Head of engineering

The Head of Engineering is a defining hire for Openwork's technology transformation. This is a senior leadership role with genuine breadth: you will own the engineering function end-to-end — culture, capability, quality, delivery rigour, and people — while serving as the CTO’s principal deputy and thought partner. Openwork is mid-way through one of the most significant technology transformations in its history. It is working with best of breed vendors to develop a new digital proposition, actively decommissioning legacy at pace and building an Automation Centre of Excellence. You will provide the engineering leadership that makes all of it land. You will be the person who sets the bar for engineering excellence, who the CTO can rely on to represent the function in any forum, and who the engineering teams look to for direction, standards and advocacy. This is a hybrid role, based 3 days a week in the Swindon office. The benefits: Salary - up to £120,000 Car allowance - £7245 Bonus scheme - on target bonus - 30% Pension scheme - contribute up to 5% of your salary and Openwork will match you and put in an extra 5% Critical illness cover Income protection Death in service - 4x salary 27 days holiday bank holidays, with the opportunity to buy up to an additional 10 days A range of other flexible benefits to include private medical insurance, dental insurance and much more. KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES Lead and develop the engineering function across all Solution Delivery, setting standards for quality, velocity, reliability, and craft. Act as deputy CTO as and when required and act with the authority and judgment to do so credibly. Own engineering hiring, development, retention, and performance — building a senior, AI-native, high-performing team aligned to the Target Operating Model. Drive adoption of DORA metrics, modern engineering practices, and a culture of continuous improvement across the technology estate. Ensure new digital proposition meets architecture principles (cloud-first, API-first, adopt-not-adapt) and integrates well across key vendors, and the existing Openwork estate. Oversee legacy removal (including .NET and SQL modernisation, BizTalk migration, and associated application decommissioning) — maintaining service stability while decommissioning at pace. Partner with the Chief Architect on platform architecture decisions, ensuring alignment between what is built and what is designed. Maintain and improve engineering governance: code quality, security-by-design, peer review, CI/CD standards, incident response, and RTO/RPO adherence. Own the technology vendor relationships relevant to engineering delivery — holding partners accountable to SLAs, roadmaps, and contractual commitments. Be an active voice in the adviser network: champion technology as a service and contribute to Openwork’s technology engagement programme. What will you need to succeed? Significant senior engineering leadership experience, combining strategic oversight (e.g. Head of Engineering) with hands-on technical depth. Proven track record delivering complex transformation programmes, including platform migration, modernisation, and legacy decommissioning in regulated environments. Deep technical expertise across .NET, Azure cloud-native architecture, APIs, and modern engineering practices (CI/CD, DevSecOps, IaC, automated testing, AI tooling). Strong understanding of security, governance, and compliance (e.g. GDPR, FCA, Consumer Duty) within financial services or similar regulated sectors. Effective at operating at senior stakeholder level (ExCo/Board), translating technical concepts into clear business outcomes and building trusted relationships. Experience embedding engineering excellence and continuous improvement cultures, balancing innovation (including AI adoption) with risk and stability. Well-rounded skills across architecture, vendor management, and leadership—driving high-performing teams, sound decision-making, collaboration, and resilience under pressure. Why us? At The Openwork Partnership, we're a dynamic, fast paced, and growing business with huge ambition. This is all made possible by the brilliant people who are part of The Openwork Partnership family. We're investing heavily in our colleagues, continuously striving to give them the platform to develop personally and professionally and reach their full potential. We’re also very proud of our culture, as one of the Best 100 Large Companies to work for in 2022. The Openwork Partnership values, and respects individuality and we are committed to building an inclusive culture and environment which truly recognises and celebrates our colleague’s individual differences and identities – just like our financial advice, for us, it’s personal. We believe everyone can make a difference and your race, religion, disability, and gender will never be a barrier. At Openwork, we have a strong ethic of care for each other where you can balance a successful career with your commitments and interests outside of work. We believe that you will bring your best self to work if you are trusted to choose when, where and how you do it.