Interim Head of Engineering - AI Transformation (Hybrid)

Data Science Talent; Swindon; On-site; GBP 129,000 - 203,000; Full time

Job description

Contract | Swindon (Hybrid -3 days onsite per week) | Outside IR35 | 6 month Contract + (with perm conversion potential)

THE OPPORTUNITY

This is a genuine transformation role — not a caretaker position at a leading Financial services firm

A new CTO has been appointed with a sharp brief: restructure the engineering function, retire a significant legacy estate, and build a modern, AI-enabled engineering capability that directly supports business growth. The Head of Engineering role sits at the heart of that ambition. You will inherit a team of around 45 engineers and reshape how it operates — introducing squad-based delivery, embedding quality into engineering, and leading the function towards genuinely modern practice.

WHAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY BE DOING

• Taking ownership of an engineering function of ~45 people and restructuring it into mission-aligned squads with clear backlogs, accountabilities, and outcomes — including legacy retirement, process automation, and new digital proposition delivery.
• Driving a real step-change in engineering practice: introducing DORA metrics, embedding DevSecOps, integrating quality engineers into squads, and building a culture where engineers own quality end-to-end.
• Leading the adoption of AI development tooling — including GitHub Copilot and agentic development tools — in a way that is thoughtful, secure, and sustainable in a regulated financial services environment. This is not a 'switch it on and see' brief; it needs someone with a clear point of view and the authority to execute it.
• Working closely with a newly appointed Chief Architect to establish coherent engineering and architectural standards, and ensuring delivery teams are building to agreed principles from day one.
• Assessing the capability of existing engineering leadership — Technical Leads and Engineering Managers — and making clear, fair judgements about where people can grow into the new model and where changes are needed.
• Representing engineering at senior stakeholder level, with visibility up to Board level.

Why This Role Is Interesting

• Real authority — you'll have the mandate and the CTO's backing to make changes that stick, not just recommendations.
• A clear brief — the CTO knows exactly what good looks like and has already secured Board alignment. You won't be fighting for direction.
• High pace - The board wants outcomes, not process. The bureaucracy is low; the expectation of delivery is high.
• Permanent conversion potential — this is a critical long-term leadership role. The right interim will be a serious candidate for the permanent position.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

You are a hands-on engineering leader — technically credible enough to challenge your team's decisions and forward-thinking enough to know where engineering practice needs to go. Specifically:

• Deep .NET and Azure background — the legacy estate is .NET and the infrastructure is Azure-first. You don't need to be writing code every day, but you need to be able to when it matters.
• Proven experience leading engineering transformation in a regulated financial services environment — not just running a stable function, but changing one.
• A genuine, practiced point of view on AI-assisted development — candidates who treat this as a checkbox will not thrive here.
• Experience with DORA metrics and modern DevSecOps — ideally having implemented them, not just been aware of them.
• The personal authority to assess capability fairly, have difficult conversations where needed, and build trust quickly with a team going through significant change.