Head of Engineering

Head of Engineering – Contract

Day Rate: £700-£900/day (Outside IR35)

Location: London – Hybrid, 3 days onsite

Duration: Initial 6 months

We're working with a rapidly growing tech for good company transforming how data, automation and smart integrations shape the future of digital infrastructure. Their platform optimises real-time operations, connecting users with seamless, intelligent technology solutions.

They need an experienced Head of Engineering on a contract basis to provide senior technical leadership, set direction and drive delivery during a critical phase of growth.

What you'll be doing:

• Shaping technical strategy and architecture, including how AI and ML systems are built and scaled

• Defining how engineering teams work together through clear charters, decision-making and planning

• Setting and upholding high engineering standards across agile delivery, testing, security and documentation

• Leading reliability practices including on-call design, SLIs, incident reviews and continuous improvement

• Partnering with Product to refine requirements and ensure technical feasibility

• Mentoring and developing engineers, building a culture of clarity, accountability and high performance

• Collaborating with the executive team and bringing technical insight to broader company strategy

What we're looking for:

• Experienced contract engineering leader with 6+ years leading multiple teams in product-driven environments

• Strong technical background in cloud and distributed systems (JVM languages such as Java, Scala or Kotlin a bonus)

• Proven experience integrating AI/ML into live systems with measurable business outcomes

• Excellent architectural judgement and a pragmatic approach to scaling systems and teams

• Comfortable communicating trade-offs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Immediately available or on short notice

If you're a senior engineering leader ready to hit the ground running and make a real impact in a fast-moving, mission-driven environment - we'd love to hear from you.