Director of Software Engineering

Capital One; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Capital One in London is seeking a Director of Software Engineering to lead a team of 50+ engineers and architects. You will drive engineering excellence, partner with business leaders, and operate across executive-level discussions to deliver strategic roadmaps.

You will manage performance, grow talent, and align technology decisions with regulatory requirements and security best practices. A hybrid work model with three office days is offered.

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading large software engineering teams.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Ability to align engineering with business strategy and goals.

Responsibilities

• Lead 50+ engineers and architects, driving software delivery at scale.
• Collaborate with Product and Design to shape the roadmap for key capabilities.
• Mentor and develop talent, setting clear progression and patterns for engineering teams.
• Engage enterprise stakeholders, including US teams, to assess cost and risk trade-offs.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of regulatory changes and security trends.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Executive communication

AWS familiarity

Regulatory awareness

Tools

AWS

Job description

We are looking for a Director of Software Engineering to lead a team of 50+ engineers. We're looking for someone who is results-oriented, able to partner with business leaders and go toe-to-toe with the best engineers on technical rigour.
You'll be responsible for all the technologists within a series of our 'outcome teams': established to drive forward business outcomes. You'll be an excellent leader of people and communicator. You'll be able to seamlessly switch from executive-level progress conversations, to diving deep into solutions, to contributing to strategic discussions around roadmaps. You'll be able to provide clear thinking and direction to cut through ambiguity.
You'll be able to partner well with the local business leadership team and with enterprise stakeholders; providing objective assessments of the likely cost and risk trade-offs for different solutions, and clear paths forward.
What you’ll do
Leadership of a team of 50+ technologists (Software Engineers and Architects): operating engineering at scale within a complex regulated environment
Work together with Product and Design teams on the overall product roadmap for key business capabilities and goals
Elevate great talent and ensure you have a clear agenda for development in the team. Actively manage performance across the team to develop talent over time
Drive for effective delivery with pace and precision across the different outcome teams
Liaising with and managing enterprise stakeholders primarily based in the US, who often have deep expertise on particular domains
Manage a team with a blend of associates and third party engineers, and ensure effective oversight of the relevant third parties within the domain.
Seek and share the context of the wider organisation, its purpose, commitments and opportunities to enable and engage your team with customer and organisational outcomes
Stay up to date with the latest relevant changes in regulation and enterprise process
Maintain broad knowledge and awareness of the latest relevant technologies and engineering practices
Be a key voice in technical design reviews - ensuring a clear and consistent approach to engineering practices
Support the career growth and development of the team
You’ll have a clear track record of leading large software engineering teams, and a proven track record of driving high performance
You'll be able to solve complex challenges across people, process and technology. A high level of intellectual curiosity and comfort with ambiguity is essential. You will have the ability to deep dive on different technology options quickly and provide recommendations on a path forward.
You will have excellent critical thinking skills and be able to provide thoughtful and effective counsel to leaders across the business
You're passionate about recruiting and developing great engineering talent
You'll be able to drive results quickly individually, whilst enabling others through the establishing of clear patterns and practices for engineering teams.
You'll possess excellent communication skills, with an ability to adapt and communicate compellingly and with authenticity to any audience (including internal and external stakeholders)
You'll be aware of the latest native developments within AWS and have real world experience
You'll have an understanding of the latest cybersecurity trends and how they impact engineering practice
You'll be able to work within enterprise policies/guidelines while customising to fit the UK to strike the right balance
You’re comfortable in reaching pragmatic outcomes between short-term and long-term business needs
This is a permanent position based in our London office.
We embrace a hybrid approach to work. You'll spend three days a week in the office (Tuesday-Thursday), with Monday and Friday being dedicated work-from-home days.
Our offices are designed to inspire and support you. At our Nottingham head office, you'll find an on-site gym, restaurant and dedicated Learning Loft. Our London