Head of Engineering

Head of Engineering – Contract Day Rate: £700-£900/day (Outside IR35) Location: London – Hybrid, 3 days onsite Duration: Initial 6 months We're working with a rapidly growing tech for good company transforming how data, automation and smart integrations shape the future of digital infrastructure. Their platform optimises real-time operations, connecting users with seamless, intelligent technology solutions. They need an experienced Head of Engineering on a contract basis to provide senior technical leadership, set direction and drive delivery during a critical phase of growth. What you'll be doing:

• Shaping technical strategy and architecture, including how AI and ML systems are built and scaled
• Defining how engineering teams work together through clear charters, decision-making and planning
• Setting and upholding high engineering standards across agile delivery, testing, security and documentation
• Leading reliability practices including on-call design, SLIs, incident reviews and continuous improvement
• Partnering with Product to refine requirements and ensure technical feasibility
• Mentoring and developing engineers, building a culture of clarity, accountability and high performance
• Collaborating with the executive team and bringing technical insight to broader company strategy What we're looking for:
• Experienced contract engineering leader with 6+ years leading multiple teams in product-driven environments
• Strong technical background in cloud and distributed systems (JVM languages such as Java, Scala or Kotlin a bonus)
• Proven experience integrating AI/ML into live systems with measurable business outcomes
• Excellent architectural judgement and a pragmatic approach to scaling systems and teams
• Comfortable communicating trade-offs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Immediately available or on short notice