Head of Engineering

Vertage; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 108,000 - 132,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Enhanced pension

25 days annual leave

Benefits platform access

Hybrid work: 2 days in Manchester

Flexible hours

Job summary

Vertage Inc. is seeking a Head of Engineering in Manchester, a hybrid role overseeing scale, standards and platform health. Lead the engineering ecosystem, including PKI, payments, and compliance, within a regulated, high-velocity environment.

You will drive the team, set architectural direction, and ensure robust delivery with strong DevOps practices. FlexibleManchester presence and leadership in a product-led, agile organisation are essential.

Qualifications

• Experience scaling engineering teams in a high-growth environment.
• Solid understanding of modern software engineering and CI/CD practices.
• Strong focus on quality assurance and metrics-driven delivery.
• Proven track record leading engineering managers.
• Genuine agile mindset with emphasis on flow in a product-led environment.
• Experience with complex systems and strict change, incident and problem controls.
• Experience with user accounts, PKI, or payment platforms.
• Familiarity with PCI-DSS and ISO 27001 standards.

Responsibilities

• Scale the Team: Lead, size, and resource Software Eng, Architecture and QA, with measurable processes.
• Lead Engineering Managers: Build leadership layer and clear career framework with HR.
• Drive Engineering Standards: Champion CI/CD, automation, QA to increase throughput and reduce defects.
• Own Platform Health: Collaborate with support and tech teams to keep production healthy and proactive.
• Secure the Platform: Oversee identity, PKI, and payments engineering to stay auditable and PCI-compliant.

Skills

Scale teams

CI/CD

QA & metrics

Lead managers

Agile mindset

PCI-DSS

ISO 27001

Job description

Head of Engineering – Manchester (Hybrid) – up to £120,000

My client is a scaled digital business operating in a fast‑paced, regulated sector. They are growing rapidly in the UK and expanding into new territories, and they are looking for a Head of Engineering to lead one of their core technology workstreams.

Their teams work in a product‑led, agile way, with a strong DevOps culture and a focus on frequent, safe releases. Engineering is central to their growth, and they need a leader who can scale teams, raise standards, and keep complex platforms healthy as the business expands.

This role covers the full engineering picture for the workstream, including user account management, PKI, payments, and compliance. If you enjoy building high‑performing engineering organisations in a regulated, high‑volume environment, this could be your next move.

What you'll do

• Scale the Team: Lead, size, and resource the Software Engineering, Architecture, and Quality Assurance functions, and ensure processes are measured and continuously improved.
• Lead Engineering Managers: Line manage the Engineering Managers in your workstream, building a strong leadership layer and a clear career and skills framework alongside HR.
• Drive Engineering Standards: Champion best practice in CI/CD, automation, and QA, and guide product teams to increase throughput while reducing defects and production leakage.
• Own Platform Health: Work with support and wider technology teams to keep production systems healthy, spotting and resolving problems before they impact customers.
• Secure the Platform: Oversee identity and user account lifecycle management, PKI, and payment‑related engineering, ensuring they are robust, auditable, and aligned to PCI‑DSS and ISO 27001.

What you'll bring

• Proven experience scaling engineering teams in a high‑growth or scaled digital business, ideally C# .NET based platforms.
• A current understanding of modern software engineering and CI/CD practices.
• Strong focus on quality assurance and a metrics-driven approach to delivering value.
• Experience leading managers, not just individual contributors, with the ability to inspire and develop people.
• A genuine agile mindset, with a focus on optimising flow of change in a product‑led environment.
• Experience working on complex systems in a fast‑paced setting, and in an environment with strict change, incident, and problem management controls.
• Experience with user account management, PKI, or payment platforms.
• Familiarity with PCI‑DSS and ISO 27001 standards.
• Salary up to £120,000.
• Enhanced company pension contribution.
• 25 days annual leave, increasing with tenure.
• Access to company benefits platform.
• Opportunity to drive change in a fast‑paced business.
• Flexible working (2 days a week in Manchester) and flexi-time hours.