Senior Engineering Manager in London

Relay is fundamentally reshaping how goods move in an online era. Backed by Europe's largest-ever logistics Series A ($35M), led by deep-tech investors Plural, Relay is scaling faster than 99.98% of venture-backed startups. We're assembling the most talent-dense team the logistics industry has ever seen. Relay's mission is to free commerce from friction. Today, high delivery costs act as a hidden tax on e-commerce, quietly shaping what can be sold online and limiting who can participate. We envision a world where more goods move more freely between more people, making the online shopping experience seamless and accessible to everyone.

THE TEAM

• ~90 people, more than half in engineering, product and data
• 45+ advanced degrees across computer science, mathematics and operations research
• Thousands of data points captured, calculated, analysed and predicted for every single parcel we handle
• An intellectually vibrant culture of first-principles thinking, tight feedback loops and relentless experimentation

Work Alongside Industry Leaders

• Rob Ladbrook - Director of Engineering: Deliveroo's first-ever Principal Engineer. Rob has designed and operated low-latency, fault-tolerant systems for global marketplaces. His platforms handle hundreds of millions of real-time transactions at four-nines uptime, and he is known for rigorous engineering standards and mentorship that accelerates team mastery.
• Diego Protas - Director of Platform Engineering: An expert in distributed systems and hardware architecture, merging physical computing with enterprise-scale infrastructure. Previously directing teams of 170+ engineers at Mercado Libre and orchestrating large-scale ML-based inference at Meta.

Tech Stack Highlights

• Python, Rust and TypeScript - we keep things simple but use the right tool for the job
• Cross-platform Flutter apps with a deep focus on user experience
• Cloud-native on GCP with extensive use of BigQuery and Cloud Run
• Extensive use of ML modelling and LLM inference
• Emerging tech integrations, including robotics and IoT-powered operations

The Opportunity

As a Senior Engineering Manager, you will lead and inspire by mentoring engineers and tech leads while fostering a culture of ownership, psychological safety, and continuous learning. You will get your hands dirty by immersing yourself in the code, as our engineering leadership is deeply technical, and you will be expected to move the needle through technical collaboration and direct contributions when necessary. You will raise the bar by championing best practices in developer velocity, code quality, observability, incident response, user analytics, and product engagement, ensuring that excellence becomes the default. Additionally, you will scale the team by attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent, running a fair, data-driven performance process, and building clear growth paths.

Who Will Thrive in this role?

• You see no job in engineering (and a few outside it) you wouldn't dive into when it drives impact.
• You operate with high agency and proud ownership.
• You have deep empathy for the humans behind the code: couriers, retailers, operatives, colleagues and consumers.
• You thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous settings and bring structure where it's missing.
• You communicate with clarity and intent, listen actively and collaborate deliberately.

Fast and Focused Hiring Process

• Talent Acquisition Interview - 30 min | (Remote)
• Hiring Manager Interview - 60 min | (Remote)
• Technical & Execution focus - 2 hours | (Remote/Onsite)
• Values & Impact Interview - 1 hour | (Onsite)
• Decision and offer within 48 hours.

Compensation, Benefits & Workplace

• Generous equity, richer than 99% of European startups, with annual top-ups to share Relay's success.
• Private health & dental coverage.
• 25 days of holidays.
• Enhanced parental leave.
• Hardware of your choice.
• Extensive perks (gym subsidies, cycle-to-work, Friday office lunch, covered Uber home and dinner for late nights, and more).
• Located in Shoreditch, our office set-up enables the kind of in-person interactions that drive impact. We work 4 days on-site, with 1 day remote.

Who Thrives at Relay?

• Aim with Precision: You define problems clearly and measure your impact meticulously.
• Play to Win: You chase bold bets, tackle the hard stuff, and view constraints as fuel, not friction.
• 1% Better Every Day: You believe that small, consistent improvements lead to exponential growth.
• All In, All the Time: You show up and step up. You take ownership from start to finish and do what it takes to deliver when it counts.
• People-Powered Greatness: You invest in your teammates. You give and receive feedback with care and candour.
• Grow the Whole Pie: You seek out win-win solutions for merchants, couriers, and our customers, because when they thrive, so do we.

If these resonate, and you combine strong technical fundamentals with entrepreneurial drive, let’s connect. Relay is an equal-opportunity employer committed to diversity, inclusion, and fostering a workplace where everyone thrives.