Description
The Director of Engineering (also known in the industry as Chief Engineer or VP of Engineering) is the senior technical leader responsible for driving engineering strategy, execution, and culture across the ICT organisation. This role ensures that engineering teams deliver high-productivity, high-quality, scalable technically excellent solutions aligned with business goals, while fostering innovation, operational excellence, and talent development.
To clarify the differentiation between the Head of Architecture and Director of Engineering roles:
The Head of Architecture is responsible for the architecture of what we build - defining the architectural foundations of our solutions, making strategic technology choices, and setting the long-term direction (typically with a 3+ year horizon). This role maintains a broad, enterprise-wide perspective to ensure coherence and scalability across platforms.
The Director of Engineering is focused on the approach we take to building - driving engineering excellence through methodologies, practices, tooling, and team capabilities. With a more immediate time horizon (1–2 years), this role concentrates on execution, delivery quality, and continuous improvement within our development teams.
For both roles, the key stakeholders shall include Stack Engineering Leaders, Engineering Leaders, and Engineering Managers, although involvement with and support of others within the engineering teams as required is expected.
The Role
Leadership
Responsible for the definition of and be the subject matter expert in our software development lifecycle/engineering vision and solution, realized in alignment with the Head of Technical Strategy & Enablement, the Head of Architecture and Stack Engineering Leaders
Support the Head of Technology Delivery & Strategy with executive leadership to shape technology budget recommendations, prioritization, and long-term planning
Support Stack Engineering Leaders by translating strategic goals into scalable engineering solutions and associated delivery plans
Technical Excellence
Champion modern engineering practices (e.g., CI/CD, IaC, microservices, cloud-native architecture, DevOps, test automation, AI)
Oversee detailed and complex system architecture, technical standards, and platform evolution choices associated with lifecycle tooling and work with the Head of Architecture & Stack Engineering Leaders in support of enterprise architecture
Assure technical quality, security, and performance across all products and services
Be the go-to person for our most complex technical challenges
Stay ahead of emerging technologies and assess their relevance as it relates to the role
Team Leadership & Culture
Working with Stack Engineering Leads provide the best-practices measures & expectations/guidance for high-performing engineering teams, including supporting hiring, mentoring, and career development
Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement
Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within engineering and across the organization
Operational Oversight
Responsible for engineering KPIs used such as velocity, quality, uptime, and cost efficiency as part of a broader, ICT Measurement Framework and in conjunction with the Stack Engineering Leaders & Engineering Leadership/Management
Drive efficiency, productivity, process optimization, tooling improvements, and delivery predictability, in conjunction with the Stack Engineering Leaders & Engineering Leadership/Management
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Work closely with Product, Design, Architecture, Security, and Infrastructure teams to align on priorities and execution
Work closely with Key Stakeholders including Stack Engineering Leaders, Head of Architecture and Service Operations
Represent engineering in key external and wider WTW forums, meetings, and strategic planning sessions
Act as a key stakeholder in vendor selection, partnerships, and technology evaluations
Success Metrics
Improvement in delivery productivity and quality evidenced through the introduction of project methodology changes and robust engineering metrics such as project velocity, cycle time (idea to deployment), deployment frequency
Reduction in technical debt, improved system reliability
Creativity & adoption of new technologies and techniques evidenced through PoC’s, new tech. initiatives, or changes that deliver a measurable impact
Encouragement of cross-stack collaboration & alignment, improved engagement, and technical maturity
Increase in technical skills & knowledge through the support provided as a subject matter expert
Qualifications
The Requirements
10+ years in engineering roles, covering all stages of the lifecycle
Proven track record delivering complex, large-scale solutions that involved cross-enterprise architectural & technical decision making
Broad expertise in a variety of different technologies (e.g. Cloud) and methodologies e.g. DevOps, Agile, SDLC), best practices, and data-driven decision making
Proven problem solver, with a critical-thinking systems-oriented mindset
Strong stakeholder management, Influencing and executive-level communication skills
Skills & Experience
Previously been Chief Engineering/VP Engineering for an ICT sized Enterprise
Comfortable in working in areas of high-demand, high-complexity and decision making
Expertise in engineering across all disciplines (application, data, infrastructure), architecture & design, technical solutions design and delivery, strategic planning, and change management
Hands-on experience with modern technologies & techniques
Collaborative leadership style, able to inspire and develop high-performing teams
Comfortable navigating large organizations to execute delivery
Other highly desirable, but not essential skills are
Strong Line management experience
General knowledge of the Insurance Industry
Degree-educated with Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics or relevant discipline
WTW is an equal opportunity employer
WTW believes that effectively managing a diverse workforce is vital to our business strategy. We have an obligation to our organization, ourselves and our clients to hire and develop the best people we can find. We will continually review our policies and practices to ensure that all areas of the employment process (including recruiting, hiring, work assignments, compensation, benefits, promotions, transfers, company-sponsored development programs and overall workplace experience) are free from discriminatory practices. We are committed to equal employment opportunities at WTW.
(ICT_TECH TD_2025_51R)
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