Engineering Manager

Motorway is the UK’s fastest-growing used car marketplace – our award winning, online-only platform connects private car sellers with over 7,500 verified dealers nationwide, who compete to offer the best price. Founded in 2017, our technology makes the process refreshingly easy, earning us an 'Excellent' Trustpilot rating with over 70,000 reviews. We're not just building a platform; we're changing how people sell cars.

Backed by leading investors like Index Ventures and ICONIQ Growth, and following a successful $190 million funding round, we're on a mission to transform the used car market.

At Motorway, we believe that the best products are built by passionate, product-minded engineers working together to do the best work of their careers. Our team has built and scaled systems at companies like Amazon, Instagram, Checkout, Just Eat, and Expedia. We're disrupting the used car marketplace with cutting-edge technology, and you could play a key role in our next stage of growth and disruption.  

Here are a couple of the problems we're tackling:

• Building a platform that handles massive transaction volumes with speed and reliability.  

• Using data and machine learning to provide accurate valuations and match sellers with the right buyers.

As an Engineering Manager at Motorway, you'll be pivotal in driving our engineering team's success. We believe excelling in this role means demonstrating strength in three key areas: Technical Leadership, Driving Results, and People Management.

• Technical leadership. This isn’t just a management role; you'll be expected to be hands-on and dive deep into technical challenges. You'll design systems, get your hands dirty debugging, and set a high standard for the team.

  • You’ll design systems and own the target reference architecture, making key design decisions.

  • You'll work with product managers to define objectives, scope projects, and create effective backlogs.

  • Identifying and sorting out cross-team dependencies will be part of your remit.

  • You'll own end-to-end project delivery, breaking down requirements into achievable milestones.

  • Ensuring the team's backlog aligns with our long-term technical strategy is crucial.

  • Delivering top-notch results – bug-free releases, clean code, and well-monitored systems – will be your priority.

  • Communicating clearly with stakeholders is key.

  • You'll keep up with emerging tech trends, ensuring we stay ahead of the curve.

• Driving results. You'll break down work effectively and use engineering metrics to guide decisions.

  • Setting clear goals and expectations for the team will be essential.

  • You'll guide agile ceremonies, ensuring they're productive and focused.

  • Providing technical guidance and facilitating discussions will be a core part of your role.

  • You'll own project estimations and guide team members through the process.

  • You'll manage the team's backlog, balancing technical debt and feature delivery.

  • Running retrospectives will help drive continuous improvement within the team.

  • You'll identify skill gaps and arrange appropriate training.

  • Streamlining onboarding processes will ensure new team members get up to speed quickly.

  • You'll encourage innovation and plan technical spikes to explore new ideas.

  • Ensuring the team uses company-wide tooling will maintain consistency across the engineering department.

• People management. You'll lead and develop a team of 4-6 senior developers, fostering their growth and potential.

  • Guiding career progression, spotting skill gaps, and supporting learning will be central to your leadership.

  • You'll manage recruitment, including conducting interviews, providing feedback, and overseeing onboarding.

  • Overseeing team health and well-being will be a key responsibility, ensuring a positive and supportive work environment.

• You have a solid track record of leading and developing high-performing engineering teams.

• You can guide system design, architectural solutions, and ensure best engineering practices are followed.

• You can break down ambiguous requirements into clear milestones and deliver value iteratively.

• You have excellent communication skills and can work effectively with cross-functional teams.

• You thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

• You're proactive, results-oriented, and have a strong sense of ownership.

• Qualifying screen (30 minutes): A quick chat with our talent team to talk about your background and the role.

• System design interview (1 hour): A deep dive into your technical expertise and problem-solving skills with a senior engineer.

• Skills assessment interview (1 hour): Meeting the team for a skills-based assessment.

• Final interview (1 hour): A chat with our Director of Engineering to discuss your leadership and values.

We'll get back to you within a week of each interview stage. You can chat with a Talent Partner throughout the process if you have any questions or need anything at all.