Technical Project Manager in the wine industry

Job Title: Technical Project Manager - Wine Keep

Employment Type: Full-Time

Location: London

Working Model: Hybrid

Reports To: Head of Engineering

Wine Keep is a leading cloud-based platform for fine wine storage operators, specifically designed for and used by many of the leading wine storage warehouses in the USA.

Wine Keep is adept at managing warehouse space and movements as well as providing a SaaS collection management 'front-end' for storage clients, all of which is underpinned with a referential wine database that enables effective data mastering and database integrity.

The Technical Project Manager role is a unique opportunity to take ownership of a platform that is a market leader within a very specific niche, to realise the goals of our clients supported by a talented development team, with a smidgen of product management initiatives that you get to evaluate and own..

The role reports to the Head of Engineering.

You'll be responsible for the management of client projects, strategic development/ end-to-end product lifecycle and operational success of Wine Keep. This role requires a unique blend of technical expertise, a customer-first, detailed approach to project scoping, good at guiding and taking feedback from developers, whilst maintaining a clear product vision.

It's someone's dream role, combining good all-round technical competency and strong SQL skills with project management experience and excellent interpersonal skills.

Project Management & team leadership

• Lead and manage a cross-functional development team, fostering a culture of co-creation and accountability.
• Run all Agile ceremonies, including Sprint Planning, Retrospectives, and Daily Standups.
• Prioritise and monitor the development team's workload using methodologies like (R)ICE to ensure consistent progress on client-driven and business-driven initiatives.
• Recruit, mentor, and train junior staff, including ringfencing time to drive departmental innovation.
• Implement and optimise processes (e.g., Agile, support software) to maximise team efficiency and maintain technical alignment across the company.
• Serve as the technical explainer for the system, removing blockers for both the development and support teams.

Product Strategy & Discovery

Define the product's future direction through continuous client conversations in tandem with account management and structured analyses (Competitive, Gap etc.) of the current Wine Keep platform..

• Drive product innovation where there is a powerful value proposition, including leading the scoping and development of industry-leading, AI-powered tooling (e.g., AI consolidation).
• Develop client-first business cases and Statements of Work (SoWs) before initiating new development.

Technical Contribution

• Actively contribute to the development of the WMS through code contribution (SQL and frontend) and fixing system issues.
• Pair-program and provide technical guidance to junior developers, leveraging deep system knowledge.
• Utilise technical expertise to accurately scope task estimates for new projects and upselling opportunities.

Qualifications and Experience

• Proven experience leading a software development team and running Agile methodologies.
• Demonstrable technical proficiency, most importantly in SQL, whereas frontend and C# frameworks would be an added tick in the box..
• Exceptional client-facing communication skills with a track record of identifying and closing upsell opportunities (a blend of technical knowledge and commercial keenness is essential).
• Ability to draft high-quality Statements of Work (SoWs) and manage projects to completion.
• Experience of staff mentoring is highly valued.
• Familiarity with the wine storage or wider warehouse and logistics is a plus.
• Interest in Product Discovery tools and techniques.

Please, no agencies. This role is for direct applications only.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Opportunities for career growth and professional development.
• A collaborative and innovative team environment where your ideas matter.
• Flexible working hours and hybrid work options.
• A warehouse-style office in Farringdon, London.
• Regular socials in a fantastic team, often with several bottles of fine wine!
• Monthly wine tastings and competitions.
• 22 days of annual leave excluding bank holidays.
• Employee private medical insurance.

Other considerations:

• You must be based in or near to London.
• Hybrid working mandatory - please do not apply if you expect full-time home working.
• No agencies.
• No recruiters or those requiring visa sponsorship please.

We encourage all interested candidates to apply, even if you don't believe you meet every single requirement. We're looking for individuals with unique skills, buckets of drive and who are fast learners.