- Job title: Director, Quality & Release Engineering
- Location: London or Bristol (Hybrid Office - 3+ days per week)
- Salary: £150,000 - £180,000
- Team: Quality & Release
- Level: Director
This role is based in London or Bristol and requires existing right to work in the UK. At this time, we are not able to offer visa sponsorship for this role. We are committed to building a diverse, global team and our sponsorship policy is evaluated on a role-by-role basis. We encourage you to keep an eye on our careers site to stay informed about future opportunities where we are able to offer visa sponsorship.
Kaluza is the Energy Intelligence Platform, turning energy complexity into seamless coordination. We help energy companies overcome today’s challenges while accelerating the shift to a clean, electrified future.
Our platform orchestrates millions of real-time decisions across homes, devices, markets and grids. By combining predictive algorithms with human-centred design, Kaluza makes clean energy dependable, affordable and adaptive to everyday life.
With teams across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, and a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan, we power leading companies including OVO, AGL and ENGIE, as well as innovators like Volvo and Volkswagen.
What will I be doing?
The quality engineering function is shifting from manual oversight and process governance toward an AI-assisted product development lifecycle where QA leads its own domain test strategy and bespoke tooling drives automation maturity. This role will drive this shift in our organization and ways of working.
You will own quality and release governance at programme level, directly manage an engineering team building AI-assisted automation and test data capability, and set the standard that QA leads across delivery streams work to. You will be as comfortable driving change as you are accountable for outcomes. Responsibilities will include:
Strategic Quality Leadership
- Own and evolve the quality strategy across delivery streams, aligned to programme objectives and client SLAs
- Define and maintain release governance frameworks — release readiness criteria, risk acceptance, and sign-off authorities
- Set quality standards and coverage expectations; ensure QA leads translate these into domain-level test strategies
- Drive defect governance at programme level — internal and client-facing SLA compliance
- Represent quality and risk in senior leadership, architecture, and product forums
AI-Driven Tooling & Automation
- Directly manage a team of engineers building and maintaining bespoke automation tooling, leveraging AI and LLM capabilities
- Own the test data management strategy — including AI-assisted synthetic data generation and environment data integrity
- Evaluate and select off-the-shelf AI testing tools; define governance frameworks for their use and validation
- Ensure governance gates are maintained as AI participation in the PDLC grows — accountable humans must remain in the loop for risk acceptance and production judgement
- Establish tooling standards that QA leads can adopt across domains without creating dependency on a central bottleneck
QA Function Leadership & Operating Model
- Lead, develop, and performance-manage QA leads embedded across domains; define the operating model and career framework for the function
- Own the accountability split clearly: QA leads own test strategy and tooling choices for their domain; this role owns the standard they work to
- Drive consistency across streams without becoming a handoff point — enable QA leads to move fast within well-defined guardrails
- Build a quality engineering culture — not a bug-finding one
Change Management & Adoption
- Lead the transformation of QA practice from script maintenance to intelligent, risk-based, AI-assisted quality engineering
- Drive upskilling across the function — building capability in AI tooling, context engineering, and agent-assisted workflows
- Manage resistance and build confidence in new ways of working; bring the team through change without losing them
- Communicate quality outcomes in business terms to senior stakeholders — escaped defect rates, release stability, risk posture
Release Management
- Own the release quality process end-to-end: environment strategy, regression coverage, go/no-go decisions, and post-release monitoring
- Embed shift-left practices — quality gates early in the PDLC, not just at release
- Manage the tension between delivery velocity and release stability, particularly as AI-generated code volumes increase
About You
Ideally you’ll have/be
- Proven track record leading a QA or quality engineering function of significant scale — including embedded domain leads and direct management of practitioners
- Has directly managed engineers building tooling or automation infrastructure — not just managed QA practitioners executing test plans
- Has delivered a meaningful QA transformation: AI adoption, automation maturity uplift, defect governance overhaul, or similar
- Has worked in a multi-client or multi-product platform environment, managing quality outcomes across concurrent delivery streams
- Has owned release governance in a complex, multi-stream delivery context — including go/no-go accountability
- Exposure to energy, utilities, billing, or similarly regulated complex domains is a plus — not essential Strong grounding in test strategy, automation frameworks, and CI/CD integration — sufficient to credibly lead engineers building these things
- Working knowledge of LLMs and AI tooling in a QA context: test generation, defect triage, coverage analysis, synthetic test data
- Understands test data management principles and the challenges of environment data integrity at scale
- Able to evaluate build vs. buy for tooling; assess AI testing platforms with appropriate scepticism Comfortable setting strategy and being accountable for outcomes — not just owning process
- Able to operate at programme level with senior engineering and product stakeholders
- Experienced in leading distributed, multi-timezone quality functions
- Strong communicator — translates quality metrics into business outcomes; can make the case for investment in tooling and governance Demonstrated experience leading practice transformation in an engineering context
- Able to bring people with them through transitions that challenge established ways of working
- Comfortable with ambiguity; can hold direction steady while the detail is still being worked out
- Familiar with observability, production monitoring, and shift-right quality practices
Where you'll work
We offer flexible working, with an expectation of 3 days a week in the office. This gives us the best of both: real time together to collaborate and build relationships, with the flexibility to work in the way that suits you best the rest of the week.
Kaluza Values
Here at Kaluza we have five core values that guide us as a business: Play to win, Solve the real problem, Build trust every day, Own the outcome, Go further together.
Our Perks
- Pension Scheme
- Discretionary Bonus Scheme
- Private Medical Insurance + Virtual GP
- Life Assurance
- Access to Furthr - a Climate Action app
- Free Mortgage Advice and Eye Tests
- Perks at Work - access to thousands of retail discounts
- 5% Flex Fund - to spend on the benefits you want most
- 26 days holiday
- Progressive Leave Policy - With no qualifying service periods, including 26 weeks full pay if you have a new addition to your family
- Personal Learning Budget - Upskill, learn and grow!
- Home Office Budget And more!
We want the best people
We’re keen to meet people from all walks of life — our view is that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We want to build teams which represent a variety of experiences, perspectives and skills, and we recognise talent on the basis of merit and potential.
We understand some people may not apply for jobs unless they tick every box. But if you're excited about joining us and think you have some of what we're looking for, even if you're not 100% sure, we'd still love to hear from you.
Find out more about working in Kaluza on our careers page and LinkedIn.
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Director, Quality & Release Engineering employer: Kaluza
Kaluza is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment in London that fosters innovation and collaboration within the energy sector. With a strong commitment to employee growth, Kaluza provides a range of benefits including a personal learning budget, flexible holiday options, and a progressive leave policy, ensuring that team members can thrive both personally and professionally. The company's focus on diversity and merit-based talent recognition makes it an attractive place for those seeking meaningful and rewarding careers in business development.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Director, Quality & Release Engineering
✨Join Local Manufacturing Groups
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Consider participating in workshops or open days at manufacturing companies. It's a great way to show off your hands-on skills in a real-world environment and can sometimes lead to job offers right on the spot. Keep an eye on announcements from local manufacturers for these opportunities!
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While you're looking for full-time positions, don't underestimate the power of internships! Even if you don't see a direct role, securing an internship at a company can open doors to future jobs. Many manufacturing firms prefer to hire from their intern pool, so it's definitely worth considering.
✨Apply Directly Through Company Websites
When you find a role at a company you love, like Kaluza, apply directly on their website. This way, you’re more likely to be noticed by the hiring team. Plus, showing that you took the time to seek out their application process highlights your genuine interest in the firm!
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Technical Skills:In the manufacturing-production sector, it's crucial to highlight your technical skills and experience. Make sure your CV features any relevant qualifications, such as certifications in machinery operation or production management, and don’t forget about any specific systems or software you’re familiar with. This can really set you apart!
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Tailor Your Cover Letter to the Company:Don’t just recycle an old cover letter! Take the time to tailor your cover letter to Kaluza specifically. Mention what excites you about their production processes or products, and how your previous experiences can contribute to their goals. We want to see your enthusiasm for the role!
Use Concrete Examples of Your Achievements:When detailing your work experience, include measurable achievements that can demonstrate your impact. Whether it’s improving efficiency by a certain percentage or successfully leading a project, these specifics can make a huge difference. Numbers speak volumes in the manufacturing world!
How to prepare for a job interview at Kaluza
✨Know Your Manufacturing Processes
Before you walk into the interview with Kaluza, brush up on the specific manufacturing processes relevant to the role. Understanding lean manufacturing principles or quality control techniques could give you a solid edge to discuss how you’d fit into their operations.
✨Technical Questions Are Key
Be prepared for technical questions around machinery, production scheduling, or materials handling. Make sure you can confidently explain how you've dealt with these in past experiences or internships. Knowing industry-specific software could also be a big plus!
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Manufacturing environments often focus on continuous improvement. Be ready to discuss specific instances where you’ve solved a production issue or implemented a process improvement. It’s all about demonstrating your analytical thinking and hands-on approach.
✨Align Your Values with Quality and Safety
In a full-time role, companies like Kaluza value commitment to quality and safety. Be prepared to discuss how you prioritise these factors in your work. It’s about showing that you’re not just looking for a job, but that you genuinely care about contributing positively to their production environment.
