Engineering Manager - PHP

The Engineering Manager exists to lead the delivery performance and professional development of engineers within a designated product domain or problem area. The role is responsible for driving team health, engagement, and operational predictability across multiple cross-functional engineering squads. The position focuses purely on people leadership and delivery optimisation rather than hands-on coding, serving to connect engineering execution directly with an ambitious product roadmap. Ultimately, this role ensures the sustainable delivery of high-quality SaaS solutions that directly advance the organisation's mission to transform how schools work.

Dimensions

• Financials: No direct budget ownership; indirectly impacts infrastructure efficiency and resource allocation across assigned squads to ensure projects are delivered.
• Team: Direct line management, coaching, and career development of software engineers and Technical Leads within a designated domain, coordinating squads typically composed of a Tech Lead, QA Engineer, and multiple developers, alongside cross-team DevOps and Staff Engineers.
• Scope: Tactical and operational leadership across the Ecosystem engineering area, impacting distributed teams situated across the UK and Serbia.

Key Responsibilities

1. Delivery Leadership & Roadmap Execution

• Drive delivery performance and predictable execution across multiple product and engineering teams.
• Lead planning sessions, technical estimations, sprint reviews, and delivery tracking activities.
• Partner with Product Managers to define priorities, shape feature roadmaps, and ensure alignment between business objectives and engineering capabilities.
• Provide visibility into delivery progress, risks, dependencies, and mitigation plans.
• Ensure engineering outputs meet agreed quality standards and delivery commitments.

2. Performance Metrics & Flow Optimization

• Manage engineering workflow and optimize team throughput, efficiency, and software reliability.
• Establish, monitor, and improve operational engineering metrics using DORA and SPACE frameworks.
• Identify bottlenecks and implement data-driven improvements to delivery processes.
• Support and embed Agile delivery practices, including Scrum and Kanban methodologies.
• Promote sustainable delivery cadences while maintaining team autonomy.

3. People Leadership & Talent Development

• Coach, mentor, and develop engineers and Technical Leads.
• Create and support individual development and career progression plans.
• Conduct performance reviews and provide regular feedback and development guidance.
• Address performance concerns proactively and fairly.
• Foster a high-performing, inclusive culture based on accountability, ownership, and collaboration.

4. Team Wellbeing & Psychological Safety

• Champion psychological safety, employee engagement, and overall team wellbeing.
• Promote sustainable engineering practices that balance delivery speed with long-term maintainability.
• Resolve team conflicts and remove barriers that impact productivity and engagement.
• Encourage open communication and continuous feedback across teams.

5. Process Excellence & Engineering Governance

• Standardize delivery workflows, release management practices, and operational processes across teams.
• Ensure adherence to quality standards, deployment governance, documentation requirements, and testing best practices.
• Collaborate with Staff Engineers and Technical Leads to align delivery practices with the organization's technical strategy.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance engineering effectiveness and quality.

6. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Dependency Management

• Manage technical dependencies and delivery risks across engineering teams and business functions.
• Partner with Portfolio, Product, and Engineering Leadership teams to track roadmap progress and resolve blockers.
• Facilitate transparency and alignment across stakeholders.
• Contribute to strategic planning and organizational prioritization activities.

7. Organizational Capability & Leadership

• Actively contribute to engineering leadership forums and organizational improvement initiatives.
• Promote a data-driven culture focused on continuous learning and operational excellence.
• Represent the engineering function in leadership meetings, presentations, and external professional communities.
• Support the maturation of engineering management practices across the organization.

8. Distributed Team Leadership

• Build and maintain a strong, unified culture across distributed engineering teams.
• Facilitate collaboration across multiple locations and time zones.
• Lead team offsites, workshops, and collaborative engagement initiatives.
• Ensure equitable access to development, mentorship, and growth opportunities for all team members.

Requirements

• Proven experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams comprising Software Engineering, QA, and DevOps professionals.
• Experience managing teams of at least 5+ engineers.
• Strong expertise in engineering performance frameworks such as DORA and SPACE metrics.
• Extensive experience with Agile delivery methodologies, including Scrum and Kanban.
• Deep understanding of CI/CD pipelines, continuous delivery, and modern software development practices.
• Strong people management experience, including coaching, mentoring, career development, and performance management.
• Experience working with distributed teams across multiple locations and time zones.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and presentation skills.
• Strong systems-thinking mindset and understanding of software engineering principles.

Desirable

• Previous background in software engineering or technical leadership.
• Familiarity with PHP, Node.js, TypeScript, AWS, Kong API Gateway, or similar technologies.
• Experience delivering SaaS, platform, or API-driven products.
• Understanding of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and platform performance management.
• Experience leading engineering transformations and scaling delivery practices within growing organizations.
• Exposure to DevOps culture, cloud-native technologies, and modern engineering operating models.

Benefits

What we offer

The chance to work alongside a team of hard-working, passionate people in a role where you’ll see the impact of your work every day.

We also offer:

• Flexible work environment (3 days work from office)
• Group Term Life Insurance paid out at 3x Annual CTC (Arbor India)
• 32 days holiday (plus Arbor Holidays). This is made up of 25 days annual leave plus 7 extra companywide days given over Easter, Summer & Christmas
• Work time: 9.30 am to 6 pm (8.5 hours only)
• Compensation - 100% fixed salary disbursement and no variable component.