Engineering Manager, Apps

theeconomistgroup; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Economist Group is seeking a Mobile Engineering Manager to lead our iOS and Android teams, shaping a fast, reliable mobile platform. This player-coach role combines hands-on coding with people leadership to align engineering with product goals and business metrics.

You will mentor engineers, drive delivery excellence, and partner with Product, Design and QA to ship consumer-facing apps at scale in a dynamic, globally distributed environment.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as an engineering manager with mobile teams.
• Strong hands-on background in native mobile development (iOS/Swift and/or Android/Kotlin).
• Track record of shipping consumer-facing mobile apps at scale.
• Experience balancing hands-on technical contribution with people leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the mobile engineering team across iOS and Android.
• Stay hands-on with code review and architectural decisions.
• Own delivery planning, prioritisation and blockers in partnership with product management.
• Set and uphold engineering standards for code quality, testing and release practices.
• Collaborate with Product, Design, QA and backend teams to translate roadmaps into a mobile plan.
• Refine specs with product and business requirements during build.
• Use metrics to inform prioritisation and define what is considered done.
• Improve CI/CD, release cadence and app store operations.
• Recruit, interview and onboard new mobile engineers; participate in leadership discussions.

Skills

People management

Mobile engineering

iOS/Swift

Android/Kotlin

Code review

Tools

CI/CD

App Store submission

Job description

Who we are

Since 1843, The Economist Group has championed independence, excellence and openness, helping people understand and tackle the critical challenges shaping the world. Today, we are building on that legacy as a global media and information-services company powered by digital innovation, analytical rigour and evidence-based insight.

Across our three businesses - The Economist, Economist Enterprise and Economist Education - we deliver trusted analysis and insights to individuals and organisations in more than 170 countries. United by a shared purpose to drive progress, we empower decision-makers to make sense of change and chart a course through an increasingly complex world.

As a colleague, you will be part of a culture that values ideas, encourages ownership and holds itself to high standards. We invest in people who are curious, thoughtful and adaptable, whether they are launching new products, reporting on global events or harnessing emerging technologies such as AI to improve how we work. Here, fresh thinking is taken seriously, ambition is matched by integrity, and great work is recognised. Working across disciplines, geographies and perspectives, we are united by a commitment to innovation, excellence and creating meaningful impact.

Want to discover more about life at The Economist Group? Follow @EconomistCareers on Instagram to discover the people, stories and opportunities that make TEG unique.

Our team of 450 colleagues across Technology, Product and Data is at the heart of The Economist Group's digital-first agenda. Together, we design, build and optimise the digital products, platforms and data capabilities that power our business and reach millions of people around the world. Whether you're an engineer, product manager, designer, data scientist or analyst, you'll work on products that have real-world impact. From enhancing economist.com and developing new products for Economist Intelligence to creating personalised experiences and applying AI to solve complex challenges, you'll help shape how consumers, businesses and government leaders access trusted insights. Working in cross-functional teams, we combine engineering excellence, product thinking and data expertise to solve meaningful problems, experiment with new technologies and continuously improve the experiences we create. It's an opportunity to do challenging, purposeful work alongside curious, collaborative colleagues, while helping drive sustainable growth for one of the world's most trusted brands.

The role

We are looking for a Mobile Engineering Manager to lead our iOS and Android engineering team and help shape the future of our mobile platform. This is a player-coach role: you'll own the health, delivery and growth of the mobile engineering function, staying close to the code while also leading people, and partnering closely with product to shape what we build and why. As Mobile Engineering Manager, you will work closely with engineers, product managers, designers and other engineering leads to ship a fast, reliable and well-crafted mobile experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a team of iOS and Android engineers, providing day-to-day management, mentorship and career development.
• Stay hands-on: review code, contribute to architectural decisions, and step into implementation when it matters.
• Own delivery for the mobile team: planning, prioritisation, and removing blockers in partnership with product management.
• Set and uphold engineering standards for code quality, testing, performance, accessibility and release practices across both platforms.
• Partner with Product, Design, QA and backend/platform teams to turn roadmap priorities into a well-sequenced, technically sound mobile plan.
• Get hands-on with product and business requirements: ask questions, spot gaps, and help refine specs before and during build, rather than treating them as fixed inputs from the product.
• Use business and product metrics (engagement, retention, subscriber conversion, crash-free rate, and similar) to inform prioritisation, trade‑off decisions, and what "done" looks like for a feature.
• Drive improvements to the team's engineering practices: CI/CD, release cadence, crash/performance monitoring, and app store operations.
• Recruit, interview and onboard new mobile engineers as the team grows.
• Represent mobile engineering in broader engineering leadership discussions, including technical strategy and cross-team dependencies.

Who you are

• Proven experience as an engineering manager or tech lead with direct people-management responsibility for mobile engineers.
• Strong hands‑on background in native mobile development (iOS/Swift and/or Android/Kotlin), comfortable reviewing code and discussing architecture in both ecosystems.
• Track record of shipping and operating consumer-facing mobile apps at scale, including release management and app store submission processes.
• Experience balancing hands‑on technical contribution with people leade