Engineering Manager

About this role

At Xapien, we’re reinventing how organisations do that, combining speed, scale and accuracy with cutting-edge AI.Since 2018, we’ve grown from a deep-tech startup to a global player in AI-driven due diligence and risk intelligence. 2024 was a landmark year as we closed a $10M Series A, earned recognition in the Chartis RiskTech100® and Everest Group’s Leading 50™, and expanded our products, markets and customer base.2025 was even bigger: With new regulations, rising compliance pressure and growing reputation risks, organisations everywhere are demanding smarter, faster ways to work and they’re turning to us. Customers worldwide from global law firms and private banks to universities and nonprofits rely on Xapien to turn days of manual research into trusted insights, delivered in minutes.Our momentum so farCustomers in a diverse range of industries, with particular growth in wealth management, financial services and supply chain onboarding.Demand accelerating beyond our UK headquarters, across multiple continents with new customers in the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania.Why this is an exciting time to joinThis isn’t just another job role; it’s an opportunity to shape the future of the due diligence industry with a market-leading product trusted by global organisations. Whether you’re in marketing, communications, sales, or finance, you’ll play a critical role in driving growth, building credibility, and defining how we connect our product to a rapidly evolving market.We’re scaling fast with more customers, more releases, and bigger regulatory and market challenges. Expectations are rising, due diligence now means real-time insight, delivered efficiently and with impact. You won’t just be executing campaigns, closing deals, or managing numbers, you’ll be influencing strategy, optimising processes, and helping position a brand that’s setting the new standard for trust and transparency.For people who love learning, innovating, and making an impact that matters now is the moment to be a part of Xapien.The RoleWe're looking for an Engineering Manager to lead one of our engineering teams, managing a group of engineers building features that directly impact our customers. This is a people-first leadership role focused on delivery, team performance, and engineering excellence.As our second EM hire, you'll help us continue to embed effective engineering management practices across the organisation. You'll be responsible for your team's delivery cadence, quality, and growth while working closely with Product, QA, Research, and Design to ship great software.This role is not hands-on coding focused. Instead, you'll spend your time on people development, process improvement, and ensuring your team delivers high-quality work consistently and sustainably.Key ResponsibilitiesPeople Leadership & Development:Manage and develop a team of engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and high performanceConduct regular 1:1s, provide coaching and feedback, and support career growthBuild psychological safety and team cohesionSupport hiring as the team and company scalesCreate an environment where engineers can do their best workDelivery & Process:Own your team's delivery, ensuring consistent, predictable outputWork closely with Product Managers, QA, and Research to scope, prioritise, and deliver workDrive continuous improvement in delivery cadence and qualityReduce incidents and improve system reliabilityEmbed and refine engineering processes that scale with the organisationRemove blockers and create clarity for the teamTechnical Engagement:Participate in technical scoping and design discussionsUnderstand the technical challenges your team faces well enough to know when to escalate or seek help from senior technical staffMaintain enough technical awareness to make informed trade-offs between speed and qualityContribute to architectural discussions without needing to write the code yourselfCross-functional Collaboration:Partner with Product to align on roadmap and prioritiesCollaborate with QA to ensure quality standardsCoordinate with Design on user experienceCommunicate effectively with other Engineering Managers and leadershipWhat We're Looking ForEssential:2+ years of engineering management experience, ideally in a scale-up or high-growth environmentProven track record of improving team delivery cadence and reducing quality issuesStrong people management skills with experience developing engineers at different career stagesExperience working in cross-functional product teams with Product, Design, and QAAbility to contribute to technical scoping and design without being hands-on in codeExcellent communication and stakeholder management skillsComfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environmentTrack record of building sustainable, healthy teams that deliver consistentlyDesirable:Experience in SaaS or B2B product companiesPrevious experience as a strong software engineerFamiliarity with modern engineering practices and toolingExperience hiring and scaling engineering teamsWhat Success Looks Like:In your first 6 months, you will have:Built strong relationships with your team and cross-functional partnersImproved your team's delivery predictability and cadenceContributed to reducing incidents and improving quality metricsEmbedded effective processes for planning, retrospectives, and continuous improvementSupported team members' growth through regular coaching and feedbackMade meaningful progress on at least one significant team improvement initiativeHere’s our promise to you:We are going to work with you - to build a rewarding and fulfilling career with the opportunities, challenges and resources you need to do you your best work. We succeed together- you will own a meaningful part of the business through our employee shares & equity programme.Private health insurance to keep you in tip-top condition. Life Insurance – let's hope nobody ever needs this!Unlimited holidays – yes, it really is uncapped – take the time you need, when you need it.Everyone is learning, developing and challenging themselves so we have a £1k professional development fund per year if you want to learn new skills, even new things outside of work.Most importantly of all, we will work with you, to help you realise your fullest potential, always.

What this role is, and what else it is called

Employers in the UK advertise this kind of work as IT Manager, Chief Technology Officer, Head of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) too, so it is worth searching more than one wording. It is a lead or principal IT Leadership & Management role in the UK, advertised without a stated working pattern, which is worth asking about.

About hiring at Xapien

Xapien has 6 other live technology roles on its careers page, across IT Leadership & Management, Software Engineering and DevOps, Platform & SRE. Elsewhere in its adverts Xapien asks for Google Cloud, Kubernetes, Docker, MongoDB and Generative AI. See all Xapien roles, salaries and stack.

How this role compares to the market

Lead and principal roles make up 1,635 of the live UK IT market and advertise a median of £80,000.

Market figures are today's snapshot of live UK roles on employer careers pages; see hiring trends.

Detected on Xapien's careers page. ProdReady Recruitment lists this vacancy as an aggregator and is not the employer; applications go to the employer's own site.