Head of Integration, Data & GenAI Engineering in Manchester

We’re looking for a Head of Integration, Data & GenAI Engineering to lead a critical engineering capability within Technology Services at AJ Bell. This role brings together leadership across three important parts of our technology landscape: integration engineering, data engineering and Generative AI engineering. Reporting to the Director of IT Strategy & Architecture, you will lead through three senior technical leaders: Senior Engineering Manager (EA), Senior Data Engineering Manager, and Software Engineering Team Lead (GenAI). You will help shape the platforms, capabilities and engineering practices that support AJ Bell’s long-term strategy.

This is a senior leadership role for someone who combines strategic thinking with strong technical credibility and a clear delivery focus. You will be responsible for building high-performing teams, setting clear direction, and ensuring AJ Bell has secure, scalable and well-governed engineering foundations across integration, data and AI.

What does the role involve?

• Leading and developing AJ Bell’s engineering capability across enterprise integration, data engineering and GenAI, with overall responsibility for three direct reports and their teams.
• Setting the strategic direction for integration, data and GenAI engineering in line with AJ Bell’s technology strategy, business priorities and regulatory obligations.
• Providing strong leadership to senior managers and technical leads, creating clarity of purpose, clear accountability and a collaborative, high-performing culture, while supporting recruitment, succession planning, capability development and retention across the teams.
• Leading the development of event-driven and data streaming solutions, with a strong focus on integration architecture, API and messaging patterns, reusable engineering standards and modern delivery practices.
• Overseeing the development and operation of AJ Bell’s data engineering capabilities, including data ingestion, transformation, provisioning, governance, security, privacy and access to trusted data.
• Driving the design and adoption of GenAI engineering capabilities, including development of a core platform and integration of GenAI solutions into products, services and internal processes where they create clear business value, with appropriate guardrails around security, risk and responsible use.
• Ensuring engineering solutions are secure, scalable, resilient and supportable, with appropriate governance, standards, observability and controls built in from the outset.
• Working closely with product-aligned engineering teams, infrastructure, information security, architecture and business stakeholders to deliver joined-up solutions, support data-driven decision-making and create long-term value.

What skills and experience you’ll bring

• Strong leadership experience in senior engineering roles, with a track record of leading technical teams across multiple specialist disciplines.
• Broad technical credibility across software engineering, integration architecture, event-driven systems, data engineering and modern platform architecture.
• Experience leading engineering teams responsible for APIs, backend services, event-driven integration, data platforms and AI-enabled products and services within a complex enterprise environment.
• Strong understanding of modern data engineering practices, including data pipelines, ETL/ELT, data modelling, data governance, security, privacy and access management.
• Experience working with data platforms and technologies such as Snowflake, SQL-based data environments and a range of operational data sources.
• Good understanding of Generative AI and LLM-related engineering patterns, with the ability to lead teams in applying these capabilities pragmatically, securely and responsibly in an enterprise setting.
• Strong strategic thinking and planning skills, with the ability to translate business goals into clear engineering roadmaps and delivery priorities.
• A strong delivery mindset, with experience balancing long-term platform improvement with short-term business outcomes.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, including the ability to work effectively with senior leadership, technical teams and non-technical stakeholders, and to translate complex technical concepts into clear business direction.
• Strong people leadership skills, including coaching senior leaders, developing talent, managing performance and building engaged, high-performing teams.
• A collaborative, pragmatic and outcome-focused approach, with the confidence to challenge, influence and lead through change in a regulated environment with a strong focus on customer outcomes.
• Experience of working in a regulated environment, ideally within financial services, with a clear understanding of risk, control and customer outcomes.

About AJ Bell

AJ Bell is one of the UK’s fastest-growing investment platform businesses, providing award-winning solutions for everyone, from professional financial advisers to first-time investors. Today, over 723,000 customers trust us to manage more than £108.7 billion of assets. By continually striving to make investing simpler and more accessible, we’re helping more people take control of their financial futures. We’re proud to be recognised as one of the UK’s Best 100 Companies to Work For for six consecutive years, and a Great Place to Work® in 2025 and 2026 a reflection of our supportive and collaborative culture.

What we offer

• 28 days holiday, increasing with service + buy/sell scheme + bank holidays
• 8% Pension with matched contributions
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Share schemes (including free shares and BAYE)
• Health Cash Plan and discounted private healthcare
• Free onsite gym
• Enhanced family leave (subject to qualifying criteria)
• Travel and bike loan schemes
• Employee Assistance Programme

Life at AJ Bell

• Regular social events including summer and Christmas parties
• Learning and development opportunities tailored to you
• Casual dress code
• Friendly, supportive team environment

Our ways of working

We offer hybrid working, with a minimum of 60% of your working time per month spent in the office. For new starters, there’s an initial period of full-time office working to help you settle in and build relationships.

Inclusion & diversity

We’re committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels respected and able to be themselves at work. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and make hiring decisions based on skills, experience and potential.