Head of Backend

We're looking for an inspiring and technically strong Head of Backend to lead our backend engineering teams through the next chapter of innovation and scale at E.ON Next. This role is all about impact on our people, our technology, and the energy transition.

You will report to the Head of Engineering and lead a group of 30+ backend engineers across multiple squads, building secure, scalable systems on AWS serverless platforms with Python at the core. Your leadership will help shape the future of our backend strategy, ensuring it aligns with our broader technology vision and the evolving needs of our customers and business.

A taste of what you'll be doing:

• Lead and Inspire: Inspire and support 30+ talented engineers across multiple squads. You'll create an environment where people feel psychologically safe, connected and excited to contribute.
• Champion inclusive excellence: Promote best practices in backend development with a focus on scalability, quality, and cloud-native approaches using Python and AWS (especially serverless).
• Strategic Vision: Shape the long-term direction of backend engineering at E.ON Next. You'll help align our work with the broader technology strategy, enterprise architecture, and the needs of our customers and business.
• Delivery Champion: Own the outcomes. Work closely with Product Managers and stakeholders to deliver meaningful, high-quality solutions that contribute to our shared goals and OKRs. You're a partner in progress.
• Technical Excellence: Uphold and promote engineering best practices. Ensure our solutions are scalable, maintainable, and future-ready while nurturing a culture of continuous improvement.
• Empowerment Advocate: Encourage your teams to take initiative and own their work. Provide guidance and support without micromanaging and trusting your engineers to make smart decisions.
• Growth Facilitator: Invest in the development of your people. From mentoring to creating learning opportunities, you'll help every engineer reach their full potential.
• Be a collaborative voice: Build trusted relationships across the business and contribute to conversations that move our technology and culture forward.
• Hands-on Leader: While leadership will be your primary focus, you'll still have the chance to stay connected to the tech and contributing when needed and keeping your skills sharp.
• Tell our story: Be a visible ambassador for engineering at E.ON Next, speaking confidently at internal and external events and sharing insights on platforms like LinkedIn.

Are we the perfect match?

We're looking for someone who's excited by the challenge of growing teams, building thoughtful technology, and creating an inclusive and empowering work environment.

If you're passionate about people first leadership, agile ways of working, and engineering excellence, you could be exactly who we need.

Leadership Expertise: You've led and supported large backend engineering teams (30+ FTEs) and are passionate about creating inclusive and high performing environments. You lead with empathy, foster psychological safety and help others thrive through trust, clarity, and empowerment.

Technical Foundation: You have strong hands-on experience in backend development, particularly with Python and AWS serverless technologies. You understand what it takes to build secure, resilient systems that scale and can support others in doing the same. Experience with PCI Compliance, AI, or Telephony platforms is a big plus. Please note: we're looking for experience beyond Microsoft-based stacks; this role requires depth in cloud-native and open-source ecosystems.

Strategic Thinker: You think beyond the code. You're comfortable contributing to long term tech strategies that balance innovation, user needs, and business outcomes.

Agile Ways of Working: You embrace agile principles and value continuous improvement. You bring a collaborative mindset and experience working in fast paced environments where iteration, experimentation and learning are key.

Delivery Focus: You've successfully delivered robust, impactful backend solutions and know how to balance quality with agility.

Mentorship & Growth: You care deeply about helping others grow. Whether it's through mentoring, coaching or creating space for learning, you're motivated by seeing your team succeed and individuals reach their potential.

Communication & Influence: You're a clear, kind communicator who listens well and shares ideas with confidence. You're comfortable engaging both technical and non-technical audiences and you enjoy telling the story of what your teams are building and why it matters.

It would be great (but not essential) if you also bring:

• Experience in a compliance driven or regulated industry like energy or finance.
• A background in shaping technology strategy or contributing to architectural decisions at scale.
• A track record of being active in the tech community from events and panels to blogs or online conversations.

This role may not be the best fit if your experience has been exclusively in Microsoft-based stacks or limited to early-stage start-ups. We're looking for someone who has delivered at scale, ideally in complex, cloud-native environments with a breadth of engineering and organisational maturity.