Zoho SME

Data Drone runs a Zoho implementation practice that ships outcomes in 45 days. Not a license shop. Not a generalist consultancy. Every engagement starts with one Hero use case and ends with that use case running in production — owned by the client, with the runbook to grow it.

This role is the core builder. The person whose hands shape the Zoho org the client will live in. The seat the practice cannot get wrong.

You design the solution. You write the Deluge. You lock the configuration. You hand over a Zoho org that runs like a machine — not because we polished it, because we built it right.

You sit at the centre of every engagement. The Engagement Manager runs the rhythm; the Integration Specialist wires Zoho to the outside; the Data Specialist owns the baseline;
Reporting & BI builds the dashboards; QA gates production. You own the Zoho-shaped centre of all of it.

You will not be doing fork-lift configuration or dragging fields onto layouts to fill time. You will be designing the Hero workflow that activates real revenue, writing Deluge that handles the messy reality of production, and holding the line on a field set when the VP of Sales pushes back.

• Morning blueprint check, midday hands-on build block (phone off), EOD checkpoint with the Engagement Manager.
• Sandbox first, always. Production deploys go through a QA gate.
• Configuration Reference updated end-of-day every build day. No exceptions.
• Cultural maxim: "Design before build. Document as you build. Hand over what you'd want to inherit."
• Timezone Flexibility — clients pick NA / EMEA / APAC; we mirror.

• Own Hero solution design through Day-7 lock — Requirements Pack §3 signed.
• Build blueprints, workflows, layouts, fields, custom modules across the Zoho One stack.
• Build Creator apps when the use case calls for one (not when it doesn't).
• Maintain the Configuration Reference as a living document; current at EOD every build day.
• Coordinate cross-lane handoffs with Integration, Data, and Reporting specialists.
• Honor the QA gate — never push unilateral to production.
• Train the client's admin so they can extend without you.

• Deep, hands-on experience in Zoho CRM admin and architecture — not generic CRM, Zoho specifically.
• Deluge fluency. You can write idempotent, error-handled functions, not just snippets that work in the sandbox.
• Familiar with the full Zoho One ecosystem — CRM, Books, Desk, Creator, Catalyst, Analytics, Marketplace.
• You've shipped at least three end-to-end Zoho implementations — not just feature work or admin tickets.
• You can lock a field set with a client and hold the line on scope without making them feel walled in.
• You document as you build. End-of-day Configuration Reference is your normal, not your aspiration.

• Multi-product implementations — CRM + Books, CRM + Desk + Creator.
• Migration experience from competitor CRMs (Salesforce, Hub Spot, Dynamics).
• Industry vertical depth — Services, SaaS, Distribution, Manufacturing.

• Design before build. No Deluge until the blueprint is on paper.
• Maintainability over cleverness. Workflow rule first, Deluge last.
• Document as you build, not after. If it's in the system, you understand why.
• Hold the line on scope. New fields are change requests, not weekend additions.
• Honor the QA gate. Your confidence is not the gate. QA is the gate.
• Hand over what you'd want to inherit. The runbook is the receipt.

• 30 days → Onboarded, shadowing complete, first sandbox blueprint built, first Deluge function in production.
• 60 days → Owning solution design on first engagement, Configuration Reference exemplary, contributing patterns back to the library.
• 90 days → Lead architect on an…