Head of Engineering, Cards

Job Overview As Head of Engineering, Cards, you will lead the engineering organisation across the UK, EU and India, shaping the next phase of the Cards platform. Responsibilities Lead and develop engineering managers and senior engineers across distributed teams. Define the technical strategy and architecture for the Cards domain. Drive reliability, scalability and cost efficiency across card issuing and processing. Embed AI-assisted and agentic development practices across engineering teams. Partner with Product, Design and Commercial teams to prioritise and deliver the roadmap. Own technical relationships with card processors and schemes, including integrations and certifications. Strengthen engineering capabilities, particularly at Staff and senior IC levels. Collaborate with other engineering leaders across Payments on shared infrastructure. Requirements Experience leading engineering managers and large engineering teams. Strong experience in cards, payments or banking, with a deep understanding of card issuing, processing and card scheme operations. Experience building and operating distributed engineering teams across multiple locations. Proven ability to improve engineering delivery, productivity and quality. Experience partnering with Product, Commercial and Finance leaders on business outcomes and unit economics. Experience managing third-party technology providers and strategic partnerships. Technical Expertise Strong understanding of microservices, event-driven architecture and cloud-native systems. Experience with relational databases, distributed systems and large-scale transaction processing. Ability to challenge architectural decisions and engage in technical and production-level discussions. Hands-on experience with AI coding agents and their application across the software development lifecycle. What We Offer Competitive Compensation – Competitive salary and share options. Time Off – Generous annual leave on top of bank holidays. Parental Leave – Paid maternity, paternity, and adoption leave to support your family journey. Sabbatical – Extended unpaid and paid leave options after completing milestone years with Tide. Access to salary sacrifice benefits – like Nursery and Cycle to Work discounts. Health Insurance – Comprehensive Private family insurance plan. Life & Accident Cover – Comprehensive accidental and life insurance protection. Mental Wellbeing – Access to therapy sessions, courses, meditations, and workshops. Retirement Planning – Build your retirement fund faster with Tide’s pension scheme on eligible earnings. Volunteering & Development Days – Paid days annually for volunteering or personal growth. Learning & Development – Annual budget for books, courses, coaching, and more. WOO (Work Outside the Office) – Work from abroad for up to 90 days annually. Home Office Setup – Contribution towards setting up your home office. Laptop Ownership – Keep your old laptop and get a new one when it’s time for a replacement. Snacks & Meals – Daily breakfast spread with all-day coffee, tea, and juices. Job Data by YubHub .