Software Engineering Manager

Black Swan Data is a leading provider of data, software, and consulting services for the consumer goods industry. Our technology uses AI and social data to power the insight and innovation capabilities of brands like PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz and Heineken.

We are a values-driven company that is committed to our employee’s wellbeing and growth. We believe that our people are our greatest asset, and we want to create an environment where they can thrive.

What you’ll do

We are looking for an experienced engineering manager to support the delivery of our SaaS products. You will lead a team of engineers to deliver our SaaS solutions, working with Data Science crunching large amounts of data from across the internet.

You will facilitate agile ceremonies, and contributing technically on projects utilizing Java, Spring Boot, React within cloud environment. This role requires a strong blend of technical expertise, leadership skills, and a deep understanding of agile methodologies, specifically scrum.

You will work with colleagues from across the business to deliver value to the organization and achieving our goal of high levels of automation and quality, performant code.

Key accountabilities & responsibilities:

Team Management & Development

• Lead and motivate a high-performing engineering team with a focus on continuous improvement.
• Foster a collaborative and positive team environment where engineers can thrive.
• Arrange and lead meetings with a clear and appropriate purpose, agenda and format​.
• Conduct performance reviews, provide coaching and mentorship to develop team members' technical and soft skills.
• Recruit, interview, and hire top engineering talent.
• Set clear expectations, track progress, and address roadblocks to keep projects on track.
• Describe complex technical areas and practices to both technical and non-technical audiences in ways they can understand​.
• Manage Team workload and ensure timely and efficient project delivery by taking ownership of team’s outcomes and proactively identifying risk to delivery.
• Ensure the company's values are embedded throughout the team and ensure responsibilities are appropriately distributed and fulfilled.
• Ensure security and compliance issues are always being addressed by the Team no matter what priority and all systems have appropriate, proactive monitoring and alerting of security issues.
• You are aware of all major pieces of technical debt for your team and maintain a plan for addressing​.

Agile Leader

• Facilitate the scrum framework within the engineering team.
• Ensure the team follows agile practices and ceremonies (Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-up, Sprint Review, Retrospective).
• Ensure clear and transparent communication between stakeholders and the development team.
• Remove impediments that hinder the team's progress.
• Continuously improve the team's agile practices through retrospectives and data analysis.
• Champion best practices around defining SMART goals and lead on defining your Team's OKRs and how they will be measured​.
• You lead on ensuring Team level deliverables are small, inerrable and valuable.

Technical Expertise

• Work alongside engineers on technical tasks, providing guidance and expertise.
• Stay up to date on the latest trends and technologies, specifically those relevant to the business.
• Contribute to technical discussions and participate in code reviews for visibility.
• Make nuanced trade-offs in technical solutions to solve real world problems quickly​.
• Ensure CI/CD principles are followed with properly, automated pipelines (tests, quality, security, governance) and a goal of continuous delivery.

KEY EXPERIENCE – the ideal candidate will have.

• Job knowledge – specialist skills, experiences, qualifications, specific systems, or practices relevant to the role, latest function specific knowledge
• Business knowledge – level of commercial awareness, economic, commercial, political experience, industry specific knowledge to differentiate Black Swan from competitors.
• Problem solving – analytical skills, ability to direct, lead and deliver solutions that go beyond existing ways of doing things
• People & Leadership skills – communications, leadership, and talent development skills.

Essential:

• Minimum 3+ years of experience in software development with a strong understanding of software development, cloud architecture and software delivery.
• Minimum 3+ years of experience in a technical lead or engineering manager role.
• Proven ability to lead and motivate high-performing engineering teams.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and conflict resolution skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with agile methodologies, specifically scrum.
• Ability to facilitate scrum ceremonies effectively.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Desirable:

• Experience working in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Agile certifications (e.g., CSM, PSM)

We offer competitive compensation, a collaborative and innovative work environment, and opportunities for professional growth and development.

What makes a Swan?

We want people fanatical about creating innovative solutions inspired by data. We know Black Swan’s DNA is different, it’s what helps us find new perspectives on our clients’ problems. Working in a fast paced, energized environment, our bar is set high, and an ability to build long lasting partnerships both internally and externally is vital.

We have made a difference at our core and that is embedded in our values.

• We believe in long-term partnerships through transparency and honesty.
• We believe in leaving the world in a better place than we found it.
• We believe anyone can achieve great things. We do not put people in boxes.
• We listen more than we talk.
• We think 10% crazy is just about right!
• Most importantly, and because you spend 60% of your waking time at work, we believe you should enjoy it.

What We Offer?

Career Development - At Black Swan, we prioritise your development. We break new ground daily - and that provides every Swan with the opportunity to build career-defining skills and experience.

Working environment - Because you spend 60% of your time at work, we try to make it enjoyable! You will benefit from our global benefits: Share options, staff referral scheme, wellness day, development day, flexible working, internal and online training initiatives, volunteering opportunities at whiteswan.org.uk, birthday half day, social events, and a flexible leave policy.

Exciting Clients and Projects - We work with some of the world’s most pioneering CPG brands, and operate at the cutting-edge of our industry, solving our clients' problems with technology.

Talented Teams - We employ the best talent in the market – as a Swan you will be exposed to highly skilled and multi-disciplined teams across 3 continents.

We want to positively change the future through technology and the power of prediction. How about you?