Head of Engineering (E-commerce)

TL;DR

Head of Engineering (E-commerce, Web & Mobile): Leading the development of high-performing e-commerce web and mobile platforms with an accent on architecture, maintainability, and scalability. Focus on building and leading an engineering team, driving product development roadmap, and ensuring quality and reliability across multi-currency, multi-language systems.

Location: Manchester, UK with flexible working including work-from-home allowance.

Company

hirify.global is the UK’s leading independent fragrance retailer, expanding its multi-channel retail business across the UK and online.

What you will do

• Establish and lead a dedicated engineering function to maintain and enhance e-commerce web (Next.js) and mobile (React Native) platforms.
• Take ownership of an existing codebase and drive improvements in architecture, maintainability, performance, reliability, and developer experience.
• Provide technical and solution architecture leadership, implementing best-practice design, development, and delivery of a multi-currency, multi-language, and dynamically responsive platform.
• Create and manage the product development vision and roadmap in partnership with Product, Design, and Technology leadership.
• Recruit, grow, and manage the engineering team (web + mobile), including coaching, performance management, and setting standards.
• Promote modern tooling, frameworks, and components to increase quality and reduce friction in the development process (CI/CD, testing, observability, code standards).

Requirements

• At least 8 years software development experience with the last 3+ years in a Head of Development / Engineering Lead / Principal Engineer / Technical Architect role leading teams and setting technical direction.
• Strong track record designing and developing mission-critical, customer-facing applications in production.
• Full SDLC ownership: delivery, quality, reliability, security, observability, and continuous improvement.
• Experience with Agile delivery (Scrum/Kanban) and quality-led practices.
• Depth and breadth in e-commerce / online retail platforms, modern frontend architecture, and mobile application development (React Native).
• Deep hands-on expertise with Next.js (React) including SSR/SSG/ISR, routing, rendering strategies, caching, and SEO implications.
• Strong TypeScript engineering capability and modern frontend patterns (component architecture, state management, data-fetching patterns).
• Proven experience running production workloads on Azure, including deployment pipelines, environments, monitoring, and operational readiness.
• Degree in a suitable subject such as Computer Science / Software Engineering or equivalent practical experience.

Nice to have

• API-driven systems and integration patterns (REST/GraphQL; event-driven awareness is a plus).
• Experience designing and implementing design systems / UI component libraries; strong accessibility (WCAG mindset), i18n, and responsive design.
• Appreciation for SEO, analytics instrumentation, experimentation/A-B testing, and feature flags.

Culture & Benefits

• Enjoy work-life balance with a flexible working scheme, including work-from-home allowance and duvet days.
• Vibrant state-of-the-art office conveniently located in Trafford Park with great transport links and free onsite parking.
• Free onsite gym facilities available before/after work or at lunch time.
• Generous staff discounts on a wide range of fabulous fragrances.
• Excellent progression and development opportunities, working with passionate teams in a creative and collaborative space.