Director of Software Engineering (eCommerce AdTech/MarTech)

Location: Madrid, Spain (3 days/week in the office)
TR Ref: RCDB/13585

This multi-€bn eCommerce company is already a clear market leader in Europe and with significant PE investment they’re now doubling their headcount and targeting a staggering €10bn turnover.

To achieve these ambitious goals they have created a new Software Engineering leadership role, focusing purely on the tech used to attract and retain their customers. They currently have more than 9m active customers. You will be leading 6 Software Engineering teams (approx 56 FTE), each focused on a specific domain ie AdTech/MarTech; Customer Data & Account Management; Social & Offline Media Management; Journey Management (Personalisation, Progressive Profiling, Loyalty, UGC); Pricing & Promotions; Community & Services Management. Your team will be dispersed across several European offices and is expected to grow by at least 20% over the coming months.

In addition, you will also have oversight of Software Engineers in other domains who are based out of their Madrid office.

This is a critical engineering leadership role, managing managers and being fully accountable for producing and executing a strategic plan, covering both software and IT architecture, through a period of significant transformation and growth.

This role reports to the VP of Engineering and will partner with other Software Engineering and Product Directors, along with other senior stakeholders, such as Design, Analytics, and other product and platform teams to integrate and launch remarkable experiences. You will be accountable for the creation and delivery of the strategic, software and IT architecture vision and leadership and all aspects of the development of the software. You will work closely with the SMT to drive strategic decisions, and cross functional teams to define our client’s product vision, strategy and roadmap.

To be effective in this high-profile leadership role you will need to prioritize collaboration, agility and strategic alignment of your engineering teams efforts. Through cultural leadership, effective tech management and talent development (inc mentoring your managers), you will build an environment where innovation thrives and your teams continuously improve.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE NEEDED:

• A track record of leading complex consumer-facing capabilities centered around Customer Data Platforms, Marketing Automation, Content Marketing, UGC, Data Analytics and Optimization, Mobile and Web Technologies, Social Media Platforms, Programmatic Media, Personalisation, Progressive Profiling etc.
• End to end technical strategy and discovery, owning critical initiatives across the spectrum working with AdTech, MarTech, Loyalty, Promotions, Pricing and Customer Data management teams
• Passionate about and knowledgeable in the consumer data and marketing space, able to formulate a strong view on what should be built (and in what order) to ensure quality customer acquisition and meaningful retention.
• Entrepreneurially spirited, highly organized and comfortable with ambiguity in a fast-paced environment. Effective at facilitating alignment across cross-functional teams, and a knack for connecting the pieces necessary to take sophisticated projects from concept to delivery at scale.
• 15+ years of software development experience, including 7+ years managing/leading software engineering teams, including architects and other managers
• Experience working on large scale distributed systems (desirable)
• Excellent cross-group collaboration, negotiation and communication skills
• Strong analytical, problem solving and organizational skills
• Ability to think big picture while focusing on details

This Software Engineering Director role is a career-defining opportunity that will see you connecting people, ideas, processes and issues to deliver the digital marketing and associated products needed to achieve our client’s ambitious growth plans. We’re looking for people who will thrive in a collaborative environment, sharing resources, knowledge, ideas and skills and who will build helpful, productive relationships across the organisation. You will be a naturally positive, optimistic person, who can be diplomatic, patient and open-minded with your team but concise and transparent with the VP and CIO.

Salary will be commensurate with a senior software leadership role, along with an annual 25% bonus and car allowance.

This is a hybrid working role requiring you to be in their Madrid (city centre) office 60% of your time (flexible working hrs), but you can work from home the remaining time. Please note, this role is also open to individuals who would need to relocate to Madrid and our client is happy to support with the associated logistics, including visas, if needed, and with relocation costs.

You will enjoy 28 days’ vacation (+ another 2 days off over Christmas/New Year), along with a range of other benefits such as private medical insurance.