Software Engineering Manager

Willis Towers Watson; Reigate; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Hybrid working options

Private healthcare

Life insurance

Group income protection

Pension scheme

Volunteer day facility

Employee share scheme

Electric vehicle car scheme

Dental and optical cover

Job summary

Willis Towers Watson is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead multi-disciplinary teams delivering complex reserving software. You will guide delivery across Agile and flow-based methods, directing architecture, security and operations while driving cloud/SaaS evolution and modern user experiences.

Focus is on quality, reliability and scalable solutions within a global tech organisation. You will mentor engineers, shape team structures, and champion engineering metrics to improve delivery flow

Qualifications

• The essential skills/experience for this position are:
• Experience leading multi-disciplinary Agile, product-oriented or flow-based engineering teams delivering complex, maintainable and commercially valuable software solutions.
• Practical experience across the full software development lifecycle in a commercial or production environment, including discovery and requirements analysis, estimation, architecture and design, implementation, testing, deployment, maintenance and operational support.
• Strong practical understanding of modern software engineering principles, including maintainable architecture, automated testing, CI/CD, secure-by-design practices, observability and reliability.
• Successful track record of growing teams and leading transformation initiatives across engineering effectiveness, Agile or flow-based delivery, people development, cloud/SaaS adoption, DevSecOps and technology modernisation.
• Strong leadership skills: enthusiastic, motivational, proactive, decisive, collaborative, inclusive and committed to continuous improvement.
• Ability to use engineering metrics thoughtfully to improve delivery flow, quality, reliability, developer experience and team health without creating unnecessary measurement overhead.

Responsibilities

• Be accountable for the development, release and continuous improvement of reserving products, ensuring teams deliver high-quality outcomes through appropriate Agile, product-oriented or flow-based delivery approaches.
• Coach, mentor and develop engineers, fostering an inclusive, collaborative and psychologically safe culture focused on quality, learning, accountability and sustainable delivery.
• Partner with Architects, Senior Engineers, Product, Platform, Security and Operations teams to assess technology options and define robust, scalable, secure and maintainable architectures that support cloud/SaaS evolution, modern user experiences and product innovation.
• Provide delivery and technical troubleshooting support, using sound judgement, people leadership and data to unblock issues, manage risks and identify systemic improvements.
• Enable a data-informed engineering culture by using meaningful delivery, quality, reliability, customer and developer-experience metrics to identify bottlenecks, improve team flow and guide continuous improvement.
• Recruit, onboard, develop and retain high-calibre software engineers, identifying training needs, supporting career development and recommending improvements to team structures and operating models.
• Oversee development, quality assurance, security and governance processes, recommending improvements to the practices, automation and tooling that support secure and reliable software delivery.
• Promote responsible use of AI-assisted engineering tools and automation, ensuring productivity improvements are balanced with human review, maintainability, security, compliance and clear engineering standards.
• Champion developer experience by reducing unnecessary friction, improving documentation, encouraging reusable patterns and supporting appropriate self-service engineering practices.

Job description

Description

As a Software Engineering Manager, you willlead highly skilled, multi-disciplinary engineering teamswithin a substantial global technology organisation, deliveringmarket-leading insuranceand reservingsolutions.You will play an important role in our continued evolution from desktop and on-premise products to modern cloud and SaaS platforms, helping teams build secure, reliable, scalable and user-centred software while continuously improving engineering effectiveness, developer experience and ways of working.

Engineering excellence is about more than producing great code. It is about creating the environment, practices and feedback loops that enable teams to deliver valuable software safely, predictably and sustainably. You will encourage continuous learning, thoughtful use of engineering metrics, high standards of quality and reliability, and responsible adoption of modern practices such as AI-assisted software delivery, automation, secure development and DevSecOps.

You willbring astrong background in softwareengineering, with experience delivering complex commercial applications across a range of technologies, andwill haveprogressed intotechnical leadership and people management. Youwillhave a successful track recordof leading engineering teams,building inclusive andhigh-performing cultures, improving delivery flow, and balancing speed with quality, security, reliability and maintainability.This role combines technicalcredibility with strategic and operational leadership, stakeholder management, team engagement, recruitment,organisational design, continuous improvement and coaching.Itis astrong opportunity foran establishedtechnical leador engineering leader who is ready to take thenext step intobroaderengineering management in a collaborative and supportive environment.

The Role

As an Engineering Manager, you will:

• Be accountable for the development, release and continuous improvement of reserving products, ensuring teams deliver high-quality outcomes through appropriate Agile, product-oriented or flow-based delivery approaches.


• Coach, mentor and develop engineers, fostering an inclusive, collaborative and psychologically safe culture focused on quality, learning, accountability and sustainable delivery.


• Partner with Architects, Senior Engineers, Product, Platform, Security and Operations teams to assess technology options and define robust, scalable, secure and maintainable architectures that support cloud/SaaS evolution, modern user experiences and product innovation.


• Provide delivery and technical troubleshooting support, using sound judgement, people leadership and data to unblock issues, manage risks and identify systemic improvements.


• Enable a data-informed engineering culture by using meaningful delivery, quality, reliability, customer and developer-experience metrics to identify bottlenecks, improve team flow and guide continuous improvement.


• Recruit, onboard, develop and retain high-calibre software engineers, identifying training needs, supporting career development and recommending improvements to team structures and operating models.


• Oversee development, quality assurance, security and governance processes, recommending improvements to the practices, automation and tooling that support secure and reliable software delivery.


• Promote responsible use of AI-assisted engineering tools and automation, ensuring productivity improvements are balanced with human review, maintainability, security, compliance and clear engineering standards.


• Champion developer experience by reducing unnecessary friction, improving documentation, encouraging reusable patterns and supporting appropriate self-service engineering practices.

Qualifications

What you’ll bring

The essential skills/experience for this position are:

• Experience leading multi-disciplinary Agile, product-oriented or flow-based engineering teams delivering complex, maintainable and commercially valuable software solutions.


• Practical experience across the full software development lifecycle in a commercial or production environment, including discovery and requirements analysis, estimation, architecture and design, implementation, testing, deployment, maintenance and operational support.


• Strong practical understanding of modern software engineering principles, including maintainable architecture, automated testing, CI/CD, secure-by-design practices, observability and reliability.


• Successful track record of growing teams and leading transformation initiatives across engineering effectiveness, Agile or flow-based delivery, people development, cloud/SaaS adoption, DevSecOps and technology modernisation.


• Strong leadership skills: enthusiastic, motivational, proactive, decisive, collaborative, inclusive and committed to continuous improvement.


• Ability to use engineering metrics thoughtfully to improve delivery flow, quality, reliability, developer experience and team health without creating unnecessary measurement overhead. Other highly desirable, but not essential skills are:


• Experience with Azure, cloud-native architectures, SaaS technologies, platform engineering or internal developer platforms.


• Appreciation of current and emerging technologies, including AI-assisted software delivery, automation, DevSecOps, observability and developer-experience tooling, along with their benefits, limitations and risks.


• General knowledge of the insurance industry, actuarial or reserving domains, or other regulated software environments.

What we offer

Enjoy a benefits package designed to help you thrive, both professionally and personally. You'll receive 25 days of annual leave plus an extra WTW day to relax and recharge. Our comprehensive health and wellbeing offering includes private healthcare, life insurance, group income protection, and regular health assessments, all giving you peace of mind. Secure your future with our defined contribution pension scheme, featuring matched contributions up to 10% from the company.

We support your growth and balance with hybrid working options, access to an employee assistance programme, and a fully paid volunteer day to make a difference in your community. On top of these, you can opt into a variety of additional perks including an electric vehicle car scheme, share scheme, cycle-to-work programme, dental and optical cover, critical illness protection, and much more. Start making the most of your career and wellbeing with a range of benefits tailored for you.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We’re committed to equal employment opportunity and provide application, interview and workplace adjustments and accommodations to all applicants. If you foresee any barriers, from the application process through to joining WTW, please email [e-mail].

(ICT_TECH TD_2026_30R)