At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the technical direction of marketing data systems and mentor engineers.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking company at the forefront of commercial technology.
- Benefits: Enjoy generous leave, medical cover, gym memberships, and hybrid working.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with opportunities for continuous learning and growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on marketing and data platforms while shaping the future.
- Qualifications: Significant software engineering experience and strong leadership skills required.
The predicted salary is between 72000 - 88000 £ per year.
As Technical Lead for Commercial Technology, you steer the technical direction of the Marketing Commercial Data capability, ensuring secure, scalable and maintainable systems. You shape architecture, balance delivery and long-term sustainability, and mentor engineers to raise technical ownership. You work with Product, Programme and business stakeholders to translate requirements into sound technical solutions. You drive the transformation toward Salesforce-based marketing and data platforms while sustaining existing systems. This role sits at the heart of FT’s evolving commercial technology landscape and offers broad impact across Marketing, Sales and Service teams.
Pay / Benefits
- generous annual leave
- medical cover
- parental leave packages
- subsidised gym memberships
- opportunities to give back to the community
- hybrid working model (50% onsite)
Responsibilities
- Own the technical direction for Marketing Commercial Data capability and align with FT engineering standards
- Lead architectural thinking and major technical decisions across the capability
- Champion engineering standards, patterns and practices; manage architecture visibility and technical debt
- Provide hands-on technical leadership, mentoring and coaching to engineers
- Collaborate with Engineering Manager, Principal Engineer, Principal Architect and other Leads to coordinate cross-capability decisions
- Translate business requirements into technical approaches with stakeholders; communicate trade-offs clearly
- Ensure security, resilience, scalability, maintainability and operability of solutions
- Drive the evolution from established platforms toward Salesforce-based marketing and data capabilities
- Oversee operational readiness and sustainability of capabilities; support incident responses and post-incident learning
- Coordinate with external partners and vendors to align with FT architecture and standards
- Contribute to platform-wide changes that integrate coherently with the Commercial Technology ecosystem
Key requirements
- Significant software engineering experience with complex production systems
- Experience providing technical leadership across teams or large capabilities
- Strong architectural and engineering judgment for significant technical decisions
- Understanding of modern software engineering practices focused on secure, resilient, scalable systems
- Experience managing technical debt and cross-system dependencies
- Ability to work with Product, Engineering, Data, Programme and business stakeholders
- Clear communication of complex technical considerations to technical and non-technical audiences
- Ability to influence technical decisions beyond immediate area and drive platform transformations
- Experience with or interest in Salesforce, marketing tech, customer data platforms, or enterprise SaaS ecosystems (beneficial)
- Proven track record of fostering ownership, collaboration and continuous learning in engineering teams
- strong technical judgment
- ownership and accountability
- pragmatism balancing quality and delivery risk
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud Next
- Salesforce Data 360
- Salesforce Sales Service Cloud
Technical Lead employer: The Financial Times
The Financial Times is an exceptional employer, offering a vibrant and inclusive work culture that prioritises employee growth and wellbeing. With generous benefits such as annual leave, medical cover, and opportunities for community engagement, employees are supported in their professional journeys while contributing to meaningful journalism. Located in a collaborative environment, the role of Senior IT Engineer allows you to connect with diverse experts and leverage cutting-edge technology, making a significant impact within the organisation.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Technical Lead
✨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 The Financial Times 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 The Financial Times.
✨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 The Financial Times.
✨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 The Financial Times 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 Technical Lead
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 The Financial Times.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at The Financial Times 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 The Financial Times
✨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 The Financial Times 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.
