Staff Engineer in Manchester

A leading Tier 1 global bank is undertaking a significant engineering transformation, focused on raising engineering standards, improving technology delivery, and continuing the growth of its UK engineering function. As part of this journey, we are seeking a highly experienced VP Software Engineer (Staff Engineer) to operate as a senior technical leader across multiple engineering domains.

This is a unique role for someone who enjoys solving complex organisational and technical challenges, influencing engineering direction at scale, and working across multiple teams rather than within a single product area.

The Role

Reporting directly to a senior engineering leader, you will operate independently across a portfolio of engineering teams and labs, acting as a trusted technical advisor, problem solver, and hands-on engineering leader.

You will partner with Principal Engineers, Engineering Managers, Architects, and senior stakeholders to identify opportunities, improve engineering effectiveness, and drive technical excellence across the wider organisation.

Unlike traditional Staff Engineer positions tied to a single team, this role provides the opportunity to move across multiple engineering functions, helping teams solve difficult problems, improve delivery practices, and adopt consistent engineering standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a senior technical leader across multiple engineering teams and domains.
• Build strong relationships with Principal Engineers and engineering leaders across the organisation.
• Identify best practices, architectural patterns, and engineering approaches being used across teams and help drive their adoption.
• Review technical solutions, provide guidance, and offer constructive challenge where required.
• Take ownership of complex technical and organisational problems and help drive them to resolution.
• Support engineering teams in overcoming delivery, architecture, scalability, or platform challenges.
• Drive consistency in engineering processes, standards, and ways of working across teams.
• Influence improvements in areas such as estimation, software delivery, engineering metrics, quality, and operational excellence.
• Raise the technical bar through coaching, mentoring, and technical leadership.
• Provide pragmatic advice while balancing business priorities, risk, and technical excellence.
• Escalate concerns and challenge decisions when necessary while maintaining strong stakeholder relationships.

What We\'re Looking For

Technical Experience

• 10+ years of software engineering experience in complex enterprise environments.
• Strong understanding of modern software architecture patterns, including domain-driven and cell-based architectures.
• Experience working with:
• Containerised platforms (cloud and on-premises)
• AWS
• Automated testing practices
• Platform and application security
• Broad technical expertise across the full software development lifecycle rather than a narrow specialism.
• Comfortable operating across multiple technology stacks and programming languages.
• Ability to quickly understand unfamiliar systems and provide credible technical leadership.

Leadership & Influence

• Proven ability to lead through influence rather than direct authority.
• Experience working with senior engineering stakeholders, including Principal Engineers and engineering leadership teams.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to navigate ambiguity and organisational complexity.
• Comfortable balancing strategic thinking with hands-on technical involvement.
• Ability to challenge constructively and deliver difficult messages when required.

Background

• Experience from large-scale, regulated or highly structured organisations is strongly preferred.
• Financial services experience is beneficial but not essential.
• Previous Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer, Lead Engineer, or similar experience is advantageous.
• Exceptional senior engineers ready to step into a Staff-level role will also be considered.

Personal Attributes

We\'re looking for someone who is:

• Approachable, collaborative, and highly influential.
• Technically credible and respected by peers.
• Pragmatic and outcome-focused.
• Curious and continuously learning.
• Comfortable working across teams and organisational boundaries.
• Humble, low ego, and willing to support others.
• Passionate about improving engineering culture and standards.

Why Join?

• Play a key role in a major engineering transformation within a Tier 1 bank.
• Influence engineering standards and practices across multiple business areas.
• Work alongside senior engineering leaders, Principal Engineers, and architects.
• Solve complex technical and organisational challenges at enterprise scale.
• Be part of a significant investment in UK technology teams and engineering excellence.

If you\'re a senior engineer who enjoys working across teams, influencing at scale, and raising the bar for engineering excellence, we\'d love to hear from you.