Engineering Manager

easyJet; Luton; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Pension scheme

Life assurance

Discounted staff travel for friends &/

Annual credit for discount on easyJet

Work Away scheme

Electric vehicle lease

Job summary

easyJet is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead five squads within our engineering organisation. You will coach Engineering Leads and Senior Engineers, protect focus, and unblock sprint delivery while collaborating with Product and Mission Leads.

You will drive engineering health, uphold standards, and help grow a pipeline of future leaders, engaging in design discussions without hands-on coding and strengthening the EM community across easyJet.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership of engineers across multiple teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead and Grow Engineers: Line-manage Engineering Leads and Senior Engineers. Provide coaching, career development, and performance support.
• Own Team Health: Drive psychological safety, sustainable pace, engagement, and retention across five squads.
• Support Delivery: Partner with Product and Mission Leads to unblock sprints and surface delivery risks early.
• Raise the Engineering Bar: Set and uphold technical standards, code quality, and engineering practices.
• Build the Bench: Attract, hire, and build a talent pipeline of future senior engineers and tech leads.
• Stay Technically Credible: Engage in design debates and challenge technical choices without coding day-to-day.
• Strengthen the Community: Share practices and align standards across the wider easyJet EM community.

Skills

Leadership

Agile delivery

Cloud-native

CI/CD

Communication

Talent development

Tools

AWS

Kubernetes

Job description

We are easyJet – a FTSE-250 listed, £multi-billion low-cost airline that serves tens of millions of customers every single year. If you’re reading this, you have probably already been an easyJet customer, and you’ll know that there is no more iconic (or Orange!) travel brand in Europe.

We fly more than 1,207 routes, connecting 38 countries across Europe, and employ more than 18,000 colleagues. We’re on a mission to make low-cost travel easy – and whatever your role here, you’ll connect millions of people to what they love using Europe’s best airline network, great value fares, and friendly service.

What makes us easyJet? Our Promise Behaviours – we are Safe, Bold, Welcoming and Challenging. Four Behaviours. One Spirit. One easyJet.

At Europe’s leading airline network we connect millions of people using great value fares and friendly service.

We organise our engineering teams around Missions . A Mission consists of roughly five squads aligned to a single business unit . These squads build and run the software keeping our business moving . As an Engineering Manager (EM), you will lead these engineers .

You will be fully accountable for the health, capability, and craft of your teams .

The Opportunity

Airline engineering operates at a rapid pace . You will oversee revenue-critical services navigating seasonal peaks and disruption spikes .

The Distinction: You will not own the product roadmap or overall delivery . That remains with the Mission Lead and Product Management .

Your Core Focus: You own the engineering side . You will manage Engineering Leads and Senior Engineers . Your goal is to support sprint delivery by unblocking teams, protecting focus, and surfacing risks .

What You'll Do

• Lead and Grow Engineers: Line-manage Engineering Leads and Senior Engineers . Provide coaching, career development, and performance support .
• Own Team Health: Drive psychological safety, sustainable pace, engagement, and retention across five squads .
• Support Delivery: Partner with Product and Mission Leads to unblock sprints and surface delivery risks early .
• Raise the Engineering Bar: Set and uphold technical standards, code quality, and engineering practices .
• Build the Bench: Attract, hire, and build a talent pipeline of future senior engineers and tech leads .
• Stay Technically Credible: Engage in design debates and challenge technical choices without coding day-to-day .
• Strengthen the Community: Share practices and align standards across the wider easyJet EM community .

What You'll Bring

• Proven Leadership: Track record of managing engineers across multiple teams, ideally including other leads .
• Culture Champion: Deep care for ways of working, psychological safety, and sustainable pace .
• Agile Expertise: Strong understanding of agile frameworks and sprint-based delivery execution .
• Technical Depth: Credibility in modern software delivery, cloud-native services, and CI/CD pipelines .
• Talent Developer: Solid record of hiring well and growing engineering talent into leaders .
• Strong Communicator: Ability to partner effectively with Product Management and Mission Leads .

Bonus Points

• Experience in high-availability, regulated, or high-transaction domains like travel, retail, or payments .
• Familiarity with Team Topologies or structured Mission/Squad operating models .
• Working knowledge of our tech stack: cloud (AWS), Kubernetes, and modern web/backend engineering .

What Success Looks Like (First 12 Months)

• Stable Squads: High engagement, strong retention, and consistent ways of working achieved .
• Quality Lift: Teams actively own and raise engineering practices rather than just tolerate them .
• Smooth Deliveries: Sprints flow predictably through strong peer partnerships and healthy teams .
• Talent Pipeline: Visible growth across the board, with at least one leader developed under you .

“Please note that this role does not meet the criteria for visa sponsorship, and we are therefore unable to consider applicants who require sponsorship to work in the UK.”

What you’ll get in return:

At easyJet, we pride ourselves on a vibrant and inclusive workplace culture that supports and rewards innovation and excellence.

We offer:

• 25 days holiday, pension scheme, life assurance, and a flexible benefits package.
• Discounted staff travel scheme for friends and family
• Annual credit for discount on easyJet holidays
• ‘Work Away’ scheme, allowing you to work abroad for 30 days a year
• Electric vehicle lease salary sacrifice scheme

Location & Hours of Work

We operate a hybrid working policy of 2 days a week spent with colleagues.

We look forward to your application and the possibility of you flying high with our team!

Reasonable Adjustments:

At easyJet, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive workplace that reflects the diverse customers we serve across Europe. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds. If you require specific adjustments or support during the application or recruitment process, such as extra time for assessments or accessible interview locations, please contact us at [e-mail].