Senior Engineering Manager

Holland & Barrett; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday entitlement (33 days)

Private medical insurance

Annual bonus up to 20%

Pension scheme (5% employer)

Life assurance

Wellbeing support (EAP)

Job summary

Holland & Barrett is looking for an experienced Senior Engineering Manager to lead multidisciplinary engineering teams, driving delivery and technical direction for our merchandising operations. This leadership role focuses on people management, delivery, architecture, and engineering excellence, with a hands-off design approach rather than daily coding.

The role offers hybrid working with occasional London office presence for collaboration and key events, typically about twice a month, aligning

Qualifications

• Proven engineering management experience in a software product environment.
• Strong people leadership and change-management skills.
• Track record owning delivery, roadmaps and effective stakeholder communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead multidisciplinary engineering teams across frontend and backend technologies.
• Own engineering delivery and define priorities, roadmaps and commitments with Product Managers.
• Improve delivery predictability by managing risks, dependencies and progress.
• Provide technical leadership through architecture and system design discussions.

Skills

Engineering management

People leadership

Delivery ownership

Architecture & design

Agile practices

Job description

About Holland & Barrett

We're the UK's leading health and wellness retailer, helping millions of people make healthier choices every day. Guided by our purpose to make health and wellness a way of life for everyone, we're building products, services and experiences that make wellbeing more accessible, more personal and grounded in science. Our colleagues are united by curiosity, collaboration and a shared commitment to making a positive difference.

About Holland & Barrett

We're the UK's leading health and wellness retailer, helping millions of people make healthier choices every day. Guided by our purpose to make health and wellness a way of life for everyone, we're building products, services and experiences that make wellbeing more accessible, more personal and grounded in science. Our colleagues are united by curiosity, collaboration and a shared commitment to making a positive difference.

About The Role

We're looking for an experienced Senior Engineering Manager to lead multidisciplinary engineering teams responsible for building and evolving digital products that support our merchandising operations.

This is a leadership-focused role with responsibility for people management, delivery, technical direction and engineering effectiveness. While this isn't a hands-on engineering position, you'll bring the technical depth needed to contribute to architecture, system design and engineering quality discussions.

Location & working arrangement

We offer hybrid working, with occasional presence at our London office for team collaboration, key meetings and events. For this role, you'll typically be in the office around twice a month.

What you'll be doing

• Lead, support and develop multidisciplinary engineering teams across frontend and backend technologies, with the opportunity to take on broader engineering leadership responsibilities as the organisation continues to grow.
• Build a culture of trust, accountability, ownership and continuous improvement.
• Own engineering delivery, partnering with Product Managers to define priorities, roadmaps and realistic delivery commitments.
• Improve delivery predictability by identifying risks, managing dependencies and communicating progress and trade-offs clearly.
• Provide technical leadership through architecture, system design and technical decision‑making discussions.
• Champion a "you build it, you own it" culture, with engineers owning testing, quality, deployment and production outcomes.
• Improve engineering practices and Agile ways of working without introducing unnecessary process.
• Encourage the responsible use of AI tools to improve engineering productivity, quality and delivery.

What you'll bring

• Proven engineering management experience within a software product environment, including leading multidisciplinary frontend and backend teams.
• Strong people leadership skills, with experience developing teams, managing performance and leading through organisational change.
• A strong track record of owning delivery, roadmap planning and communicating effectively with senior stakeholders.
• Good understanding of software architecture, system design and technical trade-offs.
• Knowledge of modern engineering practices, automated testing and end-to-end service ownership.
• Experience improving team performance, ways of working and delivery effectiveness.
• Experience developing technical leaders or leading through organisational growth would be beneficial as the scope of the role evolves.

Benefits

• 33 days' holiday, including bank holidays, plus the option to purchase additional leave
• Private medical insurance (single cover)
• 24/7 Virtual GP access
• Annual free at-home health testing kit (after 6 months' service)
• Employee Assistance Programme and Mental Health First Aiders
• Workplace pension with 5% employer contribution
• Life assurance (2x salary after 6 months' service)
• Annual bonus (subject to company and individual performance) of up to 20%
• £50 colleague product allowance (after 6 months' service)
• 25% colleague discount in store and online, with free online delivery
• Cashback and retailer discounts
• Free Wellhub membership, with discounted access to gyms, studios and wellbeing apps
• Cycle to Work scheme

Inclusion & accessibility

We want every candidate to feel welcome at Holland & Barrett. We celebrate different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds, and we're committed to creating an inclusive recruitment process. If you need any adjustments or support during your application, interview or assessment, please let us know—we'll be happy to help.