Engineering Manager

Oliver Bernard; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 86,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Oliver Bernard is seeking an Engineering Manager for a UK EdTech SaaS business. This remote-first role guides seven engineers and a Tech Lead, shaping how the team works and what it delivers.

You’ll line-manage, coach, and align engineering standards, while moving toward AI-native practices with Copilot, AI-assisted review, and automated testing. You’ll partner with Product to translate customer needs into sprint plans.

Qualifications

• 3+ years as Engineering Manager in SaaS.
• Back-end engineering background with architectural input.
• Experience leading change and remote teams.
• Proven use of delivery metrics to improve performance.
• Ability shielding dev teams from support disruptions.

Responsibilities

• Line-manage and grow a seven-engineer team and a Tech Lead.
• Lead changes toward AI-native ways of working with Copilot and AI tools.
• Use DORA/SPACE metrics to remove bottlenecks and maintain delivery pace.
• Design a robust 2nd and 3rd line support process to stay on track.
• Partner with Product to convert customer needs into sprint plans.

Skills

Engineering leadership

SaaS background

AI tooling enthusiasm

Remote-first team leadership

Delivery metrics

Back-end depth

Tools

Copilot

AI-assisted code review

Automated testing

Job description

Engineering Manager | EdTech SaaS | Remote-first (UK) | Up to £95,000

Our client is an established UK SaaS business serving the education sector. Their platform helps schools with the operational side of running safely and effectively. They’re now bringing their platform and ways of working into a wider group, while continuing to grow their reach with schools nationwide.

They’re looking for an Engineering Manager to lead their UK development team through this phase, aligning on engineering standards and keeping delivery strong as the customer base grows.

The role

This is a dedicated people‑leadership role, not a hands‑on coding one. You’ll lead a team of seven engineers (back-end, front-end and QA) and a Tech Lead. You’ll own both how the team works and what it delivers.

• Line managing and growing the team through regular 1:1s, development plans, coaching and career progression
• Leading change, taking the team towards AI-native ways of working with tools like Copilot, AI-assisted code review and automated testing
• Using engineering metrics (DORA, SPACE, cycle time) to remove bottlenecks and make delivery predictable without burning people out
• Designing a sustainable 2nd and 3rd line support process so critical issues get fixed fast and the roadmap stays on track
• Partnering with Product to turn customer needs into realistic sprint plans and quarterly goals
• Bringing engineers closer to customers so feedback becomes inspiration rather than interruption
• Representing the team within the wider group’s engineering community

What you’ll bring

• Around 3 years’ experience as an Engineering Manager in a SaaS environment
• A back-end engineering background (any language) and enough technical depth to challenge and support a Tech Lead on architecture
• Experience leading change in how a team works, and bringing people with you
• Hands‑on use of delivery metrics to improve team performance
• Experience shielding a dev team from support interruptions while keeping customers well looked after
• Genuine enthusiasm for AI tooling and ideas on how to embed it in a team
• Confidence leading a remote-first team based in the UK

Experience in EdTech or integrating teams after an acquisition would be a bonus, but isn’t essential.