Engineering Manager at Xero (United Kingdom)
Xero· United Kingdom·
Role details
Remote, Hybrid, Or Office-Based Work Options · Boost Days For Connection And Collaboration
Xero at a glance
Cloud accounting and financial-management software for small businesses and their advisors.
Xero is cloud-based accounting software for small businesses and the accountants and bookkeepers who serve them. It automates invoicing, bank reconciliation, bill and expense capture, reporting and cash-flow forecasting, and connects to more than 1,000 third-party apps. Its newer AI agent, JAX, automates routine tasks and answers plain-language questions about a business's finances.
Summary
Lead a high-performing engineering team to drive software delivery, focusing on technical excellence, system health, and AI-native workflows. The role involves balancing roadmap delivery with long-term operational sustainability while fostering a high-trust, blameless problem-solving culture.
Job description
The role & impact
As an Engineering Manager, you will drive the delivery of high-quality software by leading a high-performing inclusive team. You will act as the technical anchor, balancing predictable roadmap delivery with a relentless focus on team growth, technical excellence, and system health.
Your work requires a delicate balance between short-term product delivery velocity and long-term operational excellence. You will guide your team to hone their craft, champion AI-native workflows, and resolve complex technical challenges to deliver impactful outcomes that align with business and customer goals.
The team & how they connect You will lead a results-driven team that operates with clear goals and ownership, fostering a high-trust environment where "blameless" problem-solving is the norm. The team works closely with Product and Design partners to shape solutions that truly matter to our customers.
The team is currently working on
- Modernising architectures and improving CI/CD maturity to reduce operational risk.
- Embedding AI-native engineering workflows across the SDLC to boost velocity and reduce toil.
- Refining system design and architecture for high-scale, high-availability distributed systems.
- Driving visibility into system health and technical debt to enable proactive improvements.
Where and how you can work Xero is a Great Place to Work UK accredited company. We offer remote, hybrid or office based roles (hybrid and in-office in London, Milton Keynes or Manchester). Our offices offer boost days for connection and collaboration.
Here are some of the things we are looking for
- Extensive professional software engineering experience, with a proven track record of technical maturity and delivering complex systems.
- Demonstrated experience leading, coaching, and performance-managing engineers, including building and improving team capability over time.
- Proven track record of translating business goals into executable engineering plans, balancing short-term delivery with long-term sustainability.
- Hands-on experience writing, reviewing, and debugging production code, with the technical credibility to guide engineering decisions.
- Experience building and supporting high-scale, high-availability distributed systems, including leading or overseeing incident response.
- Experience leading teams in the adoption of AI-native engineering workflows to improve developer productivity and quality.
Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team. Join a Great Place to Work-Certified™ company where your voice matters.
Why work at Xero
- Culture: Values-driven, human-centric organisation with a focus on making a tangible impact on small businesses globally.
- Flexibility: Emphasises a flexible environment and time for what matters most (remote/hybrid policy not explicitly stated but implied).
- Perks & benefits:
- One paid day off per year for volunteering (Community Connect programme).
- Free access to Sumday carbon accounting app for employees.
- Financial literacy resources and mentorship programmes.
- Engineering & innovation: Dedicated Engineering and Data & AI teams (open roles visible on careers page). Global collaboration across 7+ countries.
- Diversity & inclusion: Indigenous inclusion initiatives (te ao Māori in NZ, Reconciliation Action Plan in Australia), support for Indigenous communities.
- Sustainability focus: Employees can contribute to environmental goals through company-wide initiatives.