Engineering Director

About this role

Location: Remote
Salary: £120,000+

About us
At Arbor, we’re on a mission to transform the way schools work for the better.

We believe in a future of work in schools where being challenged doesn’t mean being burnt out and overworked. Where data guides progress without overwhelming staff. And where everyone working in a school is reminded why they got into education every day.

Our MIS and school management tools are already making a difference in over 12,000 schools and trusts. Giving time and power back to staff, turning data into clear, actionable insights, and supporting happier working days.

At the heart of our brand is a recognition that the challenges schools face today aren’t just about efficiency, outputs and productivity - but about creating happier working lives for the people who drive education everyday: the staff. We want to make schools more joyful places to work, as well as learn.

About the role
As an Engineering Director, you will support Arbor’s growth as we scale beyond market leadership. You won't just manage teams; you will help to evolve our engineering identity, shape our strategic direction and reimagine our ways of working to ensure we stay at the forefront of the industry’s AI evolution.

We value strong ownership and a focus on customer outcome delivery over technical output. We need a leader who knows how to operate in this way and use data as a compass for continuous improvement, not a tool for control. With a pragmatic bias for action, you will oversee a high-caliber group of Engineering Managers and Staff Engineers, helping them to navigate ambiguity, drive commercial value, and protect the long-term health of our systems.

Core responsibilities
Lead an organization of 7+ teams to deliver high-impact results, directly managing Engineering Managers and Staff Engineers.
Foster a culture of mentorship and coaching, focusing on the professional growth and leadership capabilities of your direct reports.
Partner with Product Directors and VPs to align roadmaps with commercial goals, customer needs and technical strategy.
Contribute to the maturity of the entire engineering function, collaborating with peers and leading by example, such as leverage the best of the shifting AI landscape
Instill a "customer outcome" mindset, ensuring teams are solving the right problems rather than just shipping features.
Balance the value of commercial delivery with the necessity of managing support, technical debt, and architectural risks.
Navigate and resolve issues pragmatically, providing clarity and direction to your teams when paths are unclear.
Oversee the holistic health of your teams through effective use of data to drive tangible improvements
Serve as a point of escalation for issues and incidents across your teams, ensuring sustainable preventative measures and post-mortem learning.
Support and input into our strategic direction, providing a technical perspective for investment planning and scenario modeling.
Requirements

About you
Exceptional people management experience, with a proven track record of managing and growing managers and Senior individual contributors
Extensive experience leading multiple teams whilst collaborating with peers on standardised ways of working and organizational growth.
Demonstrable examples of using data and metrics as a "carrot" for continuous improvement rather than a "stick" for management.
Proven ability to partner with and effectively challenge Product leaders to balance commercial value with technical sustainability.
Examples of operating with a sense of urgency, coupled with the ability to thrive in a high-autonomy, high-ambiguity environment.
Real world experience of leading teams through organizational shifts, process changes, or rapid scaling challenges.
Demonstrated success in building high performance engineering teams, without losing speed or autonomy.
Expert communication skills, capable of advocating for technical excellence, building credibility with engineers and "challenging upward" to influence direction.
A strong foundation/background in modern software architecture, with the ability to maintain technical credibility and trust with senior individual contributors.
An understanding of how AI-first engineering will change the SDLC and how to lead through change where there is no playbook, ideally with examples
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 everyday. We also offer:
A dedicated wellbeing team who champion initiatives such as mindfulness, lunch n learns, manager training, mental health first aid training and much more!
32 days holiday (plus Bank Holidays). This is made up of 25 days annual leave plus 7 extra company wide days given over Easter, Summer & Christmas
Life Assurance paid out at 3x annual salary
Comprehensive wellness benefit provided by AIG Smart Health, which provides a 24/7 virtual GP service, Mental health support, Counselling, and personalised Health Checks
Private Dental Insurance with Bupa
Salary sacrifice Pension provided by Scottish Widows
Enhanced maternity and adoption leave (20 weeks full pay) and paternity (6 weeks full pay) pay
5 free return to work maternity coaching sessions, helping you adapt to this new exciting time of life!
Access to services such as Calm and Bippit (financial wellbeing coaching)
All of our roles champion flexible working and we are happy to discuss what this means to you
Social committees that plan team, office and company wide events to bring people together and celebrate success
Dedicated professional development training budget (CPD courses, upskilling resources, professional memberships etc)
Volunteer with a charity of your choice for a day each year
Dog friendly offices!

Interview process
Phone screen
1st stage
2nd stage

We are committed to a fair and comfortable recruitment process, so if you require any reasonable adjustments during your application or…