How to Scale Engineering Teams from Startup to Corporate
How does an engineering team transition from a scrappy, startup mindset to think in terms of scale? It takes intentionality and strategy. As Coupa has transformed from a small organization to a leader in Business Spend Management, we have grown from a team of two engineers in 2006 to over 900 in the engineering team in 2022. Over the years, our teams have faced growing pains — as Coupa acquired companies, more people and more technologies had to mesh seamlessly together. Below are some of the best practices we have adopted to improve internal communication, improve code quality, and allow our engineers to quickly and efficiently add features.
When a software product is in an early stage and teams are small, design decisions can be made over a quick meeting, code reviews can be done by sitting next to each other, functional testing can be done manually, and deployments can be done at will. As teams grow in size and geographic location and the product matures and expands, communication and strategy on scaling the business becomes of utmost importance to avoid spaghetti code, performance lags, and siloed engineering teams with little integration.
9 ways engineering managers can scale their engineering teams
You may be asking yourself how to manage hundreds of developers, working across dozens of functional teams, across several time zones. It’s important to know where checks and balances should be implemented to ensure quality, efficiency, and knowledge transfers without hampering the speed and efficiency at which a startup operates.
1. Design reviews
At Coupa, all changes regardless of size go through a formal review process, focusing on the functional, technical, performance, and security aspects. Analyzing the impact of the change across the entire suite of software products is very important to prevent unwanted outcomes or confusion for our customers or other engineers trying to add a feature that touches unknown parts of the code or application. Subject matter experts review the changes internally first, and when needed these are lined up for a formal review by our principal architects.
2. Code reviews
To ensure that code being committed doesn’t negatively affect the system, all Github commits are required to have a pull request identifying what has changed and why. Depending on what kind of changes are made, the tool identifies various categories of reviewers to be assigned like API, UI, security, or migration. Reviewers don’t generally stop at finding problems, but they also support developers in making required changes. Reviewers are picked after a thorough evaluation process to ensure there are no loose ends.
3. Data table schemas and data migrations
As customer datasets grow, solutions must be built to allow for zero downtime schema changes. For example, engineers at Coupa built an internal tool which alters a table’s structure without blocking reads or writes to it. When data migration on these large sets of rows is required, Coupa uses a robust framework to divide and conquer the problem by distributing smaller chunks of work to multiple processes.
4. Performance
Keeping the performance implications of proposed changes in mind throughout the entire design and implementation phase of features will save many headaches near the end of a development phase. Coupa engineers have built a framework for testing pull requests on sanitized production data to get early feedback on performance implications. “Labs'’ simulate production scale load and test features to measure if the performance is affected by increased loads. Automations have been built to check the codebase of any increase in memory usage or app-bootup time at the end of every two-week sprint.
5. Reliability
Paired with performance, customers need to expect and trust the software’s reliability throughout each release. Teams at Coupa have KPIs like search response times, page load times, and error rates on calls to third party software that are reviewed regularly so that proper and timely corrections can be made. More importantly, teams should build safeguards around what customers can do with your application. Without these, customers may end up unknowingly exploiting our systems.
6. Code styling
Start-ups sometimes may be more focused releasing and short-term wins rather than long-term maintenance and code quality. To enforce the coding guidelines and standards outlined in the community as well as the company, Coupa engineers use static code analyzers like Rubocop or ESLint as well as code formatters. Reference this article on how to set up these tools.
7. Automation testing
Every pull request should pass the suite of existing tests to ensure the new functionality works as well as all previous functionality that is still intact. Not every part of the application can be tested via unit tests, so Coupa supplements the thousands of unit tests with additional test suites for UI / API / migration / end-to-end tests. Developers and reviewers must ensure appropriate coverage is added within the test suite for the new functionality being added.
8. Application security
Hands-on labs and annual mandatory compliance training should be put in place to make sure all developers know and understand the OWASP Top 10 Security Vulnerabilities that safeguard the application and customers’ data. Delivering a secure and scalable platform is a top priority and Coupa engineering goes above and beyond to ensure compliance so the entire Coupa community feels secure.
9. Release cycles
It’s very important to give customers adequate time to test and plan for upgrades. Coupa Engineering and Documentation teams work together to ensure that all code changes for major releases as well as continuous integration updates for customers are documented well and customers have been properly trained on what they can expect. By having this process in place we keep the channels of communication open and avoid unwanted setbacks.
Growing a global engineering team takes a great balance: productivity vs process. The goal is always to move at the rapid pace of a start-up but have smart (but not cumbersome) processes to keep all engineers informed about architecture and design changes as the team grows. And while Coupa is always #StrivingForExcellence and will never stop improving with that balance, hopefully some of these processes will help with your growing team.
Engineers at Coupa are shaping what’s next, through code, curiosity, impact, and a shared commitment to building better systems for people and businesses. In celebration of Engineers Week 2026, we asked a few of our engineers how they’re transforming the future: their own, Coupa’s, and the communities we serve. Their answers reflect a profession grounded in purpose, growth, and possibility.
As we continue our Black History Month celebration, Coupa’s Engage employee resource group is proud to spotlight more voices whose journeys reflect the lasting impact of Black innovation in technology. Building on our first feature, this blog highlights Coupanians whose paths into tech weren’t always linear but whose perspectives are shaping how technology, people, and possibility intersect at Coupa. Through the stories of Elise Huggins, Rashida Jones, and Johnny White, we’re reminded that innovation is strongest when it’s grounded in imagination, inclusion, and human purpose.
As Coupa celebrates 20 years of innovation, growth, and impact, it’s the people who’ve grown alongside the company who best reflect what that journey really looks like. For Sukhada Bardapurkar, Partner Success Manager, the last 10 years at Coupa have been shaped by curiosity, connection, and a deep sense of ownership in the results she helps deliver. “At every stage of my career here, I’ve genuinely cared about the impact of my work and how it enables both me and the team to move forward,” Sukhada shares. “Owning results motivates me and it pushes me to stay curious and solve problems proactively.”
At Coupa, we believe great work deserves to be recognized, not just for outcomes but for the commitment, ownership, and impact it brings. From weekly wins to milestone achievements, celebrating excellence is part of how we show up for one another. As part of our evolving rewards and recognition program, the Coupa India Leadership Team introduced the Standout Performer Award (Monthly) and Extra Mile Award (Quarterly) to spotlight Coupanians whose contributions drive individual, team, and business success. We’re proud to recognize our Stan dout Performer Award winner for November 2025 and invite you to join us in celebrating his achievement.
As we celebrate Black History Month, Coupa’s Engage employee resource group honors the resilience, creativity, and leadership of Black pioneers whose innovation has shaped technology and artificial intelligence. This year’s theme, “ Innovation and the Impact of Black Pioneers in Tech and AI ,” recognizes trailblazers who challenged barriers, introduced new ways of thinking, and built pathways for future generations. Through the voices of Coupanians across our organization, we celebrate how those legacies continue to inspire us to innovate with purpose, push boundaries, and help shape what’s next at Coupa.
Chien-Yi Tsai’s career hasn’t followed a straight line, and that’s exactly what led him to innovation. Looking back, Chien-Yi doesn’t see a single defining moment that made him an inventor. Instead, he sees a series of questions, challenges, and moments of curiosity that gradually shaped him into the engineer he is today. His focus was never on earning a patent, but on continuous learning, solving meaningful problems, and pushing beyond what felt comfortable. “I never set out with the goal of becoming a patent inventor,” Chien-Yi shares. “I was focused on learning, solving real problems, and pushing myself beyond what felt comfortable.” That mindset ultimately led him to Coupa, and to invention. A Career Built on Curiosity Like many engineers, Chien-Yi’s early career was about building strong foundations: understanding how systems work, weighing technical tradeoffs, and learning how technology can solve real business challenges. Each role added depth such as stronger technical skills, broader systems thinking, and a growing appreciation for collaboration. When Chien-Yi joined Coupa, he entered an environment that actively encouraged curiosity. The challenges weren’t neatly packaged; they were complex, evolving, and deeply connected to real-world supply chain operations. That complexity pushed him to think bigger and approach problems more creatively. Before Coupa, Chien-Yi didn’t consider himself an “inventor.” He saw himself as a problem solver. Over time, he realized the distinction wasn’t as clear as he once thought. “I didn’t think of myself as an inventor but more of a problem solver,” he says. “Over time, I realized those two things aren’t very different.” The Spark Behind the Patent The idea that eventually became a patent began with a simple question: How can supply chains become smarter, faster, and more efficient as new delivery methods emerge? As delivery models continue to evolve, Chien-Yi became increasingly interested in how emerging transportation capabilities could be thoughtfully integrated with traditional logistics networks. That curiosity led to deeper exploration of how different modes of delivery could operate together within a single system. As Chien-Yi thought more about the increasing viability of drones, it became clear to him that they could play a meaningful role in logistics. But integrating aerial delivery with traditional ground transportation introduced an entirely new layer of complexity. What started as informal conversations and rough concepts evolved into a structured exploration of how to model routes that intelligently combine aerial and ground delivery assets, accounting for capabilities, constraints, and user preferences. The challenge wasn’t just technical; it required rethinking how multiple transportation modes could operate as one unified system. Chien-Yi credits his colleague at the time, Hafiz Hasan, as a key partner in the ideation and patenting process. “Hafiz played a major role in shaping the idea and writing the patent,” Chien-Yi notes. “I learned a tremendous amount from working with him.”
Innovation doesn’t always start with a job description. In some cases, it starts with curiosity. For Keerthi Raghavendra, now an Associate Product Manager on Coupa’s AI & Analytics team, that curiosity turned into a passion project, and ultimately, a career-defining opportunity.
So much can happen in one year, especially in your career journey. We shine the light on four Coupanians across the globe who hit their one-year milestone. In the process, they share stories of learning, impact, and the values that unite #AllOfUs. From Bogotá to Pune to the U.S., this foursome reflects on their first year at Coupa and what it means to Shape What’s Next together. Testament to our culture, this journey sparked something unexpected. Two Bogota teammates—Lucas and José—started at Coupa as colleagues and ended their first year as close friends. Their story is a reminder that when we Build Tomorrow Together, relationships are often the greatest win. Let’s meet Lucas, Maddy, José, and Mehnaz and hear what their first year at Coupa has meant to them.
AI Helps. People Hire. How Coupa Keeps Recruiting Human. At Coupa, transformation is part of who we are. Whether it’s using our platform to help businesses run smarter or how people build meaningful careers with us, integrity is at our core. We also understand that the job search can feel both exciting and overwhelming. Generative AI (GenAI) has emerged as a helpful tool in the job hunt, but we want candidates to know one thing clearly: every hiring decision at Coupa is made by real people. AI can support your journey. It will never replace real connection, context, or the value of your lived experience. It’s great if AI tools help you feel more prepared. What matters most is you and what you uniquely bring to an opportunity. Here are a few simple guidelines to help you understand our position on the ethical use of AI throughout your application process. Tips for Using AI in Your Application Journey Use AI as a starting point, not the final version. AI can help brainstorm résumé or cover-letter ideas, but your application should reflect your true experience and voice which is what we care about. Lean into what makes you stand apart. AI can refine words, but only you can share the real story behind your work, impact, and growth. Prep with AI, but don’t script interviews. AI-generated mock questions can help you practice, but we want your thinking, not rehearsed answers. Stay truthful. Using AI to organize your ideas is great. Using it to stretch or fabricate experience isn’t. Show us your authentic self.
Talent isn’t something we simply acquire but it’s more about the humanity of each current and future Coupanian to help people grow, feel supported and recognized for their efforts. Over the past year, our Talent Acquisition team has stayed focused on one core belief: when people come first, innovation, impact, and growth follow. This year was shaped by transparency, storytelling, and a renewed commitment to building a hiring experience that reflects who we truly are. Here’s a look at the moments that mattered most and how they helped us shape what’s next. Humanizing the Hiring Experience One of our biggest priorities this year was pulling back the curtain on the real Coupa hiring journey. Through our Shaping What’s Next series , we shared authentic, behind-the-scenes perspectives—from first outreach to first day on the job. Rather than focusing on the process alone, we focused on people. We highlighted: New Coupanians taking their leap Recruiters building genuine relationships Hiring managers seeking curiosity, impact, and values alignment By showing how Coupa’s Core Values come to life at every stage, we strengthened trust with candidates and reinforced transparency as a true differentiator. Talent Brand Shaped by Real People Our talent brand -- Help Shape What’s Next – came alive through the voices of the Coupa Village. This year, we amplified employee stories across regions, roles, and career stages, from campus hires to senior leaders. Through people spotlights and regional storytelling, we showcased what growth, belonging, and purpose look like in practice. These highlighted real career journeys. And that authenticity resonated deeply with both employees and future talent. Innovation, Told Through the People Building It Innovation is core to Coupa, and this year, we made a deliberate shift to tell innovation stories through the people behind the work. From engineering breakthroughs to platform evolution, we spotlighted the builders and problem-solvers shaping what’s next. Stories like Stella Lee’s journey highlighted not just technical excellence, but collaboration, leadership growth, and trust. This was reinforced through Salvatore Lombardo’s Architecting What’s Next with AI perspective , which framed AI not as a replacement for people, but as a powerful force that amplifies human capability. His vision underscored how Coupa is responsibly architecting agentic AI, grounded in real customer needs, trusted data, and human judgment.