Engineering Manager

WGSN is seeking an Engineering Manager with exceptional people management skills and technical maturity to join our software engineering team and shape the future of our data and insight platform.

About WGSN

WGSN is the global authority on trend forecasting, combining expert insights with data science to help our clients stay ahead of trends. We provide consumer insights, product design direction, and trading strategies to maximize sales by landing the right

trends at the right time. Our platform offers a vast collection of reports, images, graphs, and data, utilizing off-the-shelf and custom CMS tools to curate processed data for our customers.

The role

You’ll work with a highly motivated and talented product and engineering team. You will have a knack for leadership around

building elegant products and thrive in a collaborative environment. We strongly believe in team ownership of systems, which includes playing a key role in project definition and follow-through. You'll be part of a new software engineering team created in the London (Holborn) office. You'll work in a co-located and distributed hybrid team, practicing continuous delivery and two-week scrum cycles and collaborating closely with engineering leadership, product managers, designers, and DevOps engineers.

• Lead, managed, and mentor a team of contract engineers and QA located
• globally
• Architect and develop scalable and maintainable software solutions
• Ensure that the team is outcome-focused and follows best practices in software development and architecture
• Foster a positive and collaborative team culture, promoting continuous learning and professional development
• Coordinate with a distributed team across the globe, ensuring effective communication and collaboration
• Provide technical guidance and support team members, resolving any technical challenges
• Ensure timely delivery of projects by monitoring project progress, managing timelines, and timely delivery of high-quality software

• Javascript || 5+ years
• Node || 5+ years
• Strong understanding of databases (MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, DynamoDB) || 4+ years
• Typescript || 3+ years
• React + NextJS || 3+ years
• Software Architecture || 2+ years
• AWS (EC2, Lambda, SQS, SNS, etc) || 2+ years
• GraphQL || 1+ year
• Strong understanding and experience with PHP or equivalent server-side
• Scripting language (Perl, Ruby, Python, etc) + 1 year

• Proven experience in a software engineering management role, leading small to medium-sized teams
• Strong technical expertise in Javascript/Node/React/NextJS Stack and software architecture
• Experience working with AWS
• Experience working in a distributed environment with teams across multiple time zones
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to think critically and strategically
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to drive technical and product discussions
• Ability to understand customer context and broad product requirements, translating them into simple and elegant solutions

• WGSN Engineering follows an intuitive and efficient interview process. We will provide you with an easy-level Leetcode style test to get a sense of your coding style. To ensure success in this step, please review the provided tips. Following the initial technical screen, we typically conduct 1-2 technical interviews and one behavioural interview. The last step of the process may include an interview with a senior stakeholder.
• Our technical interview problems focus on fundamentals you may use on the job. This includes working with data, APIs, networking, and some algorithms. We are also screening to ensure you understand the problem well and can develop a solution that meets its depth. The interview will utilize an environment such as CoderPad, where you’ll be asked to write code similar to what one may find in an application. You are encouraged to ask questions during the interview if you need clarification

• Ensure you have ample WiFi bandwidth to stream audio, video, and share your screen if needed.
• Be prepared to write code in JavaScript or TypeScript, including unit or integration tests.
• Test your solutions thoroughly. If a test feels too lengthy to write, explain your reasoning.
• Ensure your laptop can run a browser-based development environment. We will use an application such as CoderPad or a similar tool.
• While working through problems, verbalize your thought process so we can follow along.
• You are allowed to refer to documentation for the language or libraries, but looking up solutions to the problem or using AI-based problem solvers is not permitted.

What we offer

Our benefits and wellbeing package offers flexible benefits you can tailor to your own personal needs, including:  

- 25 days of holiday per year - with an option to buy/ sell up to 5 days

- Pension, Life Assurance and Income Protection Flexible benefits platform with options including Private Medical, Dental Insurance & Critical Illness 

- Employee assistance programme, season ticket loans and cycle to work scheme 

- Volunteering opportunities and charitable giving options  

- Great learning and development opportunities.

More about WGSN

WGSN is the global authority on consumer trend forecasting.

We help brands around the world create the right products at the right time for tomorrow’s consumer.

Our values 

We Are Everywhere

The future is everything, it happens everywhere. WGSN is the world-leading forecaster because we track and analyse consumer behaviours, product innovation, design and creativity, everywhere.

We Are Future Focused

We utilise our global resources and intelligence to research, source and analyse quantitative and qualitative data to produce our forecasts. Everything we do is focused on working with our customers to create a successful and positive tomorrow.

We Are Rigorous

We source, review and assess quantitative and qualitative data to produce robust, actionable forecasts. To provide credible insights and design solutions for our clients, it is essential that rigour runs through everything we do.

Our culture 

An inclusive culture is one of our key priorities. We want our people to truly be themselves and thrive. We love having a diverse team of people who bring new ideas, different strengths and perspectives & reflect the global audience we work with.

Inclusive workforce 

We are committed to supporting the environment and sustainability, including ensuring our pension plan defaults to sustainable options and striving to be net zero by 2030.  

Recognising great performance is a key part of our culture. Our Awards schemes recognise and reward the brilliant achievements of our people.  

We have a truly flexible working environment with a wide range of flexible, hybrid and agile-working arrangements. Conversations about flexible working have always been - and will continue to be - actively encouraged here. 

We want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to perform their best when interviewing, so if you require any reasonable adjustments that would make you more comfortable during the process, please let us know so that we can do our best to support you.