VP Technology - Software Engineering

About the Team

Elsevier, part of the RELX Group, is a global leader in information and analytics for science and healthcare. Our mission is to partner with the research and healthcare communities we serve to advance knowledge and drive human progress.

Within the Academic Leaders & Funders (AL&F) Solutions group, we deliver data-driven insights, workflow solutions, and platforms that strengthen strategy, performance, collaboration, and operational efficiency for university leaders and research funders worldwide.

About the Role

This is a portfolio-wide engineering leadership role responsible for strategy, delivery, and operations across a global suite of SaaS platforms. 

Reporting to the CTO and leading ~120 engineers, you will drive a shift toward an AI-enabled, automated engineering and product model, improving how we build software and how our products deliver value to customers. 

You will work closely with product leadership to translate strategy into scalable, secure, and high-performing platforms used by institutions worldwide. 

Key Deliverables & Success Metrics

• Define and execute an engineering strategy aligned to portfolio and product priorities   

• Evolve the organisation toward an AI-first operating model, improving developer effectiveness and delivery speed   

• Deliver data-centric solutions with embedded intelligence that enhance workflows and decision-making   

• Improve scalability, reliability, and integration across the portfolio   

• Build a high-performing, globally distributed engineering organisation   

Responsibilities

• Set and deliver the multi-year engineering roadmap in partnership with product and technology leadership   

• Lead the development of cloud-native SaaS platforms supporting complex, workflow-driven use cases   

• Introduce AI-assisted development practices and tooling to improve speed, quality, and efficiency   

• Drive integration of products, platforms, and data, including post-acquisition alignment and simplification   

• Establish scalable data and platform foundations to support analytics, automation, and future AI use cases   

• Standardize engineering practices, architecture, and tooling across teams to reduce fragmentation   

• Ensure strong governance, security, and regulatory compliance across global markets   

• Partner with product, UX, and commercial teams to deliver end-to-end customer outcomes   

• Build and develop a global engineering organisation, strengthening leadership capability and technical depth   
• Operate effectively in a matrixed environment, influencing senior stakeholders and driving execution

Requirements

• 15+ years’ experience in software engineering, including senior leadership roles   

• Proven track record delivering complex SaaS platforms at scale   

• Experience embedding AI, data, or automation capabilities into products or engineering workflows   

• Strong background in cloud-native architectures and modern engineering practices   

• Demonstrated success leading large, global engineering teams (100+)   

• Ability to translate technical strategy into measurable business and customer outcomes   

• Strong stakeholder leadership across product, data, and commercial functions   

• Experience integrating products, platforms, and data, including through acquisition is desirable 

What Success Looks Like

• Engineering teams deliver faster, with higher quality and less friction   

• Platforms are simpler, better integrated, and built on shared data foundations   

• Products increasingly deliver automation, insight, and intelligent support to users   

• The organisation adopts a modern, AI-enabled way of building and operating software 

Work in a way that works for you
 

We promote a healthy work/life balance across the organisation. We offer an appealing working prospect for our people. With numerous wellbeing initiatives, shared parental leave, study assistance and sabbaticals, we will help you meet your immediate responsibilities and your long-term goals.
 

• Working flexible hours - flexing the times when you work in the day to help you fit everything in and work when you are the most productive

Working for you
 

We know that your wellbeing and happiness are key to a long and successful career. These are some of the benefits we are delighted to offer:
 

• Generous holiday allowance with the option to buy additional days
• Health screening, eye care vouchers and private medical benefits
• Wellbeing programs
• Life assurance
• Access to a competitive contributory pension scheme
• Save As You Earn share option scheme
• Travel Season ticket loan
• Electric Vehicle Scheme
• Optional Dental Insurance
• Maternity, paternity and shared parental leave
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to emergency care for both the elderly and children
• RECARES days, giving you time to support the charities and causes that matter to you
• Access to employee resource groups with dedicated time to volunteer
• Access to extensive learning and development resources
• Access to employee discounts scheme via Perks at Work

About the Business
 

A global leader in information and analytics, we help researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. Building on our publishing heritage, we combine quality information and vast data sets with analytics to support visionary science and research, health education and interactive learning, as well as exceptional healthcare and clinical practice. At Elsevier, your work contributes to the world’s grand challenges and a more sustainable future. We harness innovative technologies to support science and healthcare to partner for a better world.

We know your well-being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. We are delighted to offer country specific benefits. Click here to access benefits specific to your location.

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