Head of Engineering

Version 1 has celebrated 30 years in business and continues to be trusted by global brands to deliver technology and transformation solutions that drive customer success. Our deep expertise enables our customers to navigate the rapidly evolving technology landscape. We foster strong partnerships with global technology leaders including Microsoft, AWS, Oracle, Red Hat, OutSystems, Snowflake, ensuring that our customers are provided with the highest quality solutions and services.

 We’re an award-winning employer reflecting how our employees are at the very heart of  what we do:

• UK & Ireland's premier AWS, Microsoft & Oracle partner
• 3300+ strong, €350/£300m revenue business
• 10+ years as a Great Place to Work in Ireland & UK
• Best Workplace for Women in the UK & Ireland by GPTW
• Best Workplace for Wellbeing in the UK by GPTW

We’re a core valuesdriven company, we hire people who share our values, and we reward those who display and foster them, it’s deeply embedded within our DNA. Invest in us and we’ll invest in you.

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Engineering Head who combines deep engineering expertise, enterprise architecture capability, and strong delivery leadership. This role is not a traditional delivery manager position; instead, it demands a hands‑on technology leader who can own engineering outcomes end‑to‑end—from solution design and estimation to delivery execution, quality, productivity, and customer engagement.

As the single point of accountability for engineering delivery, you will be the primary interface to customers for all engineering‑related matters, while also serving as a key member of the design authority and technology leadership forums. You will be responsible for driving engineering excellence, improving efficiency and predictability, and ensuring adherence to engineering standards and best practices at scale.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering Leadership & Strategy

• Provide overall leadership for engineering delivery, ensuring alignment with business objectives and customer expectations
• Define and drive engineering strategy, standards, and best practices across programs and teams
• Actively participate in design authority forums, reviewing and approving solution architectures and technical designs
• Balance short‑term delivery commitments with long‑term architectural and platform thinking

Architecture & Design Ownership

• Bring strong enterprise architecture and solution design expertise across modern technology stacks
• Oversee solution design to ensure scalability, maintainability, performance, security, and cost efficiency
• Guide teams on architectural patterns, technology choices, and non‑functional requirements
• Ensure architectural consistency and guardrails across engagements

Delivery & Execution Ownership

• Own estimation, delivery planning, and execution governance across engineering programs
• Be accountable for delivery quality, predictability, and on‑time execution
• Ensure strong adherence to engineering processes, SDLC practices, and governance models
• Proactively identify and mitigate delivery risks and escalations

Productivity, Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Drive engineering productivity and efficiency improvements through metrics, tooling, and process optimization
• Define and track engineering KPIs related to quality, velocity, reliability, and customer outcomes
• Champion practices such as automation, CI/CD, testing at scale, DevOps, and observability
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and technical excellence

Customer & Stakeholder Management

• Act as the single face to the customer for all engineering delivery, quality, and people matters
• Build strong, trusted relationships with client engineering leaders and stakeholders
• Provide clear, transparent communication on delivery status, risks, and improvement actions
• Support presales and solutioning discussions as a senior engineering authority

People & Capability Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and grow senior engineering leaders, architects, and delivery managers
• Ensure strong talent development, succession planning, and capability building
• Foster a high‑performance engineering culture focused on ownership, accountability, and excellence
• Support hiring, onboarding, and development of engineering talent at scale

Mandatory Skills & Experience

• 18+ years of experience in software engineering with significant leadership responsibility
• Strong background in software engineering and enterprise architecture
• Proven experience owning large‑scale, multi‑team engineering delivery
• Hands‑on understanding of modern engineering practices (Agile, DevOps, CI/CD, cloud‑native)
• Expertise in estimation, delivery governance, and quality management
• Experience of acting as customer‑facing engineering leader
• Strong track record in productivity, efficiency, and process improvement initiatives

Nice to Have

• Experience working in consulting, GCC, or multi‑client delivery environments
• Exposure to cloud platforms, modern application architecture, and digital transformation programs
• Experience operating within design authority or architecture review boards
• Background in setting up engineering metrics, maturity models, or capability frameworks

Desired Candidate Profile

• Senior engineering leader who is hands‑on by mindset, not just managerial
• Comfortable owning outcomes end‑to‑end—design, delivery, people, and quality
• Strong communicator with the ability to engage confidently at CXO and client leadership levels
• Pragmatic, data‑driven, and outcome‑focused
• Passionate about engineering excellence, scalable delivery, and customer trust

Why Version 1?

 At Version 1, we believe in providing our employees with a comprehensive benefits package that prioritises their wellbeing, professional growth, and financial stability.

• Share in our success with our Quarterly Performance-Related Profit Share Scheme, where employees collectively benefit from a share of our company's profits
• Strong Career Progression & mentorship coaching through our Strength in Balance & Leadership schemes with a dedicated quarterly Pathways Career Development programme
• Flexible/remote working, Version 1 is tremendously understanding of life events and people’s individual circumstances and offer flexibility to help achieve a healthy work life balance
• Financial Wellbeing initiatives including; Pension, Private Healthcare Cover, Life Assurance, Financial advice and an Employee Discount scheme
• Employee Wellbeing schemes including Gym Discounts, Bike to Work, Fitness classes, Mindfulness Workshops, Employee Assistance Programme and much more. Generous holiday allowance, enhanced maternity/paternity leave, marriage/civil partnership leave and special leave policies
• Educational assistance, incentivised certifications, and accreditations, including AWS, Microsoft, Oracle, and Red Hat
• Reward schemes including Version 1’s Annual Excellence Awards & ‘Call-Out’ platform.
• Environment, Social and Community First initiatives allow you to get involved in local fundraising and development opportunities as part of fostering our diversity, inclusion and belonging schemes.

And many more exciting benefits… drop us a note to find out more.

Version 1 is an equal opportunities employer.
 
We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace where everyone feels valued and able to thrive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and lived experiences, and we value the different perspectives people bring.
 
We want every candidate to have a positive and accessible recruitment experience. If you need reasonable adjustments at any stage of the process, please contact [email protected] at Version 1. We will consider all requests carefully, respectfully and confidentially.

Video links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_d3ELTH5zo