AddressAbout us
Here at the FT, gold-standard journalism is just the beginning. 500-people strong, our Product & Tech team keeps us ahead of the ever-changing digital landscape by delivering cutting-edge products to over one million digital subscribers every day. Our plans for growth rely on a diverse, dedicated and dynamic group of product, tech, delivery and data specialists - everyone’s welcome in this friendly, forward-thinking team. And with entrepreneurial spirit, intelligence and opportunity at every turn, there are no limits to where your FT career will take you.
The FT is one of the world’s leading business news and information organisations. We are recognised globally for our authority, integrity and accuracy. We provide a broad range of essential services, including news, comment, data and analysis, to the growing audience of internationally minded business people.
The role and department context
The Financial Times is seeking a Principal Engineer to join the technical leadership team in our Engineering Enablement group.
This group defines standards and best practices, provides tooling and guidance in order that product & technology teams at the FT can achieve engineering and operational excellence. We are a multi-disciplinary, co-located team with around 25 engineers and 50 people total. We value transparency, accountability, shared responsibility and teamwork. We deploy many times a day. We’re focused on the engineering community and supporting the FT’s mission to provide engaging world-class journalism.
Engineering Enablement sits within FT’s Product & Technology function, and brings together people from Delivery and Technology.
This leadership role will span a range of teams that support all of the technology teams at the FT, including our Cloud estate (most notably our usage of PaaS systems), our engineering tooling (both bespoke and off the shelf) and our Front End Component system, Origami.
Position summary
This role will report into the Technical Director for Engineering Enablement. You will work alongside our other Principal Engineers, each of whom leads two or three teams in a single product area, as will you.
Principal Engineers take on a range of responsibilities across the managerial/technical spectrum, and individuals’ skillsets are different and complementary. For this specific vacancy we are looking for someone with a particular strength in people and process issues.
Each of your teams has a technical lead and other talented engineers. You will need to ensure they are steered effectively, and are generally building systems productively and with technical integrity.
Additionally, as someone with a strength in people and process issues, you will be responsible for management issues across Engineering Enablement, such as our quarterly promotions round, and (with our Talent Acquisition team) leading recruitment. You will also proactively look for ways to improve the experience of being an engineer at the FT.
Engineering Enablements’ technologies integrate and in some cases are the basis for services managed by other groups, and Engineering Enablement is part of the FT’s wider journalistic and commercial mission. Therefore a critical part of this role is to help your teams work effectively within FT’s greater context.
This means you will be a key player in building a world class engineering capability at the Financial Times. This includes an active commitment to and championing of our values and our goal of delivering a truly diverse team and building an inclusive environment.
Key duties
This role has responsibilities and accountabilities both within Engineering Enablement and beyond. You will oversee two to three teams and line manage at least three senior engineers in those teams.
You will:
Provide technical direction and support, being able to switch from one area to another
Ensure the right people are hired into your teams, and are appropriately rewarded and promoted when they’re in them
Lead on creating and maintaining a positive and inclusive culture, ensuring strong engagement and motivation
Across the Technology function of Engineering Enablement you will:
Ensure our retention and reward processes are fair, effective and work within our budget. This includes leading on calibration activities alongside other Principal Engineers and bringing together insight from line managers across the group.
Proactively identify and lead on initiatives to improve the experience of being an engineer in Engineering Enablement and at the FT; whether that is to do with productivity, diversity and inclusion, technical competence or other areas. Previous examples of work in this area include career competency frameworks; moving to durable teams and improving our recruitment processes to be fairer to people of colour.
Oversee staff allocations across Engineering Enablement, working with other Principal Engineers and line managers to support activities such as people moves between teams.
Maintain and improve our positive and inclusive culture, and proactively identify activities that help our people to be engaged and motivated.
Look for ways to ensure Engineering Enablement engineers have the skills they need to do their job and progress. As part of this, identify training needs and organise training where needed.
Ensure our recruitment process is fair and effective. This involves working closely with our Talent Acquisition team, plus reviewing our data to ensure we are reaching a diverse selection of candidates and being inclusive in our approach.
Lead on strategic technical initiatives across Engineering Enablement and/or working with other technical groups.
Characteristics we value
Modelling and helping set and reinforce our inclusive, respectful, multidisciplinary and open culture
Continuous improvement of technology, process and culture, and take ownership of problems and seeing solutions through to completion
Dedication to performance, accessibility, security and reliability
Ability to understand a complex business problem and to build or lead a team to solve that problem
Effective communication and collaboration
Ability to decide appropriately when to buy or build, and to communicate the reasons to stakeholders
A respect for all disciplines involved in an excellent product, and a commitment to improving customer experience
In return we’ll give you:
Interesting tech where your input is valued in both product and technical choices
A good work / life balance and rewarding work environment
Motivated, smart, kind colleagues you can learn from
Benefits
Our benefits vary depending on location, but we are committed to providing best in class perks across all our offices as well as an inclusive environment to develop your career. Examples of our benefits include; generous annual leave allowances, flexible working (including working from home), medical cover, enhanced maternity & paternity packages, subsidised gym memberships and Giving Back opportunities. Full details of our benefits can be found here.
Our commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace
The FT is committed to providing an inclusive working environment for all. We are an equal opportunities employer who seeks to recruit and appoint the best talent regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We believe that a supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves at work and have the flexibility they need to meet their personal needs.
Please let us know if you require any adjustments as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements, or have any questions, please contact talent@ft.com and a member of our team will be happy to help.
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