Head of Engineering

oldmutual; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 2,000,000 - 2,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Old Mutual is seeking a Head of Engineering to lead the development, modernization and maintenance of applications, systems and platforms. You will translate technology strategy into stable, secure and scalable solutions, embedding AI-assisted engineering practices across the lifecycle to deliver AI-enabled products and platforms for the business.

The role covers software and product engineering, platform and DevOps, data engineering and analytics, AI, ML and automation, security, quality

Responsibilities

• Lead software, product, and platform engineering efforts.
• Oversee DevOps, data engineering, and analytics initiatives.
• Drive AI-augmented engineering practices across the lifecycle.
• Ensure security, governance and production stability during modernization.
• Set standards and accountability across multiple teams for measurable outcomes.

Skills

Software Engineering

Platform Engineering

DevOps

Data Engineering

AI/ML Integration

Security Engineering

Quality/SRE

Job description

Let's Write Africa's Story Together! Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.

Job Description

The Head of Engineering will be accountable for leading the development, modernisation and maintenance of applications, systems and platforms, and will be expected to translate the technology strategy into working systems that are stable, secure, resilient, cost-conscious and capable of supporting digital, data and AI-enabled business outcomes. This is an AI-native leadership role: the successful individual will be expected to embed AI-assisted engineering practices into the software development lifecycle itself, in addition to delivering AI-enabled products and platforms for the business.

The Head of Engineering will be responsible for:

• Software and Product Engineering
• Platform, Infrastructure and DevOps
• Data Engineering and Analytics
• AI, Machine Learning and Automation
• Security Engineering
• Quality Engineering and Site Reliability Engineering

The role is particularly important where legacy platforms, complex integrations, regulatory expectations and increasing business demand create pressure on delivery and operational resilience and the successful individual must be able to improve delivery speed and quality while maintaining production stability, security and governance.

This is a leader of leaders role that sets standards, establishes delivery discipline, builds engineering capability, and holds teams accountable for measurable outcomes.

Key Result Areas:

Quality Assurance

Develop and maintain quality procedures and engineering standards; oversee testing, , certification of technology processes and quality controls for products and platforms.

Project and Delivery Management

Manage delivery of major engineering programmes and take personal accountability for a small number of business-critical projects.

Digital Vision and Strategy Execution

Collaborate on the digital roadmap and lead execution of workflows, processes and enablers that allow new applications, products and services to be delivered quickly while maintaining legacy applications and IT operations at optimal levels.

Digital Talent Development

Execute the strategy to grow engineering and digital talent through development plans, coaching, mentoring and improved employee experience.

Data-Driven Product and Service Improvement

Create the capability to proactively identify opportunities to improve digital products, services and user experiences over the long term.

Current and Target-State Analysis

Document complex current-state and target-state processes and define the changes required to migrate to the target capability.

Leadership and Direction

Translate function strategy into clear actions for teams; explain the link to organisational mission, vision and values; and motivate people to deliver local business goals.

Performance Management

Set objectives for direct reports, manage performance, hold individuals accountable and take corrective action where required to achieve annual business objectives.

Information Security

Define the business impact of security incidents and drive recommendations to prevent recurrence, in partnership with security and risk stakeholders.

Budgeting

Manage departmental budget plans and ensure delivery and modernisation choices are cost-conscious and value-led.

Organisational Capability Building

Assess capability gaps, prioritise development activity, implement formal development frameworks and strengthen the engineering talent pool.

Application Software Development

Oversee complex existing and new applications by identifying areas for modification and improvement, and ensuring new applications meet customer and business requirements.

Application Software Roadmap

Define and maintain the roadmap for complex application software development and prioritise engineering work in line with business needs.

Information and Business Advice

Provide authoritative specialist advice to senior managers to support policy implementation, projects and change initiatives.

AI-Augmented Engineering and Developer Productivity

Drive organisation-wide adoption of AI-assisted development tools (coding assistants, agents, automated testing and code review) across the software development lifecycle, and track their impact on delivery speed, quality and engineering capacity.

Platform Engineering and Internal Developer Platform

Build and scale a self-service internal developer platform with golden paths, reusable components and automated guardrails, reducing cognitive load on engineering teams and accelerating time to production.

AI, Model and Data Governance

Partner with risk, compliance and data stakeholders to embed responsible AI practices, model risk management and data governance controls into engineering delivery, ensuring AI and automation capabilities move from pilot to production safely and with appropriate oversight.

Engineering Metrics and Continuous Improvement

Establish and rep