Head of Mobile Engineering

Head of Mobile Engineering Overview

This is a senior leadership opportunity for an experienced mobile specialist who can combine technical depth, client advisory skills, people leadership and commercial awareness. The role sits within a company that positions itself as an experience innovation partner, working with major brands to design and deliver digital experiences that are scalable, secure and effective. The position is based in Manchester and is focused on building and evolving the UK mobile capability while contributing directly to client work, practice growth and wider business success.

The role is split between client-facing strategy and delivery work, and internal capability and growth leadership. In practice, that means spending most of the time helping clients shape mobile direction, modernise platforms and deliver complex programmes, while also developing the mobile practice, strengthening standards, coaching leaders and supporting business development. The role brings together engineering excellence, customer experience thinking and commercial judgement.

What you will do

• Act as a senior trusted adviser to client stakeholders, helping them make informed decisions on mobile strategy and delivery.
• Provide oversight on challenging programmes and step in early when there is a risk to delivery quality, team health or client relationships.
• Connect architects, engineers, strategists, designers and consultants so that solutions are joined up from concept through to delivery.
• Monitor the overall condition of the mobile practice, including whether skills and capacity match demand, how engaged the community is and how well delivery is performing, then respond to any issues or trends.
• Run workshops and help clients define roadmaps for mobile transformation.
• Advise on platform modernisation and architecture choices.
• Work closely with product, design, data and engineering colleagues to create integrated solutions.
• Shape and influence technology investment decisions.
• Set the direction for Valtech’s mobile capability in the UK and help evolve its strategy and vision.
• Take accountability for line management within the practice, including oversight of line managers who report into you.
• Ensure regular one-to-ones, development discussions, performance reviews, succession planning and difficult conversations are handled consistently and effectively.
• Coach new and emerging leaders so they can manage with confidence, consistency and care.
• Help improve career pathways and the skills framework so progression is clear and supported.
• Define engineering standards and best practices, and build communities of practice across the mobile group.
• Mentor engineers and architects to strengthen the capability of the wider team.
• Encourage purposeful innovation, from small internal experiments to external thought leadership such as speaking, writing and publishing.
• Provide architectural leadership on large and complex mobile programmes.
• Guide technical decisions across iOS, Android and cross-platform solutions.
• Ensure mobile solutions are scalable, secure and resilient.
• Promote modern engineering practices including CI/CD, observability and automation.
• Explore emerging technologies such as AI-enabled experiences and intelligent assistants.
• Partner with UK growth teams on pitches and pre-sales activity, contributing a practical and credible technical perspective to senior commercial conversations.
• Support strategic UK initiatives so the mobile practice contributes to wider business priorities.
• Help develop proposals and solution designs for new opportunities.
• Identify opportunities to grow existing accounts and expand mobile engagements.
• Represent the company externally through industry engagement and thought leadership to strengthen its position in digital experience and mobile innovation.

What success looks like

• A mobile capability that is growing, healthy and scalable.
• Strong technical communities and clear engineering standards.
• Trusted client relationships and meaningful strategic influence.
• Growth in mobile opportunities and revenue.
• High-performing teams delivering strong digital experiences.
• Ongoing innovation across mobile and emerging technologies.

Experience and skills needed

• Experience leading mobile engineering teams, practices or capability groups.
• Strong consulting skills and confidence working with senior stakeholders.
• Ability to influence senior leaders across business and technology.
• A clear commitment to coaching and developing talent.
• Hands-on experience with native mobile development, including iOS and/or Android.
• Experience with cross-platform technologies such as Flutter or React Native.
• Understanding of mobile architecture and platform strategy.
• Experience working with API-driven ecosystems.
• Knowledge of CI/CD and DevOps practices.
• Awareness of security, identity and authentication concerns in mobile environments.
• Experience with analytics and observability.
• Familiarity with cloud-native platforms and backend integration.
• Experience delivering in consulting, agency or digital transformation environments.
• Comfort working across strategy, architecture and delivery.
• Experience leading client workshops and engagements.
• Strong communication and presentation ability.
• Commercial awareness and experience supporting growth initiatives.

Additional experience that would be an advantage

• Experience creating AI-powered mobile experiences or working with agentic AI.
• Knowledge of modern data platforms and personalisation tools.
• Experience leading teams spread across different locations.
• Public speaking, published thought leadership or wider contributions to the technology community.

Culture and inclusion

The organisation says it is committed to building experiences that work for everyone, and that this starts with its own people. It aims to create an inclusive environment where colleagues from all backgrounds feel supported to grow, thrive and achieve their goals. The company encourages applicants to see themselves as belonging there, and highlights its diversity and inclusion work as part of its broader commitment to equity.

How to apply

Applications are submitted through the online Greenhouse process. Candidates can use the quick apply option and are asked to provide their first and last name, preferred first name, email address, phone number, location, resume and cover letter. The form also asks whether the applicant has demonstrable experience in a client-facing consulting environment, whether they have both team leadership and technical leadership experience, their desired salary range, how they heard about the opportunity, and their LinkedIn profile. There is also a privacy notice acknowledgement and an optional demographic survey before final submission.

The page also invites interested candidates to create a job alert so future opportunities can be sent by email.

Degree Requirement: Not Specified

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