Senior Vice President Technology in Edinburgh

Wood Mackenzie is the global data and analytics business for the renewables, energy and natural resources industries. Enhanced by technology, enriched by people, an ever‑changing world of companies and governments need reliable and actionable insight to lead the transition to a sustainable future. Our team of over 2,400 experts operating across 30 global locations are enabling customers’ decisions through real‑time analytics, consultancy events and thought leadership.

Values

• Inclusive – we succeed together
• Trusting – we choose to trust each other
• Customer‑Committed – we put customers at the heart of our decisions
• Future‑Focused – we accelerate change
• Curious – we turn knowledge into action

Position Overview

The SVP Engineering is a strategic leadership role reporting to the Chief Product & Technology Officer. The position is based in Edinburgh or London.

You will:

• Lead Wood Mackenzie’s global technology organization responsible for engineering excellence, platform scalability and innovation across the entire product and data ecosystem.
• Build and operate the modern technology backbone that powers the company’s data, AI and workflow applications.
• Drive continuous improvement in software quality, reliability and speed of execution by leveraging automation, modern data architectures and agentic AI.
• Externally act as a strategic technology partner to our clients, helping them advance their own AI transformation journeys.

Key Responsibilities

• Role‑model strong integrity and Wood Mackenzie’s values and behaviours.
• Lead a high‑performing global engineering organization of 350 professionals; foster an inclusive, engaged team culture that attracts, retains and develops top engineering talent.
• Define and execute the global engineering strategy aligned with Wood Mackenzie’s business objectives, driving innovation in data analytics and energy‑intelligence platforms.
• Oversee the end‑to‑end software development lifecycle, ensuring delivery of scalable, secure and reliable platforms that serve Wood Mackenzie’s clients.
• Drive technology modernization and architectural transformation, migrating legacy systems to cloud‑native architectures while maintaining business continuity and data integrity.
• Establish and maintain engineering standards, best practices and governance frameworks, including DevOps, CI/CD, security, QA and technical debt management.
• Partner with Product, Data Science and Commercial teams to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
• Own the engineering budget and resource allocation, optimizing investments in infrastructure, tooling, talent acquisition and third‑party services.
• Build strategic technology partnerships and vendor relationships, evaluating emerging technologies and tools.
• Champion diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within engineering.
• Serve as a key member of the technology leadership team and provide technical expertise to the GE and Board.
• Maintain a hybrid working presence, physically present in the office at least 2 days per week.
• Participate fully in the Technology and Extended Leadership team, building relationships and delivering results.

Person Specification

• Dynamic, high‑energy leader with experience leading large global functions.
• 15 years of progressive software engineering experience with at least 8 years in senior leadership roles (VP, SVP or CTO), managing large‑scale global teams of 200+ people.
• Proven track record of building and scaling engineering organizations in high‑growth technology companies, preferably in SaaS, data analytics or enterprise software.
• Deep technical expertise across modern software architecture, including cloud platforms, microservices, APIs, data engineering and distributed systems.
• Qualification in Computer Science, Engineering or a related technical field.
• Experience managing geographically distributed teams across multiple time zones.
• Executive presence and communication skills, presenting to the C‑suite, Board and external stakeholders.
• Intellectual curiosity and desire to understand and explain the business.
• Ability to synthesize complex issues into easily understood key drivers.

Expectations

• Hybrid working company; expected to be present in the office at least 2 days per week.
• Participate fully and collaboratively in Technology and Extended Leadership team.
• Role‑model integrity and exemplify Wood Mackenzie’s values and behaviours.
• Address behaviours that may negatively impact organisational culture and values.
• Communicate effectively and consistently to foster an engaged culture.

Why Join

• Opportunity to build and shape a critical function alongside executive leaders in a high‑growth, acquisitive business.
• Be part of an industry leader working alongside talented colleagues worldwide.
• Work closely with Private Equity leadership, gaining exposure to strategic decision‑making.
• Be a key player in a highly visible role with career progression and upside.
• Dynamic, fast‑paced environment where you can influence outcomes and make a tangible impact.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal‑opportunities employer. We are committed to recruiting the best people regardless of race, colour, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you have a physical or mental disability, we will support you in your application and through the hiring process.