Head of Software Engineering

Head of Software Engineering - - £130,000 - £150,000 (potential stock options)

Location: London – 3 days on site

Sector: Fintech / Payments / Financial Services

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Head of Software Engineering to lead, scale and mature an engineering function while remaining technically credible and hands-on where it matters. This is a senior leadership role for someone who enjoys shaping strategy, developing high-performing teams, and influencing architecture - while still staying close to the codebase and technical decision-making.

You will play a critical role in building and evolving systems within a regulated payments / financial services environment, balancing engineering excellence and platform resilience.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering Leadership & Strategy

• Own the software engineering strategy, aligned with business, product and regulatory objectives.
• Lead a high performing engineering team, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Partner closely with the CTO, CPO and other Senior Leadership to deliver scalable, secure solutions.
• Set standards for engineering best practice.

Technical Oversight (10–20% Hands-On)

• Remain hands-on at a strategic level, contributing to design reviews, architecture decisions and complex problem-solving.
• Review critical code changes, influence patterns and frameworks, and guide engineers on best-practice C#/.NET development.
• Act as a technical escalation point for complex platform or production issues.
• Help shape the long-term technical roadmap and platform evolution.

Required Experience & Skills

• Significant experience in a senior engineering leadership role (Head of Engineering, Engineering Manager, Technical Director or similar).
• Strong C#/.NET background, with the ability and desire to stay 10–20% hands-on.
• Proven experience within payments, fintech, financial services or banking environments.
• Experience leading teams building high-availability, distributed systems.
• Strong understanding of software architecture, system design and cloud-based platforms.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, able to bridge technical and non-technical audiences.