Engineering Manager - Nectar360

Joining Sainsbury’s Tech means becoming part of a collaborative, inclusive, and forward-thinking team that’s passionate about delivering impactful, innovative solutions. We’re not just building technology – we’re shaping the future of retail for millions of customers across the UK.

As an Engineering Manager, you'll lead and inspire multiple high-performing engineering teams to deliver scalable, efficient, and high-quality solutions. Your role goes beyond day-to-day delivery – you’ll be responsible for setting the long-term strategic direction of your teams, aligning technology roadmaps with business goals, and managing budgets to ensure sustainable growth and success.

You’ll work closely with cross-functional stakeholders to drive continuous improvement, foster technical excellence, and implement modern engineering practices. From defining engineering culture to introducing cutting-edge tools and processes, you’ll have the opportunity to shape a world-class engineering function.

At Sainsbury’s, we celebrate diversity and inclusivity, and we believe in empowering our people to make meaningful contributions. You’ll find a supportive environment where collaboration is key, innovation is encouraged, and your voice is valued.

About the team:

Our Nectar360 Media Agency team is on a mission to build a best-in-class Retail Media Network (RMN) — a transformative platform that empowers brands to reach and engage customers in smarter, more personalised ways across the full customer journey.

As part of Nectar360, a leader in loyalty and customer insight, we harness the power of Sainsbury’s rich first-party data and deep customer understanding to deliver targeted media campaigns across both physical and digital touchpoints — from in-store screens and point-of-sale to online display, sponsored product listings, and personalised emails.

We’re looking for an experienced Engineering Manager to join us on this journey — someone who can lead with vision, drive long-term strategy, and help shape the engineering foundations of a rapidly evolving and high-impact area of the business.

Learn more about Nectar360 here: Loyalty Insights & Media Services Agency - Nectar360 

What you'll do:

• You’ll lead the strategic direction, delivery, and performance of a cross-functional engineering team, ensuring alignment with business goals and the long-term vision of our Retail Media Network platform.
• You’ll be responsible for shaping and executing the engineering roadmap in close partnership with Product Managers and other stakeholders — taking full ownership of end-to-end product delivery, from discovery through to operational excellence and continuous improvement.
• As a line manager of managers and senior individual contributors, you’ll coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing, inclusive team. You’ll support career growth, nurture engineering talent, and ensure your team has the right structure, tools, and environment to thrive.
• You’ll play a hands-on role in building a world-class engineering culture — hiring diverse and talented individuals, fostering psychological safety, and encouraging a mindset of collaboration, innovation, and accountability.
• You’ll drive engineering excellence by promoting modern, scalable practices (CI/CD, automation, testing, cloud-native architecture) and advocating for agile and lean methodologies that enable rapid, value-driven delivery.
• You’ll lead budgeting and resource planning across your initiatives, making informed decisions that balance cost, value, and long-term sustainability.
• You’ll ensure your products are reliable, secure, and well-managed — overseeing service performance, change management, and compliance with governance standards.
• As a senior leader, you’ll contribute to the wider engineering strategy at Sainsbury’s Tech, collaborating with peers to shape the future of our platforms, processes, and ways of working.

Essential Criteria

• Demonstrated experience leading multiple Engineering Teams and experience managing managers and scaling engineering organisations, with a focus on enabling others to lead, grow, and deliver effectively at all levels
• You bring hands-on experience as a developer and a deep understanding of modern engineering practices, architectures, and delivery models — enabling you to make informed technical decisions and guide teams with credibility and insight.

Who you are:

• You’re a strategic and passionate engineering leader with a strong track record of building and guiding high-performing, multi-disciplinary teams in a fast-paced, product-led environment.
• You lead with empathy and clarity, combining hands-on coaching with the ability to empower teams to make smart decisions and continuously improve. You’re an advocate for inclusive leadership, a champion of diverse teams, and someone who fosters a culture of openness, trust, and technical excellence.
• Experienced in managing complex deliveries, you’re comfortable prioritising across competing demands, balancing short-term delivery with long-term technical vision and sustainability.
• Your excellent communication and stakeholder management skills enable you to influence and collaborate across functions, from engineers to senior business leaders.
• A plus is you have experience managing budgets — confident managing Capex and Opex budgets, allocating resources effectively, and ensuring ROI across your initiatives.