VP Software Engineering | London

This is a rare VP-level engineering opportunity for someone who wants to stay close to the technology while operating at genuine senior leadership level.
You’ll join a large, complex European technology business at an exciting point of transformation, with the opportunity to shape how new platforms are designed, built and scaled.

This is not a role where you simply delegate and step away from the technology. You’ll own architecture and technical direction end to end, work closely with engineers, and remain hands-on enough to challenge design decisions, dive into the detail and help solve complex technical problems.

The opportunity
One of the key areas of focus is a greenfield product build - taking a new platform from concept through architecture and delivery, backed by an established business with significant scale and an existing customer base.
You’ll have real ownership over how the platform is built, including:

• Defining the architecture and making key technology decisions from the ground up
• Working alongside engineering teams and remaining close to the code and technical detail
• Establishing engineering standards, patterns and guardrails that genuinely get adopted
• Driving scalability, security, resilience, performance and observability
• Providing technical direction and challenging designs where necessary
• Working with external engineering/build partners to maintain high standards of delivery
• Making sure platforms are genuinely production-ready, including documentation, support models and operational handover
• Working across different business units and markets, balancing consistency with pragmatic local requirements
• Influencing senior stakeholders and shaping the wider engineering strategy

What makes this different?
This isn't the typical VP role where your time is spent entirely in strategy, people management and governance.
We're looking for someone who can operate at both ends of the spectrum - comfortable discussing engineering strategy with senior stakeholders one minute and going deep into architecture, code and technical trade-offs the next.
You’ll have a small number of direct reports rather than layers of management, giving you the opportunity to maintain genuine technical influence while still operating at VP level.

What we're looking for
You’ll likely bring:

• Significant experience leading software engineering in complex, enterprise-scale environments
• Exceptional software engineering depth, with the credibility to go deep into architecture and code
• Strong architectural judgement and the confidence to challenge technical decisions
• Experience building and scaling platforms in high-complexity environments
• Experience working with external engineering partners, SIs or vendors and holding them accountable for delivery