Engineering Manager

Primark; Reading; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Pension

Bonus potential

27 days leave + bank holidays

Tax Saver Tickets

Fitness centre

Subsidised cafeteria

Job summary

Primark is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead and harmonise engineering delivery across teams, upholding Primark Ways of Working.

You will own end‑to‑end lifecycle from design to production release, emphasising quality, security, and cost efficiency within a fast‑paced retail tech environment.

Bring 10+ years in software delivery and strong stakeholder leadership to help shape Primark’s technology journey and collaborate with cross‑functional teams.

Qualifications

• Over 10 years’ experience in software engineering delivery or enterprise‑level IT transformation.
• Proven ability to own and manage senior business stakeholder relationships effectively.
• Degree or equivalent qualification/experience relevant to technology, engineering, or delivery leadership.
• Strong communication, presentation and facilitation skills, plus high‑level people management and project delivery expertise.
• Experience working with vendors and systems integrators across complex delivery landscapes.
• Knowledge of MACH architecture and familiarity with SaaS and PaaS platforms (desirable).

Responsibilities

• Lead and promote Primark Ways of Working across engineering teams, ensuring high delivery and quality standards.
• Oversee the end‑to‑end engineering lifecycle — including design, development, testing, deployment, and production release (including AIS).
• Govern software quality, security, and service transition standards while driving improvements in MTTR, change failure rate, deployment lead time, and reducing technical debt.
• Manage engineering demand and capacity, act as the escalation point for Product and Delivery, and ensure operational work is represented in backlogs.
• Drive a culture of stability, security, compliance, collaboration, automation, and continuous improvement, while optimising engineering costs and managing third‑party performance.
• Define and maintain monitoring standards, DoR/DoD, ensure audit readiness, leverage shared technology services, explore innovation, and participate in the on‑call rota.

Skills

Software delivery

Stakeholder management

Communication & leadership

Vendor management

MACH architecture

Education

Degree in technology/engineering

Job description

Because we strive to put people first.

Culture, our way.

Technology at Primark

What’s a career at Primark all about? The positive impact you’re making, the experiences you’re having and the people you’re with. You’re our inspiration. Embrace what sets you apart, own your career and develop in ways you never expected. Leave your mark. And do it your way.

What You’ll Do As An Engineering Manager

• Lead and promote Primark Ways of Working across engineering teams, ensuring high delivery and quality standards.
• Oversee the end‑to‑end engineering lifecycle — including design, development, testing, deployment, and production release (including AIS).
• Govern software quality, security, and service transition standards while driving improvements in MTTR, change failure rate, deployment lead time, and technical debt reduction.
• Manage engineering demand and capacity, act as the key escalation point for Product and Delivery, and ensure operational work (defects, tech debt, risk) is accurately represented in backlogs.
• Drive a culture of stability, security, compliance, collaboration, automation, and continuous improvement, while optimising engineering costs and managing third‑party performance.
• Define and maintain monitoring standards, DoR/DoD, ensure audit readiness, leverage shared technology services, explore innovation, and participate in the on‑call rota.

What You’ll Get

People are at the heart of what we do here, so it’s essential we provide you with the right environment to perform at your very best.

Let’s talk lifestyle: Healthcare, pension, and potential bonus. 27 days of leave, plus bank holidays and if you want, you can buy 5 more. Because Primark is all about tailoring to you, we offer Tax Saver Tickets, fitness centre, and a subsidised cafeteria.

What You’ll Bring

Here at Primark, we want everyone to feel valued – so please bring your authentic self to work, of course with some other key experience and abilities for this role in particular:

• Over 10 year’s experience in software engineering delivery or enterprise‑level IT transformation, ideally within a scaled agile environment.
• Proven ability to own and manage senior business stakeholder relationships effectively.
• Degree or equivalent qualification/experience relevant to technology, engineering, or delivery leadership.
• Strong communication, presentation and facilitation skills, combined with high‑level people management and project delivery expertise.
• Experience working with vendors and systems integrators across complex delivery landscapes.
• Knowledge of MACH architecture, and familiarity with SaaS and PaaS platforms (desirable).

Does this sound like you? Great, because we can’t wait to see what you’ll bring. You’ll be supported within a team of equally capable people, celebrating who you are and aiding you reach your potential. At Primark, we’re excited about our future - and we’re excited to develop yours.

About Primark

At Primark, people matter. They’re the beating heart of our business and the reason we’ve grown from our first store in Dublin in 1969 to a £9bn+ turnover business and over 80,000 colleagues and over 440 stores in 17 countries today. Our values run through everything we do. In essence, we’re Caring and always strive to put people first. We’re also Dynamic, bravely pushing the boundaries to stay ahead. And finally, we succeed Together.

If you need any reasonable adjustments or have an accessibility request, during your recruitment journey, such as extended time or breaks between online assessments, a sign language interpreter, mobility access, or assistive technology please contact your talent acquisition specialist.

All offers of employment are subject to background checks, including right to work, reference education and for some roles criminal, and financial checks. If you have any concerns, please reach out to our talent acquisition team to discuss.

REQ ID: JR-5828