OverviewAre you a visionary and inspiring software engineering leader with a passion to build and operate modern systems at the highest standard? At Ford Credit Europe, we’re on a mission to modernize our platforms and unlock the power of cloud and AI. We’re looking for a Director of Engineering to be the technical cornerstone of our transformation, driving engineering excellence and guiding our teams to build world-class, cloud-native financial systems. You will begin as a hands-on leader, working directly in the code to set a high bar of excellence for others to follow. You will have a mandate to influence and elevate engineering practices across all of Ford Credit Europe. You will report to the Head of Engineering for Ford Credit Europe and will initially have three Staff Engineers reporting directly to you, amplifying your impact through their work. Over time your scope will broaden to include direct responsibility for multiple engineering teams.ResponsibilitiesLead by Example: Set the standard for engineering excellence by writing exemplary, high-quality Java and React code for our most critical systems.Solve the Toughest Problems: Spearhead the resolution of our most complex technical challenges in areas like system scalability, architectural evolution, and cloud-native implementation.Drive Technical Strategy: Partner with the Head of Engineering and architecture teams to define and execute the strategic technical direction for the European software engineering organization.Mentor and Develop Talent: Formally manage and coach a team of three Staff Engineers, while elevating the skills of senior and junior engineers to foster technical excellence.Champion Best Practices: Drive technical alignment and best practices across all Ford Credit Europe engineering teams, ensuring solutions are scalable, reliable, and secure.Operate with Autonomy: Translate broad strategic goals into actionable technical initiatives with a high degree of autonomy and clarity for others.Harmonize Globally: Liaise with the US counterpart to ensure a harmonized and consistent engineering approach across regions.Spread Your Expertise: Travel periodically to Madrid, Cologne, and Chennai to collaborate with and mentor global teams.Work with Stakeholders: Act as a delegate for the head of engineering in stakeholder meetings, representing the interests of the wider engineering team.QualificationsWhat You’ll Bring: 10+ years of professional software engineering experience with deep Java expertise, 5+ years with modern frontend frameworks like React, and 2+ years across multiple teams as a staff or principal engineer.Cloud-Native Fluency: Designing and deploying cloud-native applications and architectures (microservices, containerization, serverless, CI/CD) on major platforms like Google Cloud (GCP) or AWS.Financial Sector Acumen: 5+ years of experience in multi-national banks or regulated finance companies.Architectural Vision: Experience designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems that are reliable and scalable.A Passion for Mentorship: Ability to teach, nurture, and explain complex concepts to elevate engineers around you.Leadership Presence: Excellent communication and influencing skills to articulate a technical vision from engineering teams to senior leadership.People Management: 3+ years of managing small teams and understanding the complexities of large, distributed engineering teams.Bonus Points ForExperience in automotive or asset finance.Google Cloud (GCP) professional-level certifications (e.g., Cloud Architect, Cloud Developer).Additional InformationThe Company is committed to diversity and equality of opportunity for all and opposes any form of less favourable treatment or harassment on grounds of race, religion or belief, sex, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability.This position is based in Dunton, and the successful candidate should be able to attend the Dunton office typically 4 days a week and stay flexible on the days required by business needs.As part of our pre-employment checks process, successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and applied only to unspent convictions.#FordCreditDetailsSeniority level: AssociateEmployment type: Full-timeJob function: Engineering and Information TechnologyIndustries: Motor Vehicle ManufacturingBaseline posting activity: Basildon, England, United Kingdom — 5 days ago; Witham, England, United Kingdom — 1 month ago #J-18808-Ljbffr