Restaurant Technology Problem Manager

Company Description: About Us McDonald’s has run its business in the UK since 1974 and currently operates over 1500 restaurants across the UK and Ireland, serving almost four million customers each day. McDonald’s is one of the UK’s largest private sector employers, employing over 170,000 people.

The Opportunity We are looking for a forward-thinking team player to join our hard-working Service Operations Team. The team has an ambitious agenda in 2025 and beyond; there is no better time to join us and play an instrumental part in improving and evolving technology within the business. The Restaurant Technology Problem Manager will be responsible for identifying and reducing reoccurring issues within our restaurants and services. These improvements could be technical, procedural or behavioural and will require working with multiple partners and functions to achieve these goals.

What will my accountabilities be? As a Restaurant Technology Problem Manager, you will be responsible for owning ITIL Problem Management and Service Data Analytics whilst managing a team of Site Reliability Engineers and Level 3 technical subject matter experts. Your accountabilities could be refined as follows:

• Own ITIL Problem & Change Management: Take ownership of ITIL Problem Management activities, proactively identifying, addressing and fixing root causes of incidents and recurring issues within the system. Observability lead, promoting stability across the estate by collaborating with cross-functional teams to implement preventive measures. Actively take part in ITIL Change Management processes, ensuring that changes to the system are thoroughly assessed, planned, and implemented in alignment with organizational policies and procedures. Work with Global and Lead Market representatives to standardise problem management activities and policies at a global level whilst also providing early insight to impacting problems and remediation activities.
• Communication and Reporting: Produce reports and presentations to improve communication back into the business, providing insights into system reliability, performance and improvement initiatives. Work closely with functions within the Technology team and our respective suppliers to communicate top impacting problems and work collaboratively to identify avenues for remediation in each area.
• Lead, mentor and develop the Site Reliability team: Train, coach, and mentor Site Reliability Engineers, ensuring the team maintains relevant career development plans and stays abreast of industry best practices. Collaborate with development teams to advocate for reliability engineering principles throughout the software development lifecycle, detecting and correcting performance issues to meet availability goals.
• Manage Service Operations data and analytics: Take charge of the management and roadmap of an internal data lake house and its downstream reporting, delivering early insights and value to the business. Enforce data governance policies and practices to ensure the quality, security, and integrity of data. Utilise advanced analytics and machine learning techniques to develop actionable insights from data, contributing to the enhancement of system reliability and performance.

What Team will I be a part of? This role will operate within the Running Great Restaurant Technology (RGRT) team.

Who are my customers? Reporting directly to the Head of Service Operations, you will have a close working relationship with technology partners like NCRV, Capgemini, VMO2, Sopra Steria and Vista. This role requires collaborative working with colleagues at a Global and Market level, UK & ROI Restaurants, Franchisees and their representatives, Corporate Service providers, RSG (Operations), IT functional teams and a 3rd party test team.

Qualifications: What background do I need to have? Who you are: Clear communicator: Strong verbal and written communication skills which enable effective collaboration and reporting. Demonstrated ability to explain technical information to non-technical audiences. Problem solver: Analytical and critical thinker to identify and solve complex technical problems. Adaptability: Ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast paced environments. Pragmatic, thoughtful and customer driven. Work with energy and passion and inspire the same in others. Build a feedback-rich environment and where appropriate demonstrate an ability to have difficult conversations. Appreciation of the needs of differing audiences (restaurants, operations and office hierarchy, franchisees, suppliers).

Experience: Must have experience managing and leading a team. Proficient in identifying and addressing root causes of system issues. Experience managing and contributing to mid-large projects related to system reliability improvements. Knowledge of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) Practices: including error budgeting, service level objectives (SLOs), and service level indicators (SLIs). Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, including developers and system administrators. Hands-on experience in responding to and resolving incidents efficiently. Experience in implementing changes while following ITIL change management processes. Understanding of basic security principles and best practices for securing infrastructure.

Optional but advantageous technical skills: Proficient using observability tools (NewRelic and Thousand Eyes), BI platform and data visualisation tools (such as Tableau and Power BI) and technology tools (Jira, Confluence). System Administration: Proficiency in Linux/Unix and Windows system administration. Networking: Understanding of network protocols, configuration, and troubleshooting. Cloud Services: Experience with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Data Architecture and Modelling: Proficiency in designing and implementing scalable data architectures. Strong understanding of advanced analytics and machine learning techniques, with hands-on experience in applying these methods to derive actionable insights from operational data.

What You’ll Get: Competitive salary + Bonus + Location and Car Allowance. You’ll also get free parking, lunch and gym access at the office. A collaborative and inclusive culture, where your ideas are valued. Hybrid working with 3 days a week in the office and 2 days remote.

Additional Information: Company Vision and Culture Our Global vision is to build a better McDonald’s and in the UK and Ireland we are working hard to be the UK & Irelands best-loved restaurant company. McDonald’s is defined by its culture. Our culture shapes and informs everything we think and everything we do. Our culture influences the way we interact with each other, and how we interact with customers, franchisees and suppliers. Our culture motivates and inspires us to attract and retain great talent, creating positive, energising, exceptional working environment for us all. Our values drive our culture and shape our beliefs, our priorities and our actions. They influence the decisions we make, how we treat one another and how we show up as a brand to the world. Serve: We put our customers and our people first Inclusion: We open our doors to everyone Integrity: We do the right thing Community: We are good neighbours Family: We get better together At McDonald’s we are People from all Walks of Life... People are at the heart of everything we do, and they make the McDonald’s experience. We embrace diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture that means people can be their best authentic self in our restaurants and offices, which helps us to better serve our customers. We have a strong heritage of diversity and representation within our communities, which we are proud of. The diversity of our people, customers, Franchisees and suppliers gives us strength. We do not tolerate inequality, injustice or discrimination of any kind. These are hugely important issues and a brand with our reach and relevance means we have a very meaningful role to play. We also recognise our responsibility as a large employer to continue being active in our communities, helping to develop skills and drive aspirations that will help people to be more aware of the world of work and more successful within it, whether with McDonald’s or elsewhere.