At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a dynamic engineering team to create innovative savings solutions for clients.
- Company: Join Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK's top investment platform with a vibrant culture.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, competitive pay, and generous holiday allowances.
- Other info: Embrace a culture of continuous learning and collaboration.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in a respected company while growing your career.
- Qualifications: Proven leadership in tech roles and experience with high-performing teams.
The predicted salary is between 75600 - 92400 £ per year.
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
HL are looking for an experienced and talented Senior Software Engineering Manager to lead an Active Savings product development team in building market-leading solutions for our clients.
The Savings application allows HL clients to easily deposit cash into a selection of savings accounts offered by partner banks.
It is a bespoke development project with several functional sub-components.
This is an opportunity to join the UK’s number one investment services company, managing over £149.7 billion in assets for more than 1.86 million UK investors.
As a secure, and highly respected brand, HL offers you the chance to make a genuine impact within one of the UK's most innovative and digitally focused businesses.
- What You'll Be Doing
- Lead and inspire a cross-functional engineering team (c.25-30 people across 5 squads) to deliver high-quality software for the Active Savings tribe.
- Provide structured leadership that ensures consistent delivery, productivity, engagement, and team wellbeing.
- Foster a culture of technical excellence, purpose, and innovation aligned with HL’s values and our regulated environment.
- Support the Head of Software Engineering to prepare for a next-generation replatforming of our core trading and customer systems.
- Recruit, develop, and retain top engineering talent, nurturing a high-performance culture with psychological safety at its core.
- Ensure best practices in agile delivery, Dev Ops, secure engineering, and operational support are upheld across the teams.
- Take ownership of your team's services – ensuring they are secure, reliable, scalable, and continually improved.
- Work closely with Product Managers and stakeholders to align engineering outcomes with business and client value.
- Translate complex technical concepts into business-friendly language and influence decision-making at senior levels.
- Champion continuous learning, cross-functional collaboration, and inclusive team growth.
About You
- Significant experience in senior technology leadership roles within large-scale, regulated environments - ideally in Retail Banking and/or Asset and Wealth Management; covering Deposits, Card/SWIFT Payments, Pay By Bank, Faster Payment Service (FPS).
- Track record of managing and scaling high-performing software engineering teams (25+), balancing delivery and innovation.
- Strong engineering background with the ability to communicate architectural decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- You create guardrails based on scope, technical design, NFRs, and quality—then empower your team to innovate within them.
- Client- and product-focused mindset, with experience partnering closely with Product Managers and business teams.
- You embrace ambiguity, foster collaboration, and promote psychological safety to help teams navigate change.
- Hands-on knowledge of secure API design, authentication services, and mobile development (Swift/Kotlin, React Native).
- Knowledge and experience of modern Dev Ops tools and practices.
- Exposure to Figma and Vercel is a great plus.
- Experience leading engineering efforts across legacy and modern technology stacks.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and align cross-functional teams.
- Strong technical degree from a reputable university is highly desirable.
- Tech Stack
- Java / Springboot / Gradle / HTML / Graph QL / Oracle / My Batis / Swift / Kotlin
- Cucumber / Selenium / Rest Assured / Jenkins
- Linux / Windows / AWS / Terraform Ia C / Kubernetes
- Interview Process
This will be a 3-stage interview process comprising an initial informal call with the hiring manager, followed by two structured interviews.
Working Schedule
37.5 hours per week, with flexibility based on business demands and 2/3 days a week in our Bristol office.
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 outpatient care
- Health screening programme
- Help@hand - confidential support including mental health counselling and remote GP
- Wellhub - unlimited access to fitness providers 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
- dependant on role level
- ** only available to select during our annual benefits window, in November each 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 are unable to provide employment sponsorship to candidates.
Senior Software Engineering Manager (Active Savings) in Bristol employer: HL Tech
Hargreaves Lansdown is an exceptional employer, offering a vibrant work culture in Bristol that fosters continuous learning and innovation. With a commitment to employee growth, we provide extensive benefits including flexible working options, generous holiday allowances, and comprehensive health support, ensuring our team can thrive both personally and professionally. Join us to make a meaningful impact in the investment services sector while enjoying a supportive and dynamic environment.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Software Engineering Manager (Active Savings) in Bristol
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at HL Tech or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to HL Tech.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like HL Tech.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like HL Tech that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Software Engineering Manager (Active Savings) in Bristol
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at HL Tech.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at HL Tech and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at HL Tech
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If HL Tech uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
