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- Tasks: Lead a high-velocity engineering team and drive innovative product development.
- Company: Join a dynamic startup focused on rapid growth and collaboration.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible work environment, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by building fast and iterating quickly in a supportive culture.
- Qualifications: Proven leadership in startups, strong technical skills, and a passion for speed.
- Other info: Embrace a culture of learning and iteration while working with cutting-edge technologies.
The predicted salary is between 43200 - 72000 ÂŁ per year.
We’re seeking an exceptional Head of Engineering / Engineering Manager to partner closely with our CTO and lead the next stage of our engineering organisation. We want a deeply technical leader who still loves to build, leads from the front, and thrives in high-velocity, high-ownership environments. Your mission: build the fastest engineering team on the planet.
Who you are:
- You’re a top-tier engineer with proven leadership experience in fast-moving startups or scaleups.
- You’re comfortable making imperfect decisions quickly, you’ve built products under pressure, and you know that momentum beats perfection.
You might be:
- A seasoned engineer who has already stepped into a Head of Engineering / Engineering Manager role at a venture-backed startup.
- An ex-founder who has built and shipped products under real pressure.
- A startup tech lead who thrives on ownership and bold decisions.
- A pragmatic builder who values time-to-value over “the right way”.
What makes you perfect for this role:
- Engineering leadership: You’ve coached and unblocked engineers in high-velocity, high-pressure environments.
- Deep technical expertise: You have strong architecture instincts and solid security knowledge, but you’ll cut through complexity to keep shipping.
- Startup operator mindset: You’ve taken products from 0→1 or through hyper-growth and know how to build systems that evolve with the company.
- Velocity obsession: You believe iteration > perfection, and your instinct is always to get value in front of users as fast as possible.
- AI-first: You’re bullish on AI, vibe-coding daily, and always looking for ways to push velocity through AI-assisted workflows.
- DevX focus: You obsess over developer experience because you know great tooling = more speed.
- Execution focus: Monitoring, observability, and performance aren’t “nice to haves”, they’re how you ship fast without breaking trust.
What you'll do:
- Set the bar for engineering velocity: coaching, mentoring, and unblocking the team every day.
- Make architectural and security calls fast, balancing speed with long-term resilience.
- Build and own best-in-class developer experience - tooling and workflows that eliminate drag.
- Monitor and protect reliability and SLAs, while still moving at startup speed.
- Establish a culture where iteration is celebrated and perfectionism is challenged.
How we work at Lightdash:
- We build in public. Open source means moving fast with shared context.
- We challenge problems, not people. No blame, just solutions.
- We’re highly collaborative. Independent, but we win as a team (and with our community).
- We bias hard toward impact. We’d rather ship the wrong thing quickly and learn, than waste weeks polishing what nobody needs.
Our tech stack:
- Primary: TypeScript, React, Node, SQL
- Frameworks: Express, React-hooks, Redux, RTK, Mantine
- Infrastructure: Docker, GCP, Kubernetes, Tracing, Prometheus
While familiarity with our stack is helpful, we value your ability to learn and adapt over specific technical experience.
⚡ We’re deliberately looking for ambitious leaders from startups and high-growth companies. If you want predictability, long roadmaps, and “the right way” over speed, this isn’t the role for you.
👉 Research shows that women and underrepresented groups often don’t apply unless they meet 100% of the requirements. Even if you don’t tick every box, if you have startup experience and a hunger for velocity, we’d love to hear from you.
Head of Engineering in City of London employer: Lightdash
Contact Detail:
Lightdash Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of Engineering in City of London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, attend meetups, and engage with online communities. The more people you know, the better your chances of landing that Head of Engineering role.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repository showcasing your projects and contributions. This is your chance to demonstrate your technical expertise and leadership experience in a tangible way.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for those interviews! Research common questions for engineering leadership roles and practice your responses. Be ready to discuss how you've driven velocity and built teams in high-pressure environments.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! We love seeing candidates who are genuinely interested in joining us. Tailor your application to highlight your startup experience and passion for building fast, effective teams.
We think you need these skills to ace Head of Engineering in City of London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for Velocity: When you're writing your application, make sure to highlight your obsession with speed and iteration. We want to see how you've made quick decisions in the past and how that led to successful outcomes. Remember, momentum beats perfection!
Be Authentic About Your Experience: Don’t be shy about sharing your journey! Whether you’re a seasoned engineer or an ex-founder, let us know how your unique experiences have shaped your approach to engineering leadership. We value diverse backgrounds and want to hear your story.
Focus on Team Collaboration: We love a collaborative spirit! In your application, mention how you've coached and unblocked teams in high-pressure environments. Show us how you’ve fostered a culture of support and iteration within your teams.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to get your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates. Plus, we can’t wait to see what you bring to the table!
How to prepare for a job interview at Lightdash
✨Show Your Technical Prowess
As a Head of Engineering, you need to demonstrate your deep technical expertise. Be prepared to discuss your past projects in detail, especially those that involved making quick architectural decisions under pressure. Highlight how your choices led to successful outcomes and how you navigated challenges.
✨Emphasise Leadership Experience
This role requires strong leadership skills, so share specific examples of how you've coached and unblocked engineers in fast-paced environments. Talk about your approach to mentoring and how you foster a culture of iteration and collaboration within your teams.
✨Demonstrate Your Startup Mindset
Make sure to convey your understanding of the startup landscape. Discuss your experience taking products from 0 to 1 or through hyper-growth phases. Show that you value speed and adaptability over perfection, and be ready to explain how you've implemented systems that evolve with the company.
✨Be AI-Forward
Since the company is looking for someone who is bullish on AI, come prepared with ideas on how AI can enhance engineering velocity. Share any experiences where you've integrated AI-assisted workflows into your projects, and how it helped improve developer experience and overall productivity.