At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the Ads ML team, shaping the roadmap and implementing real-time decisioning.
- Company: Join a dynamic company focused on innovative ad delivery solutions.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible vacation, employee equity, professional development, and free lunches.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with opportunities for growth and creativity.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in ML-driven ad delivery while mentoring a talented team.
- Qualifications: 2+ years in engineering management and 5+ years as a backend developer.
The predicted salary is between 75600 - 92400 £ per year.
Overview
In this role you will lead the Ads ML team within Growth, Revenue and Commerce, guiding the shift to ML-driven ad delivery at scale.
You’ll balance revenue goals with retention, working closely with cross-functional partners to ship production ML capabilities.
You’ll shape the roadmap, implement real-time decisioning, and mentor a small team of backend and ML engineers in a flat, collaborative environment.
This is a hands-on leadership position focused on impact, experimentation, and strategic technology choices that address ads, revenue and user experience.
- Pay / Benefits
- Creativity and Wellness benefit
- Employee Equity Plan
- Professional development allowance
- Flexible vacation and public holiday policy (up to 35 days PTO)
- 2 free lunches weekly when at the office
- Snacks and goodies
Responsibilities
- Own the ML roadmap for ad delivery and translate experiments into production across markets
- Oversee production ML stack: online model serving, real-time decisioning, feature pipelines, monitoring
- Establish rigorous ML experimentation practices with offline/online evaluation and ship-or-hold criteria
- Manage backend ad delivery services that power ads on i OS, Android and web
- Collaborate with client engineers, data analysts and product to balance revenue, retention and inventory
- Grow ML depth through hiring, mentorship and performance management
- Contribute to codebase and define technical direction for ML-driven ad delivery
- Key requirements
- 2+ years of engineering management experience
- 5+ years as a backend software developer
- Hands-on experience building and running ML systems in production
- Strong foundation in applied ML for decision-making (bandits, ranking, propensity models)
- Solid experiment design skills and understanding of revenue vs retention trade-offs
- Experience coaching, feedback and performance development for engineers
- Clear communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders
- leadership and people management
- communication with diverse stakeholders
- collaboration across cross-functional teams
- ML systems in production (model serving, real-time decisioning, feature pipelines, monitoring)
- contextual bandits and propensity models
- A/B test design and evaluation
Engineering Manager - Ads in London employer: SoundCloud
At SoundCloud, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that champions creativity and innovation in the music industry. Our flexible work culture fosters collaboration while offering extensive professional development opportunities, including a generous allowance for growth and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. With unique benefits like a robust Employee Equity Plan, free German courses, and a supportive relocation package, we ensure that every team member feels valued and empowered to thrive in their role as a Senior Machine Learning Engineer.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Engineering Manager - Ads in London
✨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 SoundCloud 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 SoundCloud.
✨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 SoundCloud.
✨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 SoundCloud 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 - Ads in London
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 SoundCloud.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at SoundCloud 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 SoundCloud
✨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 SoundCloud 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.
