Head of Engineering

At Retail Insight, we help some of the world's largest retailers and consumer goods brands make better decisions through data. Our products process vast volumes of complex retail information, turning it into actionable insights that drive growth, profitability and operational excellence. As we continue to scale, we're looking for a Head of Engineering to lead multiple engineering squads and play a pivotal role in how we build, deliver and evolve our technology. This is a leadership role for someone who thrives on developing people, improving engineering capability and creating an environment where great teams can do their best work. You'll combine technical credibility with strong coaching skills, helping us continuously improve the quality, pace and impact of our engineering delivery.

Responsibilities

Lead several cross-functional engineering squads made up of Data Engineers, Software Engineers, QA Engineers and Delivery professionals, providing direction, support and accountability across the function; Lead, mentor and develop high-performing engineering teams; Drive continuous improvement across engineering processes, delivery practices and technical capability; Create alignment, clarity and focus across multiple squads; Partner with stakeholders to ensure successful delivery of key business initiatives; Help shape both the technology roadmap and product roadmap; Remove blockers, solve resourcing challenges and improve team effectiveness; Champion engineering excellence, quality and operational performance; Support hiring, coaching and career development across the department; Act as a senior escalation point for technical, delivery and operational challenges; Use data, metrics and insights to identify opportunities for improvement; Champion the use of AI tools across the Software Development Lifecycle; Evaluate and introduce AI-powered engineering tools that improve productivity and quality; Help teams leverage AI for coding, testing, documentation, code reviews and incident investigation; Foster a culture where AI supports continuous learning, innovation and personal productivity; Act as a role model for AI-first ways of working across the engineering organisation

Requirements

Experience leading software engineering and/or data engineering teams; Strong technical understanding of modern data platforms and engineering practices; Experience managing multiple teams and balancing competing priorities; A passion for coaching, mentoring and developing others; The ability to translate technical concepts into clear business outcomes; Strong stakeholder management and communication skills; Experience operating in fast-paced, agile environments; A naturally curious mindset with a focus on continuous improvement

Nice to have

Experience within environments including Databricks, PySpark, Python, Lakehouse architectures, Large-scale data processing platforms, Modern cloud technologies; Worked within retail, grocery, analytics or data-led businesses

Benefits

Hybrid work model typically 2 days in the office; Work from anywhere policy; 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays increasing with length of service; Extra day off for birthday; Summer hours; Access to learning platform; Structured career progression plans; Private Medical Insurance; Healthcare cash plan; Mental health support via Help@Hand; Home setup workspace assessment; Paid volunteer days; Charity salary sacrifice matching; Give as You Earn; Car purchase scheme; Access to additional benefits including gym discounts