Engineering Manager: Lead AI-Driven Mobile Platform

Engineering Manager: Lead AI-Driven Mobile Platform

Full-Time 99000 - 111000 £ / year (est.) Hybrid
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead a dynamic team to create the ultimate training app for runners.
  • Company: Join a fast-growing tech company recently acquired by Strava.
  • Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, generous holiday, and health perks.
  • Other info: Be part of an innovative culture focused on growth and collaboration.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact in the fitness community with cutting-edge technology.
  • Qualifications: 5+ years in software engineering with leadership experience.

The predicted salary is between 99000 - 111000 £ per year.

We are putting together a talented team to build the #1 training platform for runners. We help everyday runners become outstanding by building an incredible app providing world-class training, coaching, and community for everyone, whether you are improving your 5k time or training for your first marathon.

We are growing extremely fast! In November 2023, we closed a $6.5M funding round led by JamJar with participation from Eka Ventures, Venrex, and Creator Ventures. In 2024, we were selected by Apple as one of three global finalists for the iPhone app of the year, reflecting the innovation and impact of what we have built, and in 2025 we were acquired by Strava! Our ambition is huge: to become the go-to global leading training platform for millions of runners everywhere. We are growing with purpose and looking for people who want to build something meaningful with lasting impact. With the recent acquisition by Strava accelerating our journey, now is a really magical time to join.

What You’ll Be Doing

  • Lead, support, and grow a medium-sized team of engineers, creating the clarity, context, and accountability needed for the team to do its best work.
  • Own team delivery for a product or platform area, driving execution from planning through release and ensuring work is aligned to business goals.
  • Partner closely with Product, Design, and other Engineering teams to align priorities, manage dependencies, and coordinate work that affects other teams.
  • Independently lead through open-ended or ambiguous problems, identifying risks, proposing solutions, and driving resolutions without heavy guidance.
  • Encourage experimentation and thoughtful risk-taking, creating space for exploratory work and creative solutions where it adds value.
  • Hold engineers accountable for high-quality technical designs and implementations that result in performant, scalable, secure, and maintainable systems.
  • Coach engineers and emerging leaders, providing feedback, mentorship, and support while deliberately delegating opportunities for others to step into leadership.
  • Independently manage all aspects of people management, including goal setting, performance reviews, career development, promotions, and more.
  • Create a team environment built on psychological safety and inclusion, where people feel supported, challenged, and able to contribute fully.
  • Communicate company context clearly and effectively, helping the team understand how their work connects to wider company strategy and goals.
  • Participate in and drive organisation-level initiatives that improve how we build, plan, hire, and collaborate across engineering.
  • Partner with Recruiting and interviewers to calibrate assessments, make strong hiring and levelling decisions, and build a diverse and talented team for the long term.
  • Track delivery, unblock work, and improve team effectiveness through healthy processes, strong planning, and continuous improvement.

What You’ll Bring To The Team

  • 5+ years of professional experience in software engineering, including meaningful experience in technical leadership and/or engineering management.
  • Experience leading and managing engineers in a fast-paced product environment, ideally owning a team through planning, delivery, and people development.
  • Strong track record of delivering complex projects end-to-end, especially in cross-functional environments with evolving priorities or ambiguity.
  • Ability to align stakeholders across engineering, product, and design, and to coordinate work effectively where multiple teams are involved.
  • Strong technical judgement, with the ability to raise the bar on architecture, design, and implementation quality without needing to be the primary coder on every project.
  • Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate company context into clear team direction and surface risks early.
  • Comfortable working in a highly skilled, fast-paced engineering team.
  • Technical fluency across modern product engineering environments. Experience with TypeScript/JavaScript, React Native, AWS cloud environments, and serverless architectures would be especially valuable.
  • A strong advocate for modern engineering practices, including iterative development, continuous deployment, and test automation.
  • Knowledge sharing, pair programming, and collaborative design & development.
  • Shared code ownership and cross-functional product team collaboration.

Bonus Points If You

  • Have experience leading teams working on consumer mobile products, especially React Native apps at scale.
  • Have delivered impactful work across the full stack, from mobile to backend services and cloud infrastructure.
  • Are confident improving CI/CD pipelines, release processes, and developer productivity.
  • Have experience with AWS services and serverless architecture patterns.
  • Have hands-on experience with SwiftUI or native mobile development.
  • Thrive in autonomous, high-growth environments and can bring clarity without heavy direction.
  • Have a personal interest in health, fitness, or sports technology.

Salary And Benefits

We offer a salary of £99,000 - £111,000 depending on experience, plus participation in Strava's long-term incentive (stock) programs. Overview of our benefits are below:

  • Flexible working – we typically spend 3 days a week together in our Vauxhall office.
  • 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays (which you can take whenever suits you).
  • Free Runna & Strava subscriptions for you and 3 of your friends.
  • Headspace membership.
  • Money every year to spend on gear, events, and the gym!
  • Private health insurance with Bupa and workplace pension scheme.
  • Modern Health is a mental wellness platform and app that combines technology with professional support to improve mental well-being and reduce stress.
  • Carrot fertility support - this benefits provider can provide inclusive fertility, hormonal health, and family-forming benefits to our global employee population.

Our Interview Process

Our aim is to keep the interview process as straightforward and enjoyable as possible, and will consist of the following stages:

  • Getting to know you + live coding (45-minute video call, first 25 mins will be an introductory chat followed by two live coding exercises).
  • Take home technical task (max 1-2 hours to complete, or if you have something interesting you recently built and would like to showcase then that’s perfectly OK).
  • 1.5-hour technical interview (the first half of the call will be used to discuss the take-home technical task from the previous stage and the second half will consist of system design and some general architecture/tech questions).
  • Meet the team (in-person chat with founder(s) and rest of the team).

Once the process is finished, we promise to let you know our decision as soon as possible.

Engineering Manager: Lead AI-Driven Mobile Platform employer: Runna

Join a dynamic team as a Senior Product Manager where your expertise will shape the community experience for runners. We pride ourselves on fostering a collaborative work culture that values innovation and personal growth, offering competitive salaries and opportunities for professional development. Located in a vibrant area, our company provides unique advantages such as flexible working arrangements and a strong commitment to employee well-being.

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Contact Details:

Runna Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Engineering Manager: Lead AI-Driven Mobile Platform

✨Join Local Tech Meetups

Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Runna or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!

✨Contribute to Open Source Projects

Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Runna.

✨Tap into Online Developer Communities

Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Runna.

✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles

Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Runna that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!

We think you need these skills to ace Engineering Manager: Lead AI-Driven Mobile Platform

Technical Leadership
People Management
Project Delivery
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Stakeholder Alignment
Communication Skills
Software Engineering

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.

Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Runna.

Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Runna and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!

Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!

How to prepare for a job interview at Runna

✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills

For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.

✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks

Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Runna uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.

✨Showcase Your Projects

Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.

✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions

While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.