Software Engineering Manager - Unified Client Experience (UCX) (Mobile) in London

Excited to grow your career? Our purpose is to make it easy for people to save and invest for a better future. We are looking for great people to join us, so please come and invest in YOUR future at Hargreaves Lansdown. We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they don't tick every box. If you're excited about working for us and have most of the skills or experience we're looking for, please go ahead and apply. We’d love to hear from you!

About the role

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) are looking for an experienced and talented Mobile Software Engineering Manager to lead a Unified Client Experience (UCX) product development team in building market-leading mobile applications for our clients.

About HL And The Opportunity

We’re building the next generation platform for one of the UK’s largest financial services companies, trusted by over 2 million clients and managing c.£150 billion in assets. This is your opportunity to shape technology that will redefine how people invest and achieve financial freedom. You will build our green field next generation Unified Client Experience (UCX) mobile applications that will streamline client journeys across a range of products and services. It’s an exciting opportunity to design, architect and build a modern cross platform mobile application from scratch using React Native and latest design patterns and industry best practices to modernize and transform our savings and investment platform. The UCX team consolidates the efforts of the whole organisation, transforming client journeys and delivering on HL’s vision to give people financial freedom. You will work with like-minded people from business, product and engineering functions to develop and refine client journeys covering onboarding, KYC, account management and investment workflows in a secure and compliant environment. By joining us, you’ll help deliver innovative and scalable solutions that make investing easier and more accessible to millions of users across the UK. Be part of HL’s future. Be part of the future of investing. Shape it with us.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Leadership & People Management: Recruit, lead, and develop an agile team of 5–7 mobile engineers (React Native) across a mix of seniority levels. Own people management responsibilities including hiring, onboarding, line management, performance management, coaching, mentoring, and career development. Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performance team culture focused on continuous improvement and psychological safety.
• Technical Leadership & Delivery: Provide hands‑on technical leadership for the design and delivery of greenfield mobile applications in iOS and Android using cross‑platform React Native technology stack. Solid experience & knowledge of React Native is a must‑have. Define and uphold mobile engineering standards, best practices, and architectural principles. Lead technical decision‑making, balancing short‑term delivery needs with long‑term maintainability and scalability. Ensure applications are performant, accessible, secure, and compliant with relevant standards and regulations.
• Platform & Integration: Lead the integration of mobile platforms with backend services using GraphQL APIs, and third‑party systems to deliver seamless end‑to‑end user experiences. Collaborate with backend, platform, and DevOps teams to ensure well‑designed interfaces and reliable deployments.
• Ways of Working & Quality: Take ownership of the agile software development lifecycle, including backlog refinement, Scrum ceremonies, CI/CD pipelines, release processes, and production deployments. Promote iterative delivery with a strong focus on customer outcomes, rapid feedback loops, and measurable value. Manage mobile release processes: feature flags, phased roll out, hotfix workflows and versioning.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Work closely with Product Managers, Designers, and business stakeholders to align technical delivery with product strategy and customer needs. Communicate technical concepts, trade‑offs, and progress clearly to both technical and non‑technical audiences.

About You

• 10+ years of commercial experience building mobile applications across iOS and Android, and at least 4 years leading engineering teams.
• High proficiency in cross‑platform development in React Native is essential, with a strong grasp of front‑end design patterns and best practices in mobile SDLC.
• Proven experience of REST/GraphQL API integration with mobile applications.
• Solid understanding of mobile application fundamentals: iOS/Android app lifecycle, performance constraints and release management.
• Proven hands‑on software engineering background across modern mobile technologies e.g. cross platform / native development.
• Strong understanding of modern mobile architecture, including state management, responsive layouts, routing, navigation, performance optimisation and accessibility standards.
• Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines, using version control effectively, and working within modern development workflows.
• Solid experience in managing mobile release processes: feature flags, phased roll out, hotfix workflows and versioning.
• Strong advocate for quality and security, embedding automated testing, code quality checks, and security scanning into development pipelines.
• Passionate about mentoring and developing engineers through coaching, code reviews, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Proven experience in leading high performing engineering teams in fast paced environments and well versed in line management duties.
• Able to thrive in fast-paced, regulated environments where delivery speed, quality, compliance, and innovation must be carefully balanced.
• Strong communication and articulation skills, capable of independently navigating an organization and able to negotiate and lead discussions to develop consensus across various levels and departments.

Interview Process

• 3 Stage Interview
• Stage 1 – Discussion with our Hiring Manager (30mins): A chance to talk with our Hiring Manager in more detail about the role, our tech stack and some of the problems we solve every day. Here, we’ll dig a bit more into some of your experiences, understand the processes you’re familiar with and the technologies you’ve used to deliver end user value.
• Stage 2 – Technical Assessment (70mins): For the technical part, we’d like you to sit down with some of your potential peers to work through a technical design solution. This is to assess your technology depth including technical design/architecture knowledge, familiarity with design patterns, analytical skills and knowledge of mobile technology stack.
• Stage 3 – Final Round – Architecture, Leadership & Culture fit (60 – 80 mins): In this round you will be assessed on your overall architecture and technical skill, your leadership experience and our cultural Fit.

Package

We offer a competitive salary, depending on experience, alongside a generous performance‑based bonus scheme. Your total reward package includes:

• Up to 19% pension contribution
• Private medical insurance
• A wide range of excellent benefits, from lifestyle perks to wellbeing support, designed to help you thrive both in and out of work

We believe in recognising and rewarding the impact you make - and ensuring you feel valued every step of the way.

Working Schedule

We’re based in the stunning Paddington Central offices at 4 Kingdom Street, a modern workspace designed to energise your day and elevate collaboration.

What Makes It Special?

• Landscaped rooftop gardens - perfect for a breath of fresh air or informal catch‑ups.
• London’s highest rooftop basketball court - yes, really!
• Wellness amenities including showers, lockers, hairdryers, and fresh towels.
• Cyclist‑friendly with secure bike storage and drying rooms.
• Stylish lounge areas, booths, and breakout spaces for focused work or relaxed chats.
• Canalside location near Little Venice, with floating restaurants, coffee shops, and a seasonal pop‑up garden bar.
• Unbeatable transport links - just steps from Paddington Station and the Elizabeth Line.

Why us?

Here at HL, we’re the UK’s number 1 investment platform for private investors, based in Bristol. For more than 40 years we’ve helped investors save time, tax and money on their investments. To achieve our mission, we believe we have a workplace like no other, with constant learning, dynamic teams, and a great ethos. We're steered by core values that promote service, quality, innovation, and opportunity in everything we do.

What’s on offer?

• Discretionary annual bonus and annual pay review
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays and 1‑day additional Christmas closure
• Option to purchase an additional 5 days holiday
• Flexible working options available, including hybrid working
• Enhanced parental leave
• Pension scheme up to 11% employer contribution
• Income Protection and Life insurance (4 x salary core level of cover)
• Private medical insurance
• Health care cash plans - including optical, dental, and out patient care
• Health screening programme
• Help@hand - confidential support including mental health counselling and remote GP
• Wellhub - unlimited access to fitness provider and wellness coach sessions
• Variety of travel to work schemes with bike storage and shower facilities
• Inhouse barista and deli serving subsidised coffee and sandwiches
• Two paid volunteering days per year

Hargreaves Lansdown is an inclusive employer that values diversity in its workforce. We encourage applications from all individuals without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability or age. This role may also be available on a flexible working or part time basis – please ask the Recruitment & Onboarding team for more information. Please note, we do not offer sponsorship opportunities for this role.