Head of Engineering

Applied Blockchain is an innovative applications development company, focusing on distributed ledger and data privacy technologies.  Based in London at Level39 Canary Wharf and in Porto, Portugal, Applied Blockchain has an expert team of blockchain developers creating cutting-edge solutions for disruptive startups and corporate clients in a range of sectors.  We are building a new generation of decentralised applications, working through some of the most interesting problems in this field such as identity management, transactions anonymity, encryption and data security.

Job Description

As the Head of Engineering, you will be responsible for leading and managing our engineering teams, driving the technical standards and strategy, and ensuring the successful delivery of our software solutions. You will play a crucial role in shaping the way the company delivers technology, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams, and contributing to the overall growth and success of the business. 

• Oversee project delivery, ensuring high-quality standards across all projects, and liaise with customers and other stakeholders.
• Ensure consistent quality assurance across both functional and non-functional areas of projects.
• Establish, promote, and maintain engineering best practices, processes, and standards.
• Align technology strategy and implementation across projects.
• Standardise tooling, analytics, and reporting across projects.
• Standardise DevOps, build, and testing practices across projects.
• Manage ISO certification across the company and support additional certification requirements.
• Drive the deployment of AI tooling throughout the engineering lifecycle to improve efficiency in software development and delivery while maintaining the highest levels of quality.
• Oversee solution architecture and technical design in projects, ensuring consistent delivery that meets all non-functional requirements (e.g., security, scalability, performance, and maintainability).
• Provide leadership and strategic direction to engineering teams, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Manage and mentor a team of engineers, supporting their growth and development.
• Collaborate with product managers, designers, and stakeholders to define and prioritise engineering initiatives, ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget.
• Stay up to date with industry trends and advancements, evaluating and adopting new technologies as appropriate.

Must

• Comfortable working in high-pressure environments.
• Experience in consultancy environments, working with both enterprise and start-up companies.
• Experience working directly with customer stakeholders.
• Proven commercial and budget management responsibilities.
• Strong technical background, managing large engineering teams delivering high-quality solutions in demanding production environments.
• Experience enforcing technology standards across an engineering organisation, ensuring projects are delivered to the required standards.
• In-depth knowledge of data privacy, identity management, smart contract design, advanced cryptography, and data security.
• Experience managing delivery across multiple large-scale projects.
• Experience line managing 10+ direct reports at a time.
• Excellent leadership and people management skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate teams to perform at their best.
• Experience with agile methodologies and modern software development practices.
• Experience managing ISO certification standards using tools such as Vanta.
• Background in deep technical environments.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills, with a strategic mindset.
• Effective communication and collaboration abilities, fostering cross-functional teamwork.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• High professional integrity, leading by example.
• Willingness to work from the office 2–3 days a week (London).

Nice to have

• Expertise in blockchain technology and decentralised solutions.
• Experience using AI tooling to transform software development practices.
• Previous experience at a blockchain company.
• Background as a software engineer.
• Azure or AWS Solution Architect certification.

• £1000  annual allowance for training (up to 50% of this value can be used for you to buy workstation equipment to work from home).
• 5 days/per year for training.
• In-person fun team events/team buildings every 3 months (some in Portugal).
• Company laptop (Mac), equipment and onboarding kit.
• Annual Bonus (dependent on company and personal performance).
• Stock Option Plan.
• Paid subscription to a mental health support app.
• Your Birthday off.
• Amazing referral programme.