OPPORTUNITY OVERVIEW OVO Group is a leading energy technology company determined to create a world with clean, affordable energy for everyone. Since launching in 2009, they have welcomed over a million members, planted a million trees, and set their sights on helping save the planet. They are on a mission to change energy for the better, including driving progress towards the target of net zero carbon living. The Tech org at OVO is entering an exciting growth phase, which includes hiring across all their data squads throughout the rest of 2024 and early 2025. The Software Engineering Manager will nurture a growing engineering team who are utilising cutting-edge Gen AI for automation in OVO’s contact centre space. PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES: Building strong teams is a vitally important aspect of the Software Engineering Manager role, so you’ll be heavily involved in recruitment, onboarding and personal development of engineers. You’ll work closely with the teams’ Product Managers and Agile Coaches to make sure they are balancing quality and flow with delivery of phenomenal products to OVO’s customers. You’ll look after a growing team of software and data engineers in OVO’s contact centre space, using cutting-edge Generative AI technology to deliver a new level of automation and contribute to OVO’s Net Zero goals. Working closely with colleagues in Data Science and Product you will shape strategy, set objectives and develop the roadmap, balancing moving at pace with robust engineering practices. RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE: Building strong teams through recruitment, onboarding, and personal development of engineers capable of delivering innovative, customer-centric solutions Partnering with senior stakeholders to shape product development strategy, serving as a strong voice for engineering Strategic leadership to shape and deliver the technical and architectural strategy for OVO’s Advanced Virtual Assistant (AVA) programme, ensuring alignment with business goals and OVO’s customer-first mission Taking accountability for ensuring systems are secure, available, maintainable, reliable, scalable, performant and cost-effective Driving the successful scale-up of projects from POC to large-scale, reliable systems, managing the complexities of team growth and evolving technical needs Championing a culture of continuous improvement and innovation ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: Experience in an engineering leadership role, managing and developing high-performing teams Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to impact and influence both stakeholders and engineering teams Demonstrated success in scaling teams and establishing best practices for sustainable growth Familiarity with the core tech stack: Python, Vertex AI, GCP, Github Actions Strong prioritisation and bias towards value delivery Engineering Process Leadership: Demonstrated ability to implement robust engineering practices, such as CI/CD, test automation, and performance optimization Cross-Functional Collaboration: Experience partnering with data science and product teams to shape roadmaps and deliver impactful results BONUS POINTS FOR: Leadership in AI-Driven Projects: Proven ability to manage engineering teams delivering AI-powered solutions, especially those involving Generative AI Large Language Models or machine learning A background in high-iteration environments, such as startups or innovation focused teams Experience within the energy sector or contact centre operations Cloud Expertise: Strong experience with GCP (Google Cloud Platform), including deploying scalable applications and managing cloud infrastructure If you tick most but not all of the requirements, OVO would still love to hear from you COMPENSATION/BENEFITS: Competitive salary range of up to £110k plus on-target bonus of 15% 34 days holiday including bank holidays Pension matching up to 5% Flexible working as standard Enhanced parental leave policies 9% cash flex fund which can be used towards a variety of benefits (pension top-up, annual leave top-up, gym memberships, healthcare cash plan, workplace ISA, etc.) OVO community – opportunities for L&D and community involvement