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- Tasks: Lead digital engineering to enhance guest experiences across iconic attractions.
- Company: Join Merlin Entertainments, a global leader in creating unforgettable experiences.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive pay, 33 days holiday, and exclusive attraction passes.
- Why this job: Shape the future of digital platforms and make a real impact on millions.
- Qualifications: 10+ years in software engineering with strong leadership and cloud expertise.
- Other info: Be part of a fun, growth-oriented culture with amazing career prospects.
The predicted salary is between 72000 - 108000 ÂŁ per year.
At Merlin Entertainments, we create world‑class experiences that bring people together – from LEGOLAND® and SEA LIFE to Madame Tussauds and beyond. As part of our ambitious global digital transformation, we’re looking for a Digital Engineering Director to lead the technology that powers our guest experience across the world. This is a senior, high‑impact leadership role at the heart of our Digital Transformation – shaping the platforms that millions of guests interact with every year.
The role involves owning the end‑to‑end digital engineering portfolio that underpins Merlin’s global guest journey. From mobile apps and interactive kiosks to ticketing, POS, payments, integration, and cloud platforms – this role sets the technical direction and drives delivery at scale. You’ll lead multiple high‑performing engineering teams and technical leaders, working closely with Product, UX/UI, Operations and Commercial teams to deliver seamless, secure and scalable digital experiences across web, app and on‑site touchpoints.
This is a role for a strategic technical leader who can operate confidently at board‑level and dive deep when needed.
What You’ll Be Responsible For
- Strategic & Technical Leadership
- Define and execute Merlin’s digital engineering strategy, aligned to our business and technology vision.
- Own the multi‑year roadmap for all digital platforms, ensuring scalability, security and innovation.
- Partner with senior stakeholders to align engineering delivery with commercial and guest outcomes.
- Architecture & Platform Excellence
- Provide technical leadership across mobile, web, kiosk, POS, ticketing, integration and cloud platforms.
- Champion modern engineering practices including microservices, API‑first and event‑driven architectures.
- Lead platform engineering, DevOps, SRE and APIM strategies to ensure reliability and performance.
- Engineering Delivery
- Own the full software development lifecycle, from ideation through to live operations.
- Champion agile and DevOps ways of working across global engineering teams.
- Manage budgets, vendors and resource planning across the digital portfolio.
- People & Culture
- Lead, mentor and develop multiple engineering teams, tech leads and managers.
- Build a culture of engineering excellence, innovation, learning and accountability.
- Drive talent development, succession planning and career progression.
- Operational Excellence
- Ensure high availability, resilience and performance across all digital platforms.
- Oversee incident management, continuous improvement and operational KPIs.
- Ensure compliance with security, data protection and industry standards (e.g. GDPR, PCI-DSS).
Qualifications & Experience
What we’re looking for:
- 10+ years’ experience in software engineering, with at least 5 years in senior technical leadership roles.
- Proven experience leading large‑scale digital platforms across mobile, e‑commerce, ticketing, POS or payments.
- Strong background in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure or GCP), microservices and API management.
- Deep expertise in agile delivery, DevOps, CI/CD and SRE practices.
- Experience leading global, multi‑disciplinary engineering teams.
- Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence technical and non‑technical audiences.
- Commercially minded, with a clear understanding of how technology drives customer experience and revenue.
- Experience in retail, hospitality or multi‑site international environments is a strong advantage.
Our leadership behaviours
At Merlin, how you lead matters as much as what you deliver. We’re looking for leaders who are:
- Soulfully Curious – open, inquisitive and always learning.
- Results Focused – accountable, decisive and outcome‑driven.
- Extraordinary Teammates – collaborative, inclusive and generous with knowledge.
- Developers of People – passionate about growing talent and building future leaders.
Why Merlin?
You’ll be part of a global organisation with iconic brands, ambitious growth plans and a genuine commitment to creating memorable experiences – not just for our guests, but for our people too. If you’re excited by large‑scale digital platforms, global complexity and the chance to shape the future of guest experience, we’d love to hear from you.
Benefits
We’re growing fast and alongside a fun and friendly environment, we offer a fabulous package and amazing prospects – ideal if you’re already fantastic and want to become even better. Benefits include Pension, Life Assurance, discretionary company bonus, 33 days’ holiday including bank holidays, a Merlin Magic Pass which gives you and your friends and family free admission to all of our attractions worldwide, an Enjoy the Ride pass which entitles you and 5 loved ones unlimited entry into your regional attractions, 25% discount in our retail shops and restaurants and 40% discount on LEGO, plus lots more!
Pay Range Competitive
Digital Engineering Director employer: Merlin Entertainments
Contact Detail:
Merlin Entertainments Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Digital Engineering Director
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to connections in the industry, attend relevant events, and engage on platforms like LinkedIn. We can’t stress enough how personal connections can open doors that applications alone can’t.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Understand their digital transformation goals and think about how your experience aligns with their needs. We want you to walk in confident and ready to showcase your expertise!
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your pitch! Be ready to explain your past projects and how they relate to the role of Digital Engineering Director. We suggest rehearsing with a friend or mentor to get comfortable with articulating your value.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in being part of the Merlin family.
We think you need these skills to ace Digital Engineering Director
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that align with the Digital Engineering Director role. Highlight your leadership in digital platforms and any relevant technical expertise to catch our eye!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Use your cover letter to tell us why you’re passionate about shaping guest experiences through technology. Share specific examples of how you've driven digital transformation in previous roles.
Showcase Your Leadership Style: We want to know how you lead teams! Include examples of how you've mentored others and built a culture of innovation and accountability in your past positions.
Apply Through Our Website: For the best chance of success, make sure to apply directly through our website. It’s the easiest way for us to see your application and get you into the process!
How to prepare for a job interview at Merlin Entertainments
✨Know Your Digital Engineering Inside Out
Make sure you’re well-versed in the latest trends and technologies in digital engineering. Brush up on your knowledge of cloud platforms, microservices, and API management, as these are crucial for the role. Be ready to discuss how you've applied these in past projects.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Style
As a Digital Engineering Director, your leadership approach is key. Prepare examples that highlight your experience in leading diverse teams and driving a culture of innovation and accountability. Think about how you’ve mentored others and fostered talent development.
✨Align with Business Goals
Understand Merlin's business objectives and how technology plays a role in enhancing guest experiences. Be prepared to discuss how you can align engineering strategies with commercial outcomes, showcasing your ability to think both technically and commercially.
✨Prepare for Stakeholder Engagement
You’ll need to influence both technical and non-technical audiences, so practice articulating complex ideas in simple terms. Think of scenarios where you’ve successfully managed stakeholder expectations and how you can bring that experience to Merlin.
