Head of Engineering

Job Title: Head of Engineering

Department: Engineering

Basis: Full-time, permanent

Location: Canary Wharf, London - WeWork (Hybrid Remote)

Reporting to: Co-founder, CTO

About Onetrace 🚀

Great products start with great people.

Our relentless focus on user experience has been the cornerstone of our growth, helping us become the market leading software for fire protection subcontractors across the UK.

We’ve grown by staying obsessed with building software that actually works for the subcontractors on the ground; fast, intuitive, and simple to use.

We’re now gearing up for our next chapter: expanding into new trades and taking Onetrace global. We’re bootstrapped, profitable, and driven by a clear mission - to lead the digital transformation for subcontractors, one trade at a time.

Come be part of a team that’s smart, ambitious, and comfortable in the chaos of growth - where your ideas matter, and your work shapes what comes next.

Want to learn more about our journey? Check out our LinkedIn page.

About the role 📝

Build the team. Shape the culture. Drive the strategy.

We’ve built a product that engineers can be proud of - fast, stable, and genuinely loved by users. But our engineering team is still early in its journey. The team is small, the processes are scrappy, and there’s serious work to do.

That’s where you come in.

We’re looking for a Head of Engineering who’s excited by the opportunity to lay strong foundations - technical, cultural, and operational. You’ll take ownership of a capable team of four full-stack developers and work closely with our CTO and Product/Design leads to define how we build, ship, and scale.

This is not about inheriting a polished machine. It’s about shaping one. If you’re driven by autonomy, eager to coach and grow others, and ready to bring structure without slowing us down - we’d love to talk.

What you’ll do💡

Technical Leadership

• Provide hands-on mentorship and deep technical guidance to engineers at all levels, helping them grow into confident, high-performing contributors
• Champion engineering excellence by setting and upholding rigorous standards for code quality, testing, documentation, and system resilience
• Lead architectural decision-making, ensuring our systems remain scalable, secure, and maintainable as complexity increases
• Take proactive ownership of technical debt and legacy patterns - addressing them strategically to unlock faster iteration and cleaner execution

Team Management & Growth

• Directly manage, coach, and support a team of 4 Full-Stack Developers, with a commitment to scale the team significantly over the next 12–18 months
• Own the hiring roadmap: attract, assess, and onboard top engineering talent who raise the bar and align with our values
• Build a culture of high trust and high accountability by introducing clear career paths, growth plans, and transparent progression frameworks
• Create and maintain feedback loops and rituals that empower engineers to take ownership of their growth, work autonomously, and collaborate with confidence

Planning & Execution

• Partner closely with the CTO, Product Manager, and Head of Design to translate roadmap priorities into well-scoped, actionable engineering work
• Help plan and distribute tasks across the team, ensuring engineers have clarity on goals, ownership, and timelines - and that workloads are balanced
• Support the PM in day-to-day delivery orchestration, helping fill the gap of a dedicated Product Owner by bringing engineering structure and visibility to sprint-level planning
• Monitor capacity and delivery health, proactively surfacing risks and blockers, and helping ensure we ship consistently without overloading the team
• As we grow, you’ll lead the evolution of this responsibility - whether that’s shaping the role of future tech leads, introducing a dedicated Product Owner, or refining delivery rituals to suit a larger team

Process & Workflow Optimisation

• Evolve our engineering workflows - from planning to deployment - to support high velocity, reliability, and developer happiness
• Define and roll out best practices for CI/CD, code review, and release management to improve consistency and reduce risk
• Instil a culture of continuous improvement, where experiments, retrospectives, and shared learning are part of the weekly rhythm
• Help the team navigate ambiguity with strong communication, structured problem-solving, and a bias for action

Strategic Collaboration

• Partner closely with the CTO, Product Manager, and Head of Design to ensure engineering priorities stay tightly aligned with business goals and product vision
• Contribute to product discovery and roadmap planning, bringing engineering insights to shape what we build - not just how
• Act as a strategic voice in company-level conversations about scaling, infrastructure, security, and technical investment
• Lead with a coaching-first approach that unlocks initiative, confidence, and clarity across the team

Who you are 🔎

• We’re looking for someone with a proven track record of leading and scaling high-performing engineering teams - ideally in early-stage or fast-growth environments. You’ll be confident coaching engineers across different levels and experienced in shaping engineering culture, processes, and practices from the ground up
• You’ll bring hands-on experience in making architectural decisions, managing technical debt and supporting teams through the challenges of scale. You know how to work cross-functionally with Product, Design and Leadership to shape roadmaps, scope work effectively, and ensure outcomes are delivered without over-engineering
• You should be technically strong, with a solid foundation in full stack development. Our stack includes TypeScript, Node.js, React and AWS - but strong fundamentals, critical thinking and sound engineering judgment matter more than specific tools.
• You’re someone who naturally brings clarity and structure to systems and teams, helping others navigate complexity with confidence. You’re comfortable operating without rigid processes or a dedicated product owner, and you know how to balance pragmatism with long-term quality
• You care about how teams work together as much as what they deliver. You communicate with clarity, coach with empathy, and lead with trust. You want to build an environment where engineers can do their best work - and you’ll play a big role in shaping how we get there

What we offer ⭐

Benefits

• NEST pension scheme
• Season ticket loan scheme
• Employee assistance programme
• Private medical insurance with Bupa
• 25 days PTO, plus bank holidays

Ways of Working

• WeWork membership
• Dog-friendly office
• Hybrid working options
• Remote work abroad opportunities

Equipment

• We’ll set you up with an Apple MacBook and all the necessary software
• Standing desk (when based in the office)
• Tech accessories and Onetrace merch

Socials

• Regular team socials and company events

Your Growth

• Joining our agile team means you’ll gain hands-on experience, working closely with talented colleagues, and develop your skills in a supportive environment focused on growth

Diversity 🫶

Onetrace is committed to diversity in the workplace and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. If you require a reasonable adjustment, please contact us. All information will be kept confidential and will only be used for applying a reasonable adjustment.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact ann.clark@onetrace.app.

🐶 Please note that our office is a dog-friendly environment. Candidates should be aware that dogs are present in the workplace, which may include shared spaces. If you have allergies or concerns, please let us know in advance. 🐾