Head of Engineering, zaizi

Salary not provided

Senior and Expert level

London

Office located in Hammersmith, London

Public sector data consultancy

Be an early applicant

Public sector data consultancy

101-200 employees

B2BEnterpriseMachine LearningSaaSCyber SecurityCloud Computing

Be an early applicant

Salary not provided

Senior and Expert level

London

Office located in Hammersmith, London

101-200 employees

B2BEnterpriseMachine LearningSaaSCyber SecurityCloud Computing

Company mission

To make the Uk the best and safest place to live and work.

Job

Company

Role

Who you are

Significant engineering leadership experience across complex digital services, ideally within UK Central Government or another regulated environment
A strong software engineering background and sufficient technical depth to command the confidence of senior engineers, architects and client technical leaders
Experience leading multiple engineering teams rather than only a single programme or product
Strong understanding of modern cloud engineering, DevSecOps, CI/CD, security, architecture and operational practices
Experience with GDS-style multidisciplinary delivery and an understanding of the Service Standard and Technology Code of Practice
Strong understanding of security and privacy by design
Evidence of developing engineering capability through coaching, mentoring, standards and communities of practice
Strong consultancy skills and the ability to operate credibly with senior government stakeholders
Commercial awareness, including experience shaping work, estimating delivery and contributing to bids or proposals
The ability to balance technical quality, user outcomes, delivery constraints and commercial reality
You do not need to be an AI researcher. We are looking for an engineering leader who understands how to turn emerging technology into production-grade services

What the job involves

Own Arran’s engineering strategy, standards and technical assurance across client engagements. Champion secure, scalable and maintainable services using modern cloud, DevSecOps and software engineering practices
Develop Arran’s practical capability to build and integrate AI into production government services
Establish engineering approaches for technologies such as LLMs, RAG and agentic systems, ensuring solutions address security, privacy, responsible AI, operational resilience and government constraints
Ensure engineering aligns with the GDS Service Standard, Technology Code of Practice, NCSC Secure by Design and relevant accessibility and data protection requirements. Work with architects and client technical authorities to provide effective technical governance and assurance
Act as Head of Profession for Engineering, building and developing high-performing engineers and technical leaders
Identify future capability needs and create opportunities for people to develop practical AI and emerging technology experience through delivery, accelerators and learning
Act as a trusted senior technical advisor to Central Government clients, translating complex problems into pragmatic technical approaches. Challenge assumptions, communicate trade-offs and represent Zaizi in senior client and technical governance discussions
Shape technical propositions, solutions, teams and estimates for strategically important opportunities. Turn successful delivery into credible, reusable capabilities and propositions that strengthen Arran’s position in the government market
Share accountability with the Club Executive and Heads of Product and Delivery for Arran’s overall performance. Help protect and grow clients, build capability through delivery and balance client outcomes, people, quality and commercial performance

Salary benchmarks

Our take

Digital data consultancy, zaizi, designs and engineers secure user-centred digital services to help UK government departments and public sector organisations improve their data usage.

By aiding clients to overcome silos and focus on user-based decision-making, zaizi prioritises outcomes over output. It aims to produce high-impact work that helps clients achieve their goals and, in turn, offer the best for their users.

Working with the UK government and Carbon Neutral Britain, zaizi is part of a campaign aiming to push zero emissions nationwide and hopes to become a B Corp company in the near future.