At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a dynamic engineering team while coding and solving complex problems.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking company focused on AI-native engineering practices.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, career growth opportunities, and a supportive work culture.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by driving innovation and delivering high-quality products.
- Qualifications: Experience in software engineering and team leadership required.
- Other info: Embrace a culture of collaboration and continuous learning.
The predicted salary is between 48000 - 72000 £ per year.
Lead a cross-functional engineering team at the intersection of technical excellence and business impact. This isn’t a management role that’s drifted away from the code - you’ll spend 40-50% of your time hands-on-keyboard, setting engineering standards through demonstration rather than documentation. You’ll build high-performing teams, ship products that matter, and pioneer AI-native engineering practices that transform how we deliver value. You own outcomes, not just outputs. Your tribe’s success is measured by business impact, delivery predictability, and engineering quality - not by hours logged or ceremonies attended. You balance the urgent against the important, champion technical health alongside feature delivery, and create environments where talented engineers do their best work.
Core Responsibilities
- Engineering Excellence
- Spend 40-50% of your time engineering - writing code, reviewing pull requests, and solving hard technical problems alongside your team.
- Guide architectural decisions that make systems secure, scalable, maintainable, and observable.
- Define and govern engineering standards across your team through code reviews and technical leadership.
- Drive AI tooling adoption across development workflows - ensuring every engineer leverages AI to accelerate their work.
- Champion technical debt reduction and modernization initiatives, balancing delivery speed with long-term system health.
- Partner with Solutions Architecture to align engineering capabilities with architectural vision.
- Delivery & Operations
- Drive predictable, high-quality delivery aligned with business objectives - measured by outcomes, not activity.
- Own 24/7 support coverage and participate actively in on-call rotation, leading incident management by example.
- Champion small, frequent releases that establish quick feedback loops with stakeholders and users.
- Balance scope and sequencing to optimise delivery speed while managing technical debt responsibly.
- Partner across Product, Engineering, and Solutions Architecture to ensure efficient, high-quality product delivery.
- People & Culture
- Manage, coach, and develop a diverse team of Engineers through regular feedback and meaningful 1:1s.
- Create clear career progression frameworks and conduct performance reviews focused on growth and skill development.
- Build an environment of psychological safety where team members feel empowered to contribute ideas and raise concerns.
- Set and track measurable team OKRs that connect individual contributions to business objectives.
- Strategic Contributions
- Establish AI-native engineering practices that accelerate your tribe - demonstrating how tools like Claude Code transform development velocity and creating reusable patterns that scale.
- Define and track metrics for AI adoption and impact within your team, measuring genuine productivity gains rather than vanity metrics.
- Build a culture of knowledge sharing through tech talks, documentation, and cross-team collaboration that elevates capability across the organisation.
- Collaborate with other Engineering Managers on recruitment, onboarding, and process improvements that strengthen engineering culture.
- Research and introduce emerging technologies that keep your team innovative while maintaining product stability.
- Drive cross-functional initiatives that improve overall engineering effectiveness across the organisation.
- Contribute to roadmap development, ensuring balance between feature delivery and technical health.
Key Performance Indicators
- Additional KPIs may be defined through PA Media Group's annual Performance Programme.
- Engineering & Delivery
- 40-50% of time on hands-on engineering activities
- 90%+ cycle goal completion rates
- 80%+ test coverage on all new code
- Quarter-over-quarter reduction in security vulnerabilities (measured by Snyk)
- Measurable AI tool adoption and demonstrated impact on development velocity
- Operations
- 100% out-of-hours support coverage (primary and secondary engineer available)
Engineering Manager in Manchester employer: PA Media Group
Contact Detail:
PA Media Group Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Engineering Manager in Manchester
✨Tip Number 1
Get your hands dirty! Spend time coding and solving problems with your team. This not only shows your technical chops but also builds trust and camaraderie within the group.
✨Tip Number 2
Showcase your leadership skills by guiding architectural decisions and setting engineering standards. Remember, it’s all about demonstrating excellence rather than just talking about it!
✨Tip Number 3
Focus on building a culture of psychological safety. Encourage your team to share ideas and concerns openly. This will help you create an environment where everyone can thrive and contribute their best work.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive about their job search.
We think you need these skills to ace Engineering Manager in Manchester
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Hands-On Skills: Since this role is all about balancing management with hands-on engineering, make sure to highlight your coding experience. Share specific examples of projects where you’ve been deeply involved in the technical side, demonstrating your ability to lead by example.
Focus on Impact, Not Just Activity: We want to see how you've driven outcomes in your previous roles. Instead of just listing tasks, explain how your contributions have led to measurable business impacts. Use metrics and results to back up your claims!
Emphasise Team Development: As a leader, your ability to coach and develop your team is crucial. Share your experiences in mentoring engineers, creating career progression frameworks, or fostering a culture of psychological safety. We love to see how you’ve helped others grow!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website for a smoother process. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates from our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at PA Media Group
✨Show Your Hands-On Skills
Since this role requires spending 40-50% of your time coding, be prepared to discuss your recent hands-on projects. Bring examples of code you've written or problems you've solved, and be ready to demonstrate your technical skills during the interview.
✨Understand AI-Native Practices
Familiarise yourself with AI tools and how they can enhance engineering workflows. Be ready to discuss how you've implemented or would implement AI solutions in your past roles, as this is a key focus for the position.
✨Emphasise Team Development
This role involves managing and developing a diverse team. Prepare to share your experiences in coaching and mentoring engineers, and how you’ve created an environment of psychological safety where team members feel valued and empowered.
✨Align with Business Objectives
The company values outcomes over outputs, so be ready to discuss how you've driven high-quality delivery aligned with business goals. Share specific examples of how you've measured success through impact rather than just activity.