Head of Engineering

Lead the teams shaping the future of retail data. 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. What you'll be doing You'll 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. Working closely with Product, Delivery, Analytics, Commercial and Operations teams, you will; 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. AI-first engineering At Retail Insight, AI is becoming an integral part of how we work. We're looking for a leader who is excited about the opportunity AI presents and can help our teams adopt practical, responsible and impactful ways of working including; 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. Our technology landscape Our engineering teams build and operate modern, cloud-native, data-intensive products. Experience within environments including: Databricks PySpark Python Lakehouse architectures Large-scale data processing platforms Modern cloud technologies will help you hit the ground running. Our ideal candidate; We're interested in great leaders, not perfect CVs. You'll likely bring: 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. Bonus points if you've worked within retail, grocery, analytics or data-led businesses. Some of our extras... ​ Flexible Working – Enjoy a hybrid work model (typically 2 days in the office) with flexibility based on business needs, plus a work from anywhere policy to give you freedom to explore. Time Off – 25 days annual leave (+ bank holidays), increasing with length of service, plus an extra day off for your birthday! We also operate summer hours so you can make the most of the sunshine. Learning & Development – Access a vast range of courses through our learning platform and benefit from structured career progression plans to support your growth. Health & Wellbeing – Private Medical Insurance, a healthcare cash plan, and mental health support via Help@Hand. Plus, we’ll ensure you have a safe and productive home setup with a workspace assessment. Giving Back – Take paid volunteer days to support your local community, donate to your chosen charity through salary sacrifice (we’ll match it!), and make a difference with Give as You Earn. Extra Perks – A car purchase scheme to make buying a new car easier, plus access to additional benefits through our online platform, including gym discounts. ​ Plus much more! Our interview process typically consists of 3 stages Hiring Manager intro call Skills Assessment Values based Interview ​Be your authentic self - Retail Insight is committed to promoting equal opportunities in employment. All employees and any job applicants will receive equal treatment. We actively seek to create an environment where everyone feels respected, supported, and encouraged to contribute their best work.