Find a job 
Featured Companies 
Featured Universities 
For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and scale the engineering function, ensuring high standards and continuous improvement.
- Company: Freetrade aims to simplify investing, making it accessible for everyone.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, hybrid working, and comprehensive health benefits.
- Why this job: Join a dynamic team reshaping investment with innovative products and a strong culture.
- Qualifications: Experience in fintech with a focus on leadership and engineering excellence required.
- Other info: Flexible working arrangements available; we value honesty, focus, and grit.
The predicted salary is between 120000 - 180000 £ per year.
Join to apply for the Director of Engineering role at Freetrade
Join to apply for the Director of Engineering role at Freetrade
Get AI-powered advice on this job and more exclusive features.
London, hybrid
The experience expected from applicants, as well as additional skills and qualifications needed for this job are listed below.
Freetrades mission is to become the default place to invest. Investing has been too complicated and expensive for too long, keeping millions from making the most of their savings.
Department: Engineering
Location: London
Compensation: 150,000 / year
Description
London, hybrid
Freetrades mission is to become the default place to invest. Investing has been too complicated and expensive for too long, keeping millions from making the most of their savings.
Were changing that.
Were building our team and looking for people who are excited to reshape how our customers invest and grow their wealth. If youre driven by solving complex problems and building innovative products, youll fit right in.
2025 is a big year for us. In January, we announced a game changing deal to become part of the IG Group. Well continue to operate as an independent business while gaining access to the resources and support of an established leader in the space.
This year, were accelerating our roadmap and taking our products to the next level. Were building new features like mutual funds, bonds, and family investment tools. Were also exploring how we can leverage AI to deliver an even better experience for our customers.
Freetrade is looking for a Director of Engineering to lead and scale its engineering function, ensuring high standards, strong execution, and a culture of continuous improvement. This role will be responsible for working closely with the CTO to execute the company strategy, keeping engineering managers accountable, and building an engineering culture that frames challenges as opportunities with a solutions first mindset.
The ideal candidate will come from a fast paced, high stakes environment (ideally fintech) and be able to set and maintain high engineering standards, balancing innovation with compliance. They will also play a key role in optimising engineering velocity, removing bottlenecks, and ensuring Freetrade attracts, develops, and retains top engineering talent.
Key Responsibilities
Technical Leadership
- Work closely with the CTO to execute the company strategy by leading the engineering function.
- Set and lead high engineering standards, ensuring all teams are aligned without introducing process heavy methods.
- Keep engineering managers accountable and support their development to achieve engineering excellence.
- Create an engineering culture where problems are framed as challenges, with a solutions first approach to product development.
Driving Engineering Velocity
- Own and optimise engineering velocity, ensuring teams move fast while maintaining quality.
- Balance the natural tension between innovation and compliance well, ensuring we maintain market competitiveness by doing right by our customers.
- Implement effective processes without process bloat, enabling teams to execute efficiently without unnecessary friction.
- Continuously identify and remove bottlenecks to keep teams operating at peak performance.
Talent Acquisition & Engineering Growth
- Strengthen hiring efforts, defining hiring profiles and personally interviewing senior candidates while also structuring a scalable recruitment pipeline.
- Develop career ladders and retention strategies to attract, retain, and grow top engineering talent.
- Mentor and develop engineering managers and senior engineers, ensuring they become high impact leaders.
- Shape Freetrades engineering brand to attract top talent through public presence, tech talks, and community engagement.
Data Driven Culture & Engineering Metrics
- Define and implement engineering productivity metrics, tracking delivery velocity, change failure rate, cycle time, and other key indicators.
- Ensure clear visibility into engineering performance, using dashboards and reporting to identify bottlenecks and improvement areas.
- Use objective data to drive continuous improvement, ensuring teams refine workflows and enhance engineering efficiency.
About You
Technical but not hands on able to challenge designs, execution quality, and trade offs while leaving implementation to teams.
A leadership style thats focused on building capability through proactive coaching, feedback and mentoring.
Solutions driven mindset.
Dynamic approach to setting and maintaining high standards and execution.
Confident with high stakes decision making and evolving priorities. Able to shift gears seamlessly and communicate changes positively and effectively across their department.
Exceptional talent builder improves hiring, career progression and retention of top engineering talent.
Drives a data driven engineering culture defines and tracks key engineering KPIs to optimise productivity and delivery.
Benefits
Freetrade is the place to accelerate your career. Our benefits package and ways of working are designed to attract and retain the most talented people who are dedicated to making an impact at Freetrade.
Heres whats on offer in 2025:
Hybrid working culture
Were operating in a hybrid model: 3-days in-office / 2-days from home. We believe great collaboration happens in person and our beautiful offices in central London and Budapest are designed to bring people together.
Office days: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
Work from home days: Wednesday, Friday
This setup helps us stay connected, collaborate more effectively, and keep building a culture where we all do our best work together, including dedicated days for focus work.
Flexibility for those who need it: We have a hybrid working model, but life happens. If you need flexibility let\’s talk about it, whether you\’re a parent or have other care responsibilities.
Values – at Freetrade we live and breathe our values, Honesty, Focus and Grit. Expect to be asked about these in your interview!
Benefits In London:
- Competitive salary carefully benchmarked.
- Bonus Scheme – join us and share in our growth.
Bonuses are linked to both company success and your individual impact.
First payouts: July 2026
- Holidays 25 days plus UK public holidays. Your birthday off, plus one extra day for every year at Freetrade.
- Enhanced pension Well match your contributions up to 5%.
- Group Life Insurance Protect your loved ones with coverage at 5x your salary, ensuring financial security in any circumstance.
- Private Health Insurance – Which includes access to high quality medical care, mental health support, dental and vision plans, Wellness programs and preventative care initiatives are also provided to ensure the wellbeing of your entire family.
- Income Protection Cover Safeguard your income with comprehensive coverage, ensuring financial stability in the event of illness or injury.
- Enhanced parental leave Time off when it matters most.
- Flexibility for those who need it Were office-first, but life happens. Whether youre a parent or have care responsibilities, we focus on output and trust you to manage your time.
- Learning & Development We fund industry qualifications so you can grow as a financial services professional.
- Cycle to Work scheme Get a high quality bike and gear through our salary sacrifice scheme, spreading the cost with tax free monthly instalments.
- Paid Sick Leave Receive 10 days of fully paid sick leave each calendar year.
We are an Equal Opportunity employer committed to a diverse and representative team. Whatever your race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability – we want to hear from you.
To find out more about how we look after your personal data when you apply for a job with us, please see our Recruitment Privacy Policy here.
Please note we are not accepting agency CVs.Seniority level
- Seniority levelDirector
Employment type
- Employment typeFull-time
Job function
- Job functionEngineering and Information Technology
- IndustriesSoftware Development
Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Freetrade by 2x
Sign in to set job alerts for Director of Engineering roles.
London, England, United Kingdom 1 week ago
London, England, United Kingdom 1 day ago
Vice President of Engineering – ThriveCart
London, England, United Kingdom 5 months ago
London, England, United Kingdom 4 days ago
London, England, United Kingdom 1 week ago
London, England, United Kingdom 2 months ago
London, England, United Kingdom 2 weeks ago
London, England, United Kingdom 3 months ago
London, England, United Kingdom 19 hours ago
Director of Engineering (London) employer: Freetrade
Contact Detail:
Freetrade Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Director of Engineering (London)
✨Tip Number 1
Familiarise yourself with Freetrade's mission and values, particularly their focus on honesty, grit, and customer-centric innovation. During your interactions, whether in interviews or networking, demonstrate how your leadership style aligns with these values.
✨Tip Number 2
Showcase your experience in fast-paced environments, especially within fintech. Be prepared to discuss specific examples of how you've successfully led engineering teams, optimised processes, and maintained high standards while balancing innovation and compliance.
✨Tip Number 3
Engage with the engineering community by attending tech talks or meetups related to fintech. This not only helps you stay updated on industry trends but also allows you to network with potential colleagues and demonstrate your commitment to the field.
✨Tip Number 4
Prepare to discuss data-driven decision-making in your previous roles. Be ready to share how you've defined and tracked key performance indicators (KPIs) to enhance engineering productivity, as this is crucial for the Director of Engineering role at Freetrade.
We think you need these skills to ace Director of Engineering (London)
Some tips for your application 🫡
Understand the Role: Before applying, make sure you fully understand the responsibilities and expectations of the Director of Engineering position at Freetrade. Tailor your application to highlight how your experience aligns with their mission and the specific challenges they face.
Highlight Relevant Experience: In your CV and cover letter, emphasise your experience in fast-paced environments, particularly in fintech. Showcase your leadership skills, technical expertise, and any previous successes in optimising engineering processes or building high-performing teams.
Showcase Your Leadership Style: Freetrade is looking for a leader who can build capability through coaching and mentoring. Use your application to illustrate your leadership style, providing examples of how you've developed talent and fostered a solutions-driven culture in past roles.
Prepare for Values-Based Questions: Freetrade values honesty, focus, and grit. Be prepared to discuss how these values resonate with you and provide examples from your career that demonstrate your alignment with these principles during the interview process.
How to prepare for a job interview at Freetrade
✨Understand Freetrade's Mission
Before your interview, make sure you fully grasp Freetrade's mission to simplify investing. Be prepared to discuss how your experience aligns with their goal of making investing accessible and how you can contribute to this vision.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Style
As a Director of Engineering, your leadership style is crucial. Be ready to share examples of how you've built engineering teams, fostered a culture of continuous improvement, and mentored talent. Highlight your solutions-driven mindset and how it has led to successful outcomes.
✨Prepare for Technical Discussions
While the role is not hands-on, you should be able to challenge designs and execution quality. Brush up on relevant technical concepts and be ready to discuss how you balance innovation with compliance in a fast-paced environment like fintech.
✨Emphasise Data-Driven Decision Making
Freetrade values a data-driven culture, so come prepared to discuss how you've used metrics to drive engineering productivity and improve processes. Share specific examples of KPIs you've tracked and how they influenced your team's performance.
