At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and scale Radiant's engineering organisation, ensuring technical quality and reliability.
- Company: Join Radiant, a pioneering company redefining AI infrastructure with a startup vibe.
- Benefits: Enjoy 25 days of leave, private medical insurance, and a supportive work culture.
- Other info: Embrace a culture of open communication, learning, and personal growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in AI infrastructure while building a high-performing team.
- Qualifications: Experience leading engineering teams and a strong technical background in software and infrastructure.
The predicted salary is between 81000 - 99000 £ per year.
Company Overview: Radiant is redefining how AI infrastructure is built. We design and operate AI-native cloud platforms engineered for sovereignty, performance, and scale. Our infrastructure powers GPU-native workloads, multi-tenant control planes, and high-performance AI systems designed for the most demanding environments. We are not building a generic cloud. We are building purpose-built AI infrastructure — from powered land, to compute, to software.
As we scale, we're building this organisation from the ground up. We're looking for people who'd rather build the playbook than inherit one - who are comfortable doing the work themselves as well as directing others, and who can adapt as fast as our strategy does. This is a startup model: attitude and adaptability matter more to us than years of experience or the size of the team you've previously managed.
What You'll Do: As Head of Engineering, you will lead Radiant's engineering organisation and be accountable for its execution, technical quality, reliability, and scalability. You'll lead software engineering, platform security engineering, and architecture: an organisation of 30-35 engineers today, growing to 150 to 200+ as Radiant expands internationally. You'll partner closely with Product, the Customer team, Infrastructure, SRE, Operations, the PMO, and the wider technology leadership team.
This is a senior leadership role focused on building a high-performing engineering organisation capable of delivering and operating complex AI infrastructure at scale. You'll stay close to the work through design review.
- Hire and scale the engineering organisation, building a strong leadership layer across Engineering Managers, Principal Engineers, and senior technical leaders.
- Own engineering hiring, performance, leadership development, succession planning, and organisational health.
- Design and evolve the engineering organisation as the company scales across teams, sites, and regions.
- Own the engineering strategy, operating model, and execution in alignment with company and product objectives.
- Translate business priorities into clear technical plans, sequencing, investment decisions, and delivery commitments.
- Establish clear ownership, decision-making, and accountability across engineering teams.
- Drive predictable, high-quality delivery, identifying risk early and intervening where execution drifts.
- Ensure systems are designed and delivered to be production-ready, reliable, observable, maintainable, and supportable.
- Strengthen collaboration with infrastructure, SRE, and operations, including effective handover and incident learning.
- Set and uphold standards across architecture, engineering quality, security, scalability, and operational maturity.
- Own the roadmap jointly with Product: Product owns what is built, and you own how and when.
- Act as the senior escalation point for critical technical, architectural, and delivery decisions, brokering decisions between peers and escalating to the CTO when needed.
- Improve engineering maturity and processes while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy or loss of delivery momentum.
- Represent engineering in executive and partner discussions, and join customer escalation reviews with the Customer team.
Your Profile: Significant experience leading and scaling engineering organisations of 20+ engineers through multiple stages of growth. Experience managing managers, with a strong track record of hiring and developing Engineering Managers, senior engineers, and technical leaders. Proven experience evolving a smaller engineering group into multiple teams with clear ownership, leadership, and consistent delivery. Experience designing organisational structures, team boundaries, and operating models for increasing scale and complexity. Demonstrated success improving delivery predictability, engineering quality, throughput, and organisational effectiveness. Strong technical background across modern software engineering, distributed systems, cloud platforms, or infrastructure-heavy products. Experience owning production systems where reliability, observability, scalability, and operational readiness are critical. Comfortable working closely with Product, Infrastructure, SRE, Operations, and Commercial teams. Experience operating across multiple teams, locations, or time zones. Able to communicate technical risk, trade-offs, and opportunity clearly at executive level. Experience with cloud or infrastructure platforms, scaled SaaS, AI/ML platforms, or infrastructure-heavy technology businesses is strongly preferred.
How You Work: You move fast and correct course quickly. You challenge openly, then commit. You address underperformance within weeks, with clear coaching and firm deadlines. You keep process light and standards high.
What You Bring: Engineering leadership: You build strong teams, strong leaders, and clear accountability. Execution: You create predictability and drive complex programmes through to completion. Technical judgement: You can guide architecture and challenge senior engineers without becoming a bottleneck. Systems thinking: You understand organisations, platforms, and operating models as interconnected systems. Operational mindset: You expect engineering output to be reliable, supportable, and production-ready. Organisational design: You know when structures, processes, or ownership models need to evolve. Calm leadership: You remain decisive under pressure and make clear trade-offs when required. Ownership: You take responsibility for engineering outcomes, organisational health, and long-term capability.
Qualities we look for: Set the standard: Every single day, you spot opportunities to constructively shake things up. Inspire the change: There's no blueprint for the future. You'll embrace challenges and change. You're real and you're true to yourself: We cherish and celebrate diversity so you'll feel right at home whoever you are and whoever you're talking to, you treat everyone the same.
Why should you join us? What sets us apart is our blend of modern technology, competitive benefits, and an open, welcoming work culture that enables our people to thrive. Here are just some of the great things you can expect from us:
- 25 days of annual leave
- A culture that emphasises results over hierarchy, process & ego: we place great emphasis on the quality, ingenuity and creativity of work.
- Open communication, regular feedback: we value smooth collaboration, direct and actionable feedback, and believe that leading with empathy and a growth mindset makes us better together.
- Learning Time: we all have dedicated learning time to focus on new skills, projects or interests that lay outside of your day-to-day job.
- Health & Wellbeing: we want everyone to feel healthy and happy, so we offer private medical insurance via Bupa.
- Cycle to Work Scheme: we're committed to building a sustainable business, so we encourage cycling to work.
- Gympass subscription to a variety of gyms and wellbeing apps.
- Participation in the company shares program.
- Enhanced parental pay & leave.
Our process: a conversation with our Talent team, then interviews with our CTO and leadership team.
Head of Engineering in London employer: Radiant
Radiant is an exceptional employer for those looking to make a significant impact in the AI infrastructure space. With a startup culture that values adaptability and hands-on involvement, employees are encouraged to build and innovate rather than follow pre-existing protocols. The company offers unique opportunities for professional growth, a collaborative work environment, and the chance to set industry standards in safety and quality management while working on cutting-edge projects.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of Engineering in London
✨Join Engineering Meetups!
Get yourself along to local engineering meetups or tech conferences. These are great places to connect with like-minded folks and industry leaders who might just have a lead on that full-time Head of Engineering role you’re after at Radiant.
✨Show Off Your Projects!
Don’t be shy about showcasing your engineering projects. Whether it’s a funky app, a mechanical design, or a complex algorithm, having a solid portfolio on platforms like GitHub can really make you stand out. Plus, it gives potential employers at Radiant a taste of what you can bring to the table!
✨Engage with Online Communities
Dive into engineering forums and online communities, like Reddit or specific engineering Discord channels. Sharing your insights, asking questions, and being active can help you build connections that might lead to job opportunities at Radiant.
✨Apply Through Company Websites
When you spot a role like Head of Engineering at Radiant, apply directly through their website. Often, this can show your genuine interest in the company and you might just get noticed quicker than via typical job boards.
We think you need these skills to ace Head of Engineering in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Technical Expertise:When applying for an engineering role like Head of Engineering, it’s essential to highlight your technical skills. Include any relevant software or tools you're proficient in on your CV—think CAD software, simulation tools, or programming languages. Don't skimp on any engineering projects you've worked on that demonstrate your ability to solve complex problems.
Focus on Results and Impact:In the engineering world, we love numbers and real-world impact. Quantify your achievements wherever possible—like reducing costs by a certain percentage, improving efficiency, or successfully completing a project ahead of schedule. This gives your future employers at Radiant a clear picture of the value you can bring.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Use your cover letter to express your passion for engineering and explain why you’re drawn to Radiant specifically. Share what aspects of their work excite you and how your values align with theirs. This is your chance to show a bit of personality while keeping it professional!
Include Relevant Certifications:If you have any engineering certifications, especially ones that are recognised in your field, make sure to feature them prominently on your CV. They demonstrate not just your knowledge, but also your commitment to professional development, which is something we at StudySmarter value highly.
How to prepare for a job interview at Radiant
✨Brush Up on Core Engineering Principles
Before heading into the interview with Radiant, make sure you're solid on the fundamental engineering principles relevant to the role. Be ready to discuss concepts such as thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, or structural analysis, depending on the specifics mentioned in the job description. Don’t skip any hands-on projects or coursework; these can be excellent talking points!
✨Show Off Your Problem-Solving Skills
Expect technical questions or case studies during your interview—after all, engineering is all about solving problems! Prepare a few examples of how you've tackled engineering challenges in the past, whether at university or in any practical experience. Practising with mock technical interviews can really help you articulate your thought process and solutions.
✨Relate Your Experience to the Role
In a full-time role, employers like Radiant want to see that you can adapt and grow within their team. Be ready to discuss how your previous internships, projects, or studies relate directly to the work you'll be doing. Highlight specific experiences that showcase your collaborative skills and how you've successfully worked within a team environment.
✨Know Your Tools and Software
Most engineering roles require familiarity with specific tools and software. Prepare to talk about your proficiency with programmes like AutoCAD, MATLAB, or SolidWorks if they’re relevant to the role. Even better, have examples of projects where you’ve used these tools, as it'll demonstrate your hands-on experience and readiness for the job.