Head of Engineering, Commerce

WPP
United Kingdom
On-site

Who this role is best for

Aimed at senior engineering leaders with AI and data expertise who can manage complex integrations and cross-functional collaboration in the UK.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with 12+ years of experience leading large-scale engineering programs in commerce and AI.
    — “12+ years of software engineering experience”
  • Individuals who have successfully integrated AI into the full SDLC and managed distributed systems.
    — “Hands-on experience delivering AI-enabled product features into production, including integrating LLMs and generative AI services”
  • Candidates with a track record of aligning engineering outcomes with business performance and stakeholder priorities.
    — “Focused on outcomes tied to business performance”

Things to consider

  • The role requires a hybrid work arrangement with four days in-office per week.
    — “with teams in the office around four days a week”
  • Candidates must have experience with cloud-native architecture and major cloud platforms.
    — “Deep experience architecting and operating systems on major cloud platforms”

How to stand out

  • Highlight your experience in AI integration and systems architecture in your resume and interviews.
    — “lead the application and adaptation of AI-driven development practices”
  • Demonstrate your ability to manage complex integrations and cross-functional teams.
    — “the ability to manage complex integrations in a rapidly developing environment”
  • Showcase your hands-on experience with cloud data platforms and orchestration tools.
    — “Strong experience with modern cloud data warehouse and lakehouse platforms”
  • Emphasize your track record of translating business requirements into technical outcomes.
    — “Translate business requirements into actionable engineering outcomes”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • leading engineering delivery for commerce capabilities
  • applying AI into SDLC
  • managing complex integrations
Typical background
engineering leadershipAI and data systems

Skills & requirements

Required

Engineering LeadershipAi-driven DevelopmentCommerce SystemsData-aware System DesignIntegration Engineering

Preferred

Product ManagementTeam Development

Stack & domain

Commerce Marketing SystemsData FlowsPipelinesAi-driven DevelopmentSystems ThinkingCross-functional CollaborationIntegration EngineeringProgramme DesignSystems ArchitectureAI In SDLCLeadershipCommunicationProblem-solvingTeamworkDecision-makingNullCommerceAIERP

About the role

Original posting from WPP via Greenhouse

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. 

We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. 

We work with the world's most valuable brands and have global reach across 100+ markets, with deep local expertise.

Our people are the key to our success. We're committed to fostering a culture of creativity, belonging and continuous learning, attracting and developing the brightest talent, and providing exciting career opportunities that help our people grow. 

For more information, visit WPP.com.

About Data & Technology Solutions 

WPP’s Data & Technology Solutions is WPP’s unified global data and technology organisation. We build the platforms, products, and engineering capabilities that power marketing transformation at scale. 

WPP Open is our AI-powered platform for marketing. It connects people, data, tools, and AI into a single ecosystem, enabling teams to deliver better outcomes faster, more efficiently, and at global scale. 

Our teams of engineers, product leaders, and operators work across multiple domains to build systems that power planning, execution, and delivery for some of the world’s largest brands. 

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR 

We are looking for a senior product-minded engineering leader to drive delivery and execution for our commerce product area and to lead the application of AI into our SDLC. 

You will be core part of our product development process and help to inform roadmap and will lead your team in translating product priorities into reliable, high‑quality engineering outcomes. Additionally, you will lead the application and adaptation of AI-driven development practices, ensuring systems operate effectively in real‑world, production environments. This role requires strong systems thinking, cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to manage complex integrations in a rapidly developing environment. 

Work in this area spans both core commerce marketing systems and the data flows and pipelines required to interact with these systems, requiring a blend of data-aware system design, application engineering, and integration engineering. 

You are: 

A product-focused engineering leader with strong technical credibility and demonstrated ability in influencing and driving the roadmap.  

Comfortable operating in integration-heavy, business-critical systems 

Significant experience in programme design and systems architecture. 

Demonstrated portfolio incorporating AI driven development into the end-to-end SDLC.  

Data & metrics-driven, able to manage complexity across multiple teams, platforms and external partners. 

Focused on outcomes tied to business performance. 

WHAT YOU WILL DO 

Engineering Leadership & Team Development 

Lead engineering delivery across teams building commerce marketing capabilities. 

Establish and develop team mentorship paths aiming to incorporate agents into day-to-day work. 

Accountable for the career growth and development of senior engineers and their teams across craft, delivery and business outcomes. 

Stakeholder Alignment & XFN Collaboration 

Act as the primary engineering partner to Product, Design, Commercial, and Delivery stakeholders. 

Translate business requirements into actionable engineering outcomes and technical product direction. 

Drive alignment with engineering leads and XFNs from partner teams to deliver integrated roadmaps. 

End-to-End Accountability 

Take ownership across the full software development lifecycle — from discovery through to release and post-production maintenance. 

Ensure systems are reliable, performant, and capable of operating under real-world conditions. 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED 

12+ years of software engineering experience 

Proven experience delivering complex, operational systems at scale 

Strong experience with APIs, distributed systems, and integrations 

Experience working with systems that integrate with external platforms or partner ecosystems 

Strong understanding of system performance, latency, and production reliability 

Hands-on experience delivering AI-enabled product features into production, including integrating LLMs and generative AI services 

Strong experience with modern cloud data warehouse and lakehouse platforms (e.g. Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, Redshift) 

Solid understanding of data modelling, ELT/ETL pipelines, and orchestration tooling (e.g. dbt, Airflow), including data quality, lineage, and governance 

Deep experience architecting and operating systems on major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, and/or GCP) 

Strong knowledge of cloud-native architecture patterns, including microservices, containers and Kubernetes, serverless, and event-driven design 

Experience with infrastructure as code (e.g. Terraform), CI/CD, observability, cloud security and IAM, and cloud cost optimisation (FinOps) 

Demonstrated ability to lead delivery in multi-team, dependency-heavy environments 

Strong stakeholder management across Product, Delivery, and Engineering 

If you are ready to lead engineering delivery at scale, working across complex systems and driving real business outcomes, we encourage you to apply. 

We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process. 

WPP is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to fostering a culture of inclusion, respect, and equal opportunity for all. 

We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

WPP is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

Please read our Privacy Notice (https://www.wpp.com/en/careers/wpp-privacy-policy-for-recruitment) for more information on how we process the information you provide.

Source: WPP careers (Greenhouse)

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