Engineering Manager

Hi 👋 we’re Glean. We make study software that improves your confidence and ability to learn. 

• We’re a SaaS scale up and one of the fastest growing tech companies in the North. 
• There’s 100+ of us around the UK with our HQ in Leeds. 
• Our software is award-winning and used by 100,000s of students at over 800 universities & colleges worldwide. 
• We’ve been rated an outstanding company to work for by Best Companies. 
• We’re growing so we can achieve our mission to support 1 million students to become better learners by 2026. 

The role of Engineering Manager: 

As an Engineering Manager, you will be responsible for overseeing and driving the success of Product Squads at Glean.  This is a key role where you will collaborate closely with Product and Engineering to bring clarity and alignment around business goals, objectives, technical strategy and vision.  You will have experience in leading, mentoring and inspiring high performing engineers with a passion for creating engineering cultures focused on innovation, excellence and continuous improvement. 

Meet the team: 

Technology at Glean is a cross-functional function made of Engineering, Product, Product Marketing, User Experience and Data.  This filters down to our product squads where we have at least one team member from each department working together to build the best product for our users and customers.  We currently have three stream-aligned squads (soon to be four), supported by a platform team and an enabling team.

You’ll be working closely with a Product Trio, made up of a Product Manager, Tech Lead and UX Designer across one of two squads; BEAR (Buyers, Evaluators, Admins & Resellers) with Marianne (Product Manager), Megan (Tech Lead) and Nicole (UX Designer) or Note-taking with David (Product Manager), Ambrose (Tech Lead) and Blair (UX Designer).

Your manager will be Gwen, the Head of Engineering who has been at Glean for four years.  She originally started as a contract Tester but loved it so much she became a perm. 

Hear more from Gwen on our Employee Spotlight blog!

What you’ll be doing: 

• Contributing to the development and execution of the technical strategy, aligning it with Glean's overall goals and objectives.
• Staying abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies, providing insights for strategic decision-making.

• Driving a culture of innovation and fast feedback, emphasising outcome driven development. 
• Assisting in communicating and creating an understanding of the company goals, visions and key messages.
• Providing clear direction and purpose for squad members and stakeholders.
• Driving sustainable engineering practices with a focus on quality, maintainable solutions. 
• Creating a nurturing culture where squad members feel motivated and empowered to deliver impactful products.
• Building a culture of collaboration and inclusiveness, creating space for all squad members to be heard.
• Coaching squad members on quality, communication and best practices. 
• Identifying and addressing skill gaps to ensure optimal squad performance whether through recruitment or training. 
• Encouraging a continuous learning culture by identifying training opportunities through conferences, books and courses and supporting squad members’ attendance.

• Taking an active role in all recruitment activities for the squad including working with the wider team to establish effective interview processes that will identify talented candidates.
• Fostering a fun, safe environment for engineering based upon trust, collaboration and respect.
• Mentoring other team members when you have domain expertise that they have yet to acquire.
• Taking the stance of passionate views, loosely held - argue your point of view passionately but be willing to accept that the needs of others or the group or the business may mean that other approaches are adopted.
• Although management is an option in this role, line manager is a different role in itself at Glean, where line managers manage a maximum of six, mixed speciality Engineers.  Your appetite for this can be discussed at interview.

About you: 

• You have a deep knowledge of Software Development Methodologies and can tailor different approaches that best align with squad dynamics and organisational goals.  
• You’re passionate about continuous improvement and through this, work together with team members to ensure everyone’s voices are heard.  
• You love to build team environments that foster collaboration, innovation and individual growth.  
• You enjoy championing the squad’s achievements and you have strong communication skills which work to bridge the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders. 

💰Salary and benefits:

£70,000 - £80,000 dependent upon experience 

🏖️ 33 days annual leave (Inclusive of bank holidays)

🎄 3 gifted days off at Christmas

🎓 Generous individual learning and training allowance 

⌚ Truly flexible hours to suit when you work best 

💻 Full home working set up and beautiful collaborative office space 

🌴 Nomad working policy with family travel insurance 

🍼 Enhanced 26 weeks maternity and 4 weeks paternity (fully paid)

🤍 Health cash plan (from glasses to massages) 

💸 6% employer pension contribution

Location: 

We have a beautiful office space in Leeds and we love it when we get together to collaborate in person. We typically operate a hybrid way of working, however some of our roles support remote working within the UK, if you live more than 50 miles from the office. 

We will discuss ways of working with you at interview however if you have any questions before you apply please reach out to [email removed - click apply for more details] 

💡 What to expect next: 

We’ll review your application and provide a response within 1 week. Even if it’s not the news you’d hoped for, we appreciate it’s good to know either way. 

If we invite you to meet with us for interview, here’s an overview of what the process will look like: 

1. Screening interview with someone in our Recruitment team (30 minutes). 
2. First stage interview, talking through your experience with the hiring manager and another Glean colleague (30 minutes) plus a 40 minute task. Further details on the task will be shared with you when we arrange your interview. 
3. Final stage interview which includes a 1 hour culture and values interview, plus a 1 hour technical interview. You will be meeting with the hiring manager and one of the Executive Team. We can split this stage into two parts if that helps with time in your diary. 

Ahead of your interview you will receive a confirmation email outlining who you’ll be meeting and when, anything you’ll need to prepare in advance and any resources we think you might find helpful.  

👀 Interested in learning more about a career at Glean? 

Here are a few further resources:

About Glean

Working at Glean Blog

The Glean Study Tool 

💌 Not quite the right role for you however you’d love to be a part of Glean’s journey? 

Let’s connect! Reach out to [email removed - click apply for more details] and we’ll add you to our network, to keep you updated with any future opportunities we think you might be interested in.

📄 Applicant Privacy Notice 

We think it’s important that you understand how we use and handle your personal information, so here’s a link to our privacy notice. By submitting your application, you’re confirming that you’ve read and understood this notice.