Engineering Manager

We are seeking an Engineering Manager to lead 2–3 software teams — roughly 12–20 engineers in total — each made up of a mix of contractors and full-time staff, including Product Owners and tech leads. This role isn't a hands-on coding position. It's about the people and the direction: growing engineers, keeping the teams healthy and focused, and steering decisions about technical debt and platform investment. You'll be the person tech leads bring their thinking to — a sounding board who can pressure-test an approach, and just as importantly, push back when something is being over-engineered or over-thought. You'll own the people side of your teams (development, performance, retention, hiring) and represent their work and capacity to stakeholders across the organization. You'll also lead the teams through change — including driving the adoption of AI tools and challenging engineers to work in new, more effective ways. As a payments business, we operate to rigorous security and regulatory standards, so sound engineering judgment carries real weight here. The best fit is someone who has managed engineers before, has enough technical depth to challenge engineering decisions credibly, and is comfortable leading through influence rather than authorship. Key Responsibilities: Manage and develop multiple teams of engineers across a wide seniority range, supporting their growth, performance, and career direction. Lead blended teams of contractors and full-time staff, keeping each group focused, healthy, and productive. Lead the teams through change — including driving AI tool adoption and challenging engineers to adapt how they work. Set and defend direction on technical debt and platform investment, balancing long-term health against delivery pressure. Act as a sounding board for tech leads — pressure-test their thinking and challenge over-engineering or over-thinking before it costs the teams time. Partner with Product Owners and tech leads to keep delivery aligned, realistic, and well-prioritized. Manage stakeholder relationships, communicating team capacity, progress, and trade-offs clearly. Recruit and retain strong engineers, and build teams people want to work on. Skills & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field — or equivalent industry experience. Proven experience managing software engineers, including senior engineers and a mix of contractors and full-time staff. Experience delivering software in a regulated, security-conscious environment such as payments or financial services (familiarity with standards like PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOX, GDPR, or CCPA is an advantage). A track record of leading teams through change, including adopting new tools and ways of working. Enough technical depth to credibly challenge architecture and engineering decisions — though this is not a coding or code-review role. A track record of leading through influence: guiding tech leads and POs rather than directing the work yourself. Experience working with remote and globally distributed teams. Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills. As well as being a part of something exciting everyday, you will also receive the following benefits: Annual salary of £80,000 - £100,000 Annual bonus scheme dependent on individual and company performance 25 days holiday each year (+ bank holidays + 1 day after each year of service with up to a max. of 30 days) Workplace pension scheme Private medical insurance (upon 30 days of employment) 7 hours per day, 35 hours per week A remote first culture Great work-life balance with our Flexi-time policy Family Friendly policies (Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay and Shared Parental Leave). A chance to develop with an allocated company training budget Bike2Work Scheme Lifeworks, an Employee Assistance Programme which offers wellbeing, family and financial support services, such as assessments, resources and even 1:1 counselling sessions. It also offers interesting