Head of Engineering

Head of Software Engineering, ELS

Job Family: Technology

Job Category: Engineering

Career Architecture Role: Software Engineer

Role Summary

Leads a multidisciplinary Innovation Engineering capability, accountable for translating emerging technologies into scalable, enterprise-ready products and platforms. Sets strategic direction, prioritization, and execution standards across innovation squads, ensuring alignment with business objectives, product strategy, and enterprise architecture.

Drives technical excellence, accelerates experimentation-to-production cycles, and builds organizational capability across engineering, data science, and AI—delivering measurable commercial and operational impact.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic & Functional Leadership

• Define and execute the innovation engineering strategy, aligning with ELS business priorities, product roadmaps, and enterprise technology standards
• Set multi-quarter priorities, investment focus, and capacity planning across innovation initiatives
• Act as a senior technical authority across innovation domains (AI, platforms, emerging tech), influencing enterprise-wide direction

2. Innovation Delivery & Execution

• Lead delivery of complex, cross-functional innovation programmes, from concept through to scaled deployment
• Drive experimentation, prototyping, and MVP development, accelerating time-to-value and adoption
• Ensure solutions are scalable, secure, and production-grade, aligned with enterprise architecture and governance

3. Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing, cross-functional team (engineering, data science, AI, and specialists)
• Foster a culture of collaboration, learning, and continuous improvement, strengthening innovation capability across squads
• Coach and develop senior technical leaders, creating succession pipelines and future capability depth

4. Technical Excellence & Standards

• Establish and uphold engineering best practices, including architecture, DevOps, CI/CD, and platform reliability
• Drive improvements in release velocity, quality, and defect reduction through modern engineering practices
• Ensure alignment with security, data governance, and compliance standards

5. Cross-Functional Influence & Stakeholder Alignment

• Partner closely with Product, Platform, and Business leadership to prioritise and deliver high-impact innovation outcomes
• Influence decision-making at senior levels, translating technical possibilities into commercial value propositions
• Represent Innovation Engineering in executive and cross-functional forums

Skills & Competencies

Leadership & Collaboration

• Collaboration (Advanced): Influences and aligns multiple senior stakeholders across Engineering, Product, and Business
• People Leadership (Advanced): Builds inclusive, high-performing teams and develops future leaders

Technical Expertise

• Software Design & Architecture (Advanced)
• Cloud Computing, API & Platform Engineering (Advanced)
• Deep understanding of scalable, distributed systems and enterprise integrationInnovation & Problem Solving
• Innovation & Strategic Thinking (Advanced): Applies emerging technologies (AI, automation, data) to business problems
• Problem Solving (Advanced): Navigates ambiguity and drives breakthrough solutions

Risk, Security & Compliance

• Data Security & Information Security (Advanced)
• Strong understanding of enterprise governance and regulatory frameworks

Future-Focused Capabilities

• Artificial Intelligence & AI Agents (Advanced)
• Learning Agility & Adaptability (Advanced): Continuously evolves capability in line with emerging technologies

Qualifications & Experience

• Significant experience leading software engineering and innovation teams in complex enterprise environments
• Proven track record delivering large-scale, cross-functional technical programmes
• Deep expertise in software architecture, cloud-native systems, and emerging technologies (AI/ML platforms)
• Experience influencing and operating at senior leadership / executive level
• Demonstrated ability to build and scale multidisciplinary technical teams globally

Who we are:

At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to help people realize the life they imagine through learning. We believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. We are the world's lifelong learning company. For us, learning isn't just what we do. It's who we are. To learn more: We are Pearson.

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E-Verify. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.

If you are an individual with a disability and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career site as a result of your disability, you may request reasonable accommodations by emailing [email protected].

Job: Engineering

Job Family: TECHNOLOGY

Organization: Enterprise Learning & Skills

Schedule: FULL_TIME

Workplace Type: Hybrid

Req ID: 24346