Head of Engineering

Overview:

Opportunity to join a successful, expanding Wealth and Investment Manager to spearhead platform modernisation and digital transformation while managing the integration and evolution of outsourced back-office services, in a newly created role.

The Head of Engineering will act as the face of technology-enabled change across W1M, leading design, development, support and delivery of secure, scalable and high-performing proprietary technology solutions.

This includes leading internal engineering and delivery teams, software developers, senior engineering leads, technology operations and database administration, ensuring the right skills, delivery discipline and capacity is in place to ensure change is delivered at pace, within budget and to the highest engineering, security and operational standards.

The position will work closely with the Change team and CTO shaping technology strategy to support the continued growth of the business so we can achieve our targets in a progressive and sustainable manner.

About the Company:

With over £24 billion in assets under management (AUM), a team of c.370 professionals across 5 global offices, W1M specialises in working with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, charities, and institutions. Beyond our direct client relationships, we also maintain a longstanding partnership with Independent Financial Advisers, providing access to our market-leading investment solutions.

We are continuing to expand with ambitious plans to double our AUM in the next 4 years based on the foundation of the quality of advice and services we provide to our clients, alongside peer-leading investment performance.

Internally we are a highly collaborative organisation free from the politics and bureaucracy of larger firms that gives everyone the opportunity to make a real difference and enhance the way we work. We have a sociable culture with sporting and cultural events throughout the year and a welcoming and supportive environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead, develop and motivate the internal engineering team, with direct reports including the Software Development Manager, Head of Technology Operations, Staff Engineer and DBA.
• Provide structured support to technology leads on career development, performance reviews, calibration, and the creation and tracking of quarterly OKRs
• Champion continuous learning, innovation and simplification, with a strong focus on reducing technical debt and improving engineering efficiency
• Govern outsourced partners and third-party technology providers, ensuring value for money, operational control and compliance with regulatory expectations
• Drive high-quality onboarding, knowledge-sharing practices and continuous improvement of engineering processes
• Establish and maintain engineering reporting frameworks, including DORA metrics, technical debt visibility, incident trends and key operational insights, enabling data-driven decision making across engineering.
• Manage engineering budgets, commercial relationships and vendor performance measures
• Support CTO in shaping technology strategy, investment planning and governance oversight

Accountable for, but shared responsibility

• Ensure effective resource planning and workforce strategy to meet delivery capacity and skill requirements
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to deliver efficient, high-quality solutions aligned to customer outcomes, commercial goals and regulatory expectations
• Define, monitor and improve engineering and change performance metrics, including delivery predictability, throughput, product quality and platform stability, ensuring SLAs and KPIs are consistently met and reported
• Drive operational reliability, resilience testing, incident response and platform performance optimisation
• Ensure regulatory obligations (FCA, DORA, Consumer Duty, data privacy) are fully supported by engineering and operational controls

Background / Experience and Competencies Required

• Extensive senior engineering leadership experience in Wealth Management or Financial Services
• Strong background in software development with hands-on understanding of modern languages, patterns and tooling
• Proven track record managing engineering functions across development, Tech Ops and database administration
• Experience building and embedding change delivery metrics and engineering KPIs
• Demonstrable success in platform modernisation and complex integration delivery
• Strong knowledge of core Wealth Management systems (e.g. Salesforce, Addepar, SEI)
• Experience managing outsourced service providers and multi-sourced delivery environments
• Expertise in cloud (AWS/Azure), DevOps and CI/CD automation
• Solid understanding of technology risk, security, and regulatory expectations

Competencies

• Leadership and delivery accountability – executes at pace with measurable results
• Stakeholder influence – trusted technology advisor across business leadership
• Commercial decision-making – value-driven prioritisation and cost optimisation
• Risk and compliance mindset – ensures secure, reliable engineering outcomes
• Client-focused design – technology aligned to user and adviser experience
• Team development – builds, motivates and retains high-performing talent
• Resilience and adaptability – confident operating in change-heavy environments

Equal Opportunity Statement

W1M is an equal opportunities employer and in accordance with the rules regarding discrimination in the Equality Act 2010, we welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons.