Head of Engineering - Data & Intelligence

Elliptic Enterprises Limited

Job Overview

Location

London, UK

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• As the Head of Engineering for Data & Intelligence at Elliptic Enterprises Limited, you will be instrumental in shaping the future of our data capabilities. This pivotal leadership role demands a strategic vision and hands-on approach to guide our Data and Intelligence Engineering organisation. You will be responsible for setting the overarching technical direction, meticulously crafting team structures, and driving significant improvements in engineering and operational maturity across this critical domain. Your scope of ownership will be comprehensive, encompassing the entire data lifecycle from the ingestion of diverse external and intelligence data sources right through to the sophisticated serving of foundational datasets that form the bedrock of all our innovative products.
• In a period of rapid business scaling, your primary challenge and opportunity will be to ensure that our data pipelines, underlying infrastructure, and established engineering practices evolve in lockstep with our growth. This means enabling highly reliable, consistently high-performance data flows and empowering all teams across the company to build upon robust, expertly engineered data foundations. You will be the key strategic and technical leader for this organisation, collaborating closely with senior engineers, product managers, and intelligence specialists. Together, you will forge the operating model, define the strategic roadmap, and mature the organisation, all while ensuring existing delivery commitments are met and earning the unwavering trust and confidence of your team and your peers.
• Elliptic has built a strong reputation for its extensive and highly reliable datasets. You will play a critical role in not only maintaining but also scaling this reputation. This involves defining the fundamental principles of how data is built, operated, and continuously evolved as the business expands. The data platform you will oversee is a central hub, serving product development, intelligence gathering, commercial operations, finance, and broader operational teams. Consequently, you will be the primary point of contact and a key influencer across all these vital functions.
• Your responsibilities will include owning the technical vision and the platform roadmap for the entire data domain. This requires close collaboration with principal engineers to make critical architectural decisions that artfully balance immediate business needs, long-term reliability, cost-effectiveness, and the drive for innovation. You will be tasked with building and maturing the domain’s organisational structure, clearly defining team boundaries, establishing robust ownership models, refining our ways of working, and developing comprehensive hiring plans to attract and retain top talent.
• You will set ambitious yet achievable delivery standards and cadences designed to enhance predictability in our output without stifling the velocity of our development teams. Driving operational excellence will be paramount. You will help steer the definition and adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLAs), champion robust observability practices, implement rigorous data quality standards, and refine our incident response protocols, ensuring the data platform remains reliable, measurable, and subject to continuous improvement.
• You will act as the key representative and advocate for data engineering across product, commercial, intelligence, operations, and finance departments. Working closely with engineering managers, you will cultivate a clear understanding of team performance, actively contributing to hiring strategies, professional development plans, and retention efforts for strong engineering leaders. A crucial aspect of this role is navigating the inherent tension between supporting fast-moving product and revenue teams and the imperative of building reliable, scalable, and resilient infrastructure. This requires demonstrating honesty and integrity when communicating priorities, clearly articulating what can and cannot be achieved within given constraints. You will go beyond simply stating priorities; you will own and articulate the 'why' behind them.
• As the engineering function continues to scale and mature, you will be expected to grow into increasing scope and responsibility, taking on new challenges and leading expanded initiatives. This role is for someone who thrives on building and scaling, developing teams, structures, practices, and strategies that enable sustained growth and foster technical excellence. You will remain closely connected to the technology, capable of engaging deeply in architecture reviews, yet fundamentally understand that your primary role is to lead and empower others.
• You will view data infrastructure not merely as a collection of pipelines, but as a critical platform serving internal customers. Your approach will start with understanding the core business needs and working backward to design the ideal platform architecture. You will be adept at painting a clear picture of platform excellence, articulating a compelling vision for future capabilities and performance, and inspiring teams to rally around that vision. You will uphold high standards for both technical output and people development, offering genuine warmth, support, and constructive challenge to help individuals grow and achieve their full potential. You will possess the courage to push back when necessary, doing so clearly and kindly, while always maintaining positive working relationships. Crucially, you will be honest about your own areas for growth and seek a coaching relationship, demonstrating a commitment to continuous learning and development.

🎯 Requirements

• Proven experience leading a multi-team engineering organisation, with demonstrable accountability for delivery success and the growth and development of your teams.
• Experience leading through others, fostering empowered teams and cultivating strong technical leadership at all levels of an organisation.
• Demonstrated ownership of data infrastructure within a product company, understanding and managing the simultaneous pressures of reliability, cost, and stakeholder expectations, while successfully maintaining workstreams of innovation and operational excellence.
• Experience building organisational capabilities from scratch, such as establishing a new team, developing a new technical capability, implementing a new delivery practice, or defining a new operating cadence.
• Direct experience working with product, analytics, or business stakeholders to manage competing demands, negotiate priorities, and communicate complex trade-offs effectively.

🏖️ Benefits

• Hybrid working model with the flexibility to work remotely from almost anywhere for up to 90 days per year.
• A £500 budget to set up your home office space for optimal remote work.
• A $1,000 annual Learning & Development budget for professional growth and development, agreed with your manager.
• Generous annual leave allowance of 25 days, plus bank holidays, and an extra day off for your birthday.
• Enhanced parental leave policy offering 16 weeks of fully-paid leave for eligible employees, regardless of gender or how they become a parent (birth or adoption).
• Comprehensive private health insurance through Vitality.
• Full access to Spill for mental health support.
• Life Assurance cover equivalent to 4 times your annual salary.
• A £100 crypto bonus as a welcome to the company.
• Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme.

Skills & Technologies

Remote

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Elliptic Enterprises Limited

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About Elliptic Enterprises Limited

Elliptic is a global leader in crypto-asset risk management. The company provides a comprehensive suite of tools and services designed to help businesses, regulators, and law enforcement agencies understand and manage the risks associated with cryptocurrencies. Their technology analyzes blockchain data to detect illicit activity, identify high-risk transactions, and ensure compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regulations. Elliptic's solutions are used by financial institutions, exchanges, and governments worldwide to protect against financial crime, enhance security, and foster the safe adoption of digital assets.

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