Engineering Manager

Build and lead a new engineering team on a live UK defence programme We run a multi-year defence programme from Warminster with real contractual commitments to a UK customer. We are standing up a dedicated, security-cleared engineering team for it — and we are hiring the manager who will build and lead that team. This is a build role. There is no team to inherit on day one: there is a programme that matters, headcount to fill, and open decisions about how the team should work. Some engineer roles are already in flight; the rest are yours to define and hire. The role As Engineering Manager (EM II) you would build a single, technically complex team and then lead it — accountable for its delivery, its health, and the growth of every engineer you bring into it. You would own delivery outcomes that reach into adjacent teams on the programme, work in a demanding stakeholder environment alongside a defence customer, and develop your engineers towards senior and Staff+ technical leadership. To be straight about the trade-off: a build role gives you unusual influence over who joins and how the team works, and it comes with the pressure of delivering to a customer while you are still hiring. Recruiting security-cleared engineers is slow and the pool is small, so patience and a high bar matter more here than speed. Technical excellence is foundational at 4C Strategies, on both career tracks, and this is not a post-technical role. We do not expect you to write code every day — our framework is explicit that managers stay technically grounded even when they are not coding daily. We do expect you to still be an engineer in the ways that count: reviewing code properly rather than rubber-stamping it, taking part in architecture and design decisions on the merits, and being able to pick up a piece of the build and ship it when the team is stretched or the problem is genuinely yours to solve. We also want someone who still finds the technology itself interesting. Curiosity about how systems actually work, what is changing in the field, and why one approach beats another is not a nice-to-have here — it is what makes your judgement worth trusting to the engineers you hire. If you would describe yourself as post-technical, this is the wrong role, and we would both rather know that now. Our engineering career framework is dual-track: the individual-contributor and manager paths are valued equally, and moving between them is normal rather than exceptional. This role suits someone who built real technical depth as a senior or staff engineer and now wants to build a team and grow the people in it — not someone looking for a title, and not someone looking for a way out of engineering. Management here is a change of craft, not an exit from the one you have. Day to day you will: Build the team: shape the roles you need, hire cleared engineers, and onboard them so they become productive quicklyEstablish how the team works — delivery cadence, code review, quality and operational standards — from a blank sheet rather than an inherited processOwn the team's delivery commitments to the customer while it is still growingCoach and develop each engineer deliberately against our engineering competency framework, including towards Staff+ technical leadershipOwn delivery outcomes that span adjacent teams on the programmeStay hands-on where it counts: review code and designs, take part in architecture decisions, and write code yourself when the team needs it — not daily, but not neverRepresent the team to a defence customer, and create the conditions for it to do its best work What We Are Looking For Experience formally managing software engineers as direct reports, with real accountability for their growth, performance and deliveryEvidence you have hired well — engineers you recruited, ideally in a market where strong candidates were scarce and the bar had to holdExperience setting up how a team works, rather than only running a team someone else designedA strong and still-current technical foundation built as a senior or staff-level engineer — enough depth to be credible on architecture and design, to review code properly, and to write it when the situation calls for itA genuine interest in the technology itself — you keep up with how the field is moving because you want to, not because a job description told you toA track record of delivering software against external commitments and hard constraintsEvidence you have grown engineers: someone is measurably better because you managed themEligibility for UK security vetting (see below) Merits, not requirements: Existing SC or DV clearanceExperience standing up a new team, or hiring into a security-cleared or otherwise regulated marketDefence, simulation, training or another regulated domain We weight demonstrated people leadership and technical judgement together, and we will probe both. A manager here needs both: the framework expects technical excellence at every level, and a team you are about to build needs someone who can hire and grow it — and who the engineers will respect technically on day one. Security and eligibility This role is on a UK defence programme and requires security vetting. You will need to be eligible for SC/DV clearance, or already hold it. As part of the application we ask about nationality, dual nationality, and UK residency history, because those bear directly on vetting eligibility. We will explain what the process involves early on. Nothing about it should surprise you late. Location and on-site working This role is based at our Warminster office, and you will need to be there at least three to four days a week. The rest of the week can be remote. Easily commutable from Bath, Salisbury, Trowbridge and the surrounding area. How We Hire We publish our process, because a good interview should not be a surprise. You will meet: Hiring manager screenSystem designLeadership and people managementTechnical leadershipDelivery and executionCulture interviewYour questions — time set aside for you to ask us anything Every interview has a written script and a scored rubric, applied the same way for every candidate. We tell you what each session covers before it happens. What You Can Expect From 4C Strategies Competitive salary, reviewed annuallyPension Scheme with 5% employer contributionPrivate healthcare including dentalEnhanced family leave (maternity, paternity and adoption)25 days holidays (plus bank holidays)Life AssuranceCycle to work schemeCompany social events Why Join 4C Strategies The work matters: what your team builds helps armed forces, public safety and resilience organisations train, prepare and respond. Building the engineering team for a large, multi-year programme is a rare opportunity — you would shape who joins, how they work, and how the systems get built, alongside experienced engineers and military specialists elsewhere on the programme. And you would do it in an organisation where technical excellence is expected of managers too, and where the individual-contributor track is valued as highly as management. Application Process Interested candidates are invited to submit their CV. A short cover note on your experience and motivation is welcome but not required. We review applications on a rolling basis. The process starts with a screening interview with the hiring manager; candidates who progress go through the full Engineering Manager loop described above. Permanent, full-time.