Head of Engineering Velocity

Building the Fastest Digital Product Engineering Capability in BankingExecutive-Level Contributor RoleRole OverviewWe are seeking an exceptional leader to drive: making speed our strategic weapon. This role will own end-to-end engineering velocity—from idea to production—across our entire digital product organisation. You will eliminate the waste (high) in our deployment pipeline, reduce our multi-day lead time to hours, and build one of the fastest, most efficient digital product engineering teams in banking.This is not a traditional management role. You will be a hands-on architect of organisational and technical systems, working at the intersection of engineering excellence, organisational design, and cultural transformation. You will eat, sleep, and breathe deployment velocity, developer experience, and flow efficiency.The MissionTransform our product and engineering organisation to enable multiple deployments per day — safely, reliably, and at scale - with a lead time for change measured in hours.In our world where everything is digital, our speed from idea to business value is our primary competitive weapon. Your mandate is to fix this and keep iterating until we are the best.Key Responsibilities1. Own Velocity Metrics End-to-EndDefine, instrument, and drive metrics across all 56+ PODs.Build real-time dashboards showing flow efficiency, bottlenecks, and trendsEstablish speed as a first-class KPIReport directly to Group COO on velocity improvements and blockers2. Eliminate Deployment Pipeline WasteReduce the wait time by automating manual confirmations, approvals, and handoffsDesign and implement progressive rollout strategies with automated rollbackBuild automated testing frameworks that eliminate hours of manual test confirmationWork with Control functions to shift left into the pipeline3. Architect for Flow Across 56+ PODsUnderstand dependencies across PODsIdentify and eliminate coordination bottlenecks between PODsDesign self-service platform capabilities to reduce dependency on PODsTransform CAB approval process from manual gate to automated guardrailsEstablish risk-based deployment strategies (not all changes need same approval rigor)4. Enable Platform Teams for Maximum ImpactPartner with Pipeline & DevEx POD to build world-class deployment automationWork with Testing Automation POD to create comprehensive, fast, reliable test suitesCollaborate with Platform & Cloud POD on infrastructure-as-code and ephemeral environmentsGuide Incident Management POD toward predictive alerting and auto-remediationEnsure platform investments directly reduce deployment lead time5. Prepare for AI Agent Deployment at ScaleRecognize that AI agents are software workers requiring rapid iterationDesign deployment pipelines that support rapid deployment frequencyEnsure infrastructure can handle multiple deployments per day across all PODsBuild observability and rollback capabilities for AI agent updatesEssential Experience10+ years in software engineering and DevOps with deep hands-on technical expertiseExperience in MLOps and awareness of LLMOpsProven track record of reducing deployment lead time in complex organisationsExperience working in organisations with 500+ engineers across multiple teams/PODs and GeographiesDeep understanding of flow and velocity metrics, Team Topologies, and flow efficiencyHands-on experience with modern CI/CD and MLflow toolsExpertise in cloud infrastructure (AWS), containers and IaCExperience building observability and monitoring systemsHighly Valued ExperienceBanking, fintech, or highly regulated industry experienceLed DevOps transformation in organisation that achieved elite metricsBuilt or scaled platform engineering teamsExperience with microservices architectures and event-driven systemsKnowledge of compliance automation and shift-left security practicesAwareness in SRE (Site Reliability Engineering) principlesRequired Skills & CompetenciesSystems thinking: Ability to see the entire value stream and identify constraint pointsData-driven decision making: Obsessive about metrics, measurement, and continuous improvementInfluence without authority: Can drive change across 56+ PODs without direct reporting linesExecutive communication: Can present complex technical concepts to C-suite audiencesBias toward action: Moves fast, experiments, learns, iteratesTechnical credibility: Engineers respect you because you've done the workCultural sensitivity: Can work with traditional banking functions (Compliance, Risk, Legal)Relentless focus: This is not a side project—you live and breathe velocityWhy This Role MattersThis is a once-in-a-career opportunity to:Transform an entire banking organisation's approach to software deliveryHave executive-level visibility and influence without traditional management overheadWork at the bleeding edge of DevOps, MLOps and LLMOps excellence in a complex, regulated environmentBuild systems that will power AI agent deployment at unprecedented scaleDirectly impact customer experience through faster product iterationsMake speed a strategic weapon and competitive advantageEstablish yourself as a thought leader in banking DevOps, MLOps /and LLMOps transformationIf you are energized by the challenge of taking a deployment cycle to