Engineering Manager - Europe

Engineering Manager · Manager · Full Time

LondonGBP 150k – 250k5mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

Plaid is seeking an experienced Engineering Manager in London to lead their European engineering team, driving technical strategy and managing a team of 9+ engineers across critical financial infrastructure domains. The role requires a seasoned technical leader who can navigate complex fintech ecosystems, shape product direction, and drive high-impact engineering initiatives in the open banking platform.

Responsibilities

  • Team Leadership: Lead and grow a team of 9+ engineers from mid-level to Staff, building a strong and accountable team culture
  • Strategic Direction: Set and drive technical and product direction for Plaid in Europe, partnering with cross-functional leaders
  • Technical Problem Solving: Dive deep into technical design, unblock complex problems, and maintain high production quality standards
  • Business Alignment: Represent engineering in leadership discussions and align European priorities with broader company strategy

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • System Architecture

    Deep understanding of designing scalable distributed systems

  • Technology Stack

    Proficiency in modern engineering technologies and architectures

Education

  • Computer Science

    Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in software engineering

Experience

  • Engineering Management

    2-3 years of engineering management experience

  • Technical Leadership

    8+ years of industry experience, including time as a Staff-level engineer

Skills

Required

  • Engineering Leadership

    Proven ability to lead and grow engineering teams with clear goal-setting and coaching

  • Technical Architecture

    Experience designing scalable, reliable distributed systems

  • Cross-functional Collaboration

    Strong skills in partnering with product, design, and business stakeholders

  • System Design

    Ability to solve complex technical challenges and maintain high production quality standards

Preferred

  • Fintech Experience

    Nice to have

    Background in payments, credit, or regulated financial domains

  • International Team Management

    Nice to have

    Experience leading teams in multi-region or global environments

  • Startup Experience

    Nice to have

    Prior work in high-growth technology startups

Tech stack

Languages

PythonJavaScript

Frameworks

ReactNode.js

Databases

PostgreSQLMongoDB

Tools

KubernetesDocker

Other

Open Banking APIsDistributed Systems

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·GBP 150,000 – 250,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Competitive Compensation

    Comprehensive salary package with potential equity

  • Career Growth

    Opportunities for professional development in a high-growth fintech environment

  • Diversity and Inclusion

    Commitment to building a diverse and inclusive workplace

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Screening

    Phone or video call with recruiting team to assess background and fit

  2. 02

    Technical Interview

    In-depth technical discussion focusing on system design and leadership experience

  3. 03

    Leadership Assessment

    Interviews with engineering leadership to evaluate management capabilities

  4. 04

    Final Executive Interview

    Meeting with senior leadership to align on strategic vision and cultural fit

Full posting

Original listing.

We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Washington D.C., London and Amsterdam.


Plaid Europe is building Plaid in Europe—the open banking platform that makes international expansion one click away for fintechs who want to scale globally.


We are the only transatlantic open banking provider, uniquely positioned to help fintechs scale globally with a single Plaid integration. Our team localises, scales, and operates the bank connectivity layer that powers payments, underwriting, onboarding, and identity—abstracting fragmented European rails and regulations into a single, reliable platform.


The team owns four core pillars:

- Account-to-Account Payments

- Cash Flow & Income Insights for Credit

- Bank Connectivity Across Europe

- Consumer Experience


This team operates at the intersection of distributed systems, financial infrastructure, and consumer UX. We solve hard problems in payments reliability, data quality, regulatory complexity, and cross-market expansion—enabling fintechs to launch in new countries with minimal additional engineering effort.


We are a high-impact, cross-functional engineering team working closely with US platform teams, GTM, compliance, and operations to make Plaid the default open banking layer for global fintechs operating in Europe.


You will serve as the Engineering Lead for Europe, managing a team of 9+ engineers directly while serving as a member of the small leadership team and working closely with your cross-functional peers.


This is more than just a single-team manager role; it’s the senior-most engineering leader in Europe, operating with a high degree of autonomy and acting as a co-owner of Plaid’s European operations.

Responsibilities

  • Lead and grow a team of 9+ engineers, from mid-level to Staff, through clear goals, coaching, and direct feedback, building a strong, accountable team culture.

  • Set and drive the technical and product direction for Plaid in Europe, partnering closely with Product, Design, and business leaders to decide what we build and why.

  • Work across teams to shape the roadmap, spot high-leverage opportunities, and make clear tradeoffs between speed, risk, and long-term investments.

  • Go deep on technical design when needed, unblocking complex problems and maintaining a high bar for quality and reliability in production.

  • Represent engineering in leadership discussions, helping guide business decisions and align European priorities with broader company strategy.

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of industry experience, that includes time as a Staff-level engineer before transitioning into management.

  • 2-3+ years of engineering management experience.

  • Track record of building and growing strong engineering teams through coaching, clear goal-setting, and raising the talent bar.

  • Experience owning a production product area and partnering closely with Product and business stakeholders to drive outcomes.

  • Experience designing and evolving scalable, reliable systems that support real-world products at scale.

  • Strong technical judgment, with the ability to dive deep into architecture and unblock complex cross-team problems.

  • [Nice to have] Experience operating in fintech, payments, credit, or other regulated domains.

  • [Nice to have] Experience leading teams in international or multi-region environments.

  • [Nice to have] Startup experience/founder experience.

Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!


Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at [email protected].


Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here.

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