
  

Why This Role Stands Out
At IDC, your work helps shape how the world understands technology and where it goes next. You collaborate with curious, high-caliber colleagues who value rigor, integrity, and shared success. As the premier global provider of trusted technology intelligence, IDC equips business and technology leaders with the evidence they need to make confident decisions. Our insights inform strategy, investment, and innovation across industries and regions.

Recognized by IIAR as Analyst Firm of the Year for five consecutive years, IDC sets the standard for credibility and impact. With more than 1,000 analysts worldwide and a truly global perspective, we combine deep expertise with practical relevance. Here, your ideas matter, your voice is heard, and your contributions provide the insights leaders rely on every day. It is meaningful work, backed by a culture that supports growth, collaboration, and long-term career development with a globally respected brand.

What We Offer

• Individualized Culture: An environment where you can explore new areas outside your specialty
  and stay engaged with work you enjoy.
• Hybrid Working: Hybrid working with 4 days in office per week required.
• Time-off and holidays: On top of your statutory holiday allowance and public holidays, IDC grants
  annually reviewed company-wide closures on 19 August (Unplug Day) and 24 December – 1 January
  inclusive (Global Shutdown) and a volunteering day.
• A position in a highly professional and globally respected market research and advisory firm, where
  initiative leading to results is rewarded.

Equal Opportunity Employer

IDC is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified persons. Employment eligibility verification required. We participate in E-Verify.

If this role relocates to a different country, the salary range will be updated to reflect that country's range, rather than a currency conversion of the original range.