Paige M.

Employer Brand Program Manager

We opened our two newest offices in Chennai and Bangalore, India last week, complete with fun-filled festivities and toasty community building! Toasters from around the globe came together to honor this occasion and celebrate with our teams in India. 

These two offices were designed with Toasters in mind. The spaces are ideal for collaboration and community building, with large gathering spaces, comfortable seating, and lots of toasty elements. 

During the opening celebrations, Toasters also had a chance to reflect and reconnect with our mission. Leaders from across the business hosted coffee chat style discussions, where employees could ask questions and learn more about business goals. We were able to reminisce on the history of Toast and the milestones we’ve reached over the years. The Toast.org team organized volunteer events in the local community, including serving lunch to students at a government school and donating desks and benches to students who normally have to sit on the floor during lessons. It wouldn’t be a Toast event if there wasn’t also delicious cuisine and the chance to connect with others over a shared meal. 

Growing in the Chennai and Bangalore markets will be a tremendous opportunity for Toast. We’ve been able to attract top talent to the team thanks to India’s expansive tech hub, which helps us continue to enhance the experiences and innovate on the products we provide to our customers. 

Since Toast’s acquisition of xtraCHEF in 2021, we’ve been fostering a strong culture in India. The dedication and drive of the xtraCHEF team blended perfectly with Toast’s customer-obsessed mindset, resulting in unparalleled commitment to empowering the restaurant industry.

“Joining Toast through the xtraCHEF acquisition has been an amazing journey,” shared Logamoorthy S., Senior Project Manager of Strategic Initiatives. Logamoorthy led the xtraCHEF engineering team in Chennai for about eight years prior to the acquisition, and spoke about the experience. “Everything was a natural fit between these two companies in terms of culture, technology, values, opportunities, and the hospitality domain. The most encouraging part for me is the one team culture. Toast’s core values are very much what anyone would be dreaming of in a new company. Aligning ourselves with the larger Toast organization was super smooth. I’m excited for the tremendous growth opportunities within Toast.”

Aside from the growing Toaster population in India, the new office openings also presented the opportunity for employees to switch offices for a new adventure. Shivam R., Senior Software Engineer, started his Toast career in our Dublin, Ireland office. After three years, Shivam made the move to join our Bangalore team.

“After being a Toaster for three years, I’m still excited about all of the great things we do, and the ways we work together. I'm eager to bring that spirit to the Bangalore office. At Toast, we’re building great products and providing innovative solutions, all while thriving in an environment which takes care of every individual and treats every individual with respect. I want to do my best to make sure the new location is full of the exuberance and excitement that I always felt in the Dublin office.”

The Toasters on our India team have an incredible opportunity to use Toast’s foundation, rooted in our values and mission, and grow a culture that is unique to our Chennai and Bangalore offices. Srishti G, Operations Success Program Manager, works across all functions and lines of business in her role to help set the team up for success. 

“Back in June 2022, I was one of the earliest team members. It has been so exciting to see the team grow into a strong family since then! The team is so talented that there is never a dearth of ideas and initiatives. Building the site from scratch and working with so many helpful and insightful stakeholders is definitely an opportunity that I will not be able to find easily elsewhere,” Srishti shared. 

The timing of our office opening also aligned with the start of Diwali, the festival of lights. In India, we hosted lamp lighting events, enjoyed delicious cuisine, and shared stories of how Toasters around the world celebrate Diwali. 

Toasters in the US and Ireland were also invited to participate in a virtual cooking class hosted by Krittika G., Go To Market Operations Analyst at Toast. During this class, Krittika taught us how to cook traditional Indian dishes of masoor dal (lentils), jeera rice (cumin rice), and cabbage matar (cabbage and pea stir fry).

“During the class, we prepared a simple traditional North Indian homestyle meal- the type I grew up eating for dinner any given week. Personally, I love to cook and it makes me really happy to connect with other people through food,” Krittika shared when asked why she wanted to start teaching others. “I hope to educate people about the diversity of my cuisine and make it feel less intimidating to explore. Food is a huge part of my cultural identity. I grew up in international communities where holidays were especially important in staying connected to Indian culture. I feel food is the heart and soul of a community. It can help people share their stories with others in a uniquely meaningful way. It reminds me of my family and our history.”

We could not be happier to celebrate the contributions that our teams in India have already made, and toast to the exciting things to come. Are you ready to help Toast thrive in India? Our research and development teams are hiring! Hear a little bit about our interview experience below:

“My interview experience with Toast was one of the best that I had in a very long time,” Srishti reflected. “I could sense the respect that everybody had for my time and preferences. The entire culture of ‘human-first’ lured me towards accepting an offer from Toast.”