Head of Engineering

Role Summary

• Responsibilities: Lead an established, talented Engineering team with strong, documented ways of working as we launch our first SaaS product, a competitive platform built on our deep industry expertise and direct relationships with clients. This is a highly visible role, working closely with business leaders to shape our technical strategy, including how we build AI into new and existing products.
• Salary: £90,00 to £110,000 per annum depending on prior experience
• Benefits: Discretionary profit share bonuses paid twice per year, hybrid and flexible working options, generous holiday allowance, private medical insurance, critical illness cover, income protection, full funding for external training and more
• Role Type: Full or part-time, permanent position. Our standard working week is 37.5 hours, Monday to Friday, however we can also consider applicants looking for part-time hours of 30 hours per week
• Start Date: The role will ideally commence in January 2027, but we also have start dates available every month of the year. You will be asked to state your availability on your application form
• Application Deadlines: Whilst there are no set application deadlines, we strongly recommend applying as early as possible. The role will close when a suitable candidate is found
• Location: This role is available in our Global Headquarters in Cambridge or our London offices. Company-funded travel between the two offices will be required, as the Engineering team is based across both locations

About the Role

Costello Medical is entering an exciting new chapter. As a highly innovation-focused business, we have invested heavily in building our first SaaS product entirely in-house, and it is now ready for launch. We are looking for an experienced engineering leader to guide our development team through launch, early go-to-market and post-launch phases. The successful candidate will continue to develop a competitive product that grows its market share by drawing on the direct client relationships established through our services work. You will join at the point of product launch, so you will have real ownership of making the launch a success, the post-launch roadmap and guiding the product lifecycle and strategy.

You will join a talented, established in-house development team of eight, including software engineers, a Front-End Lead and a Back-End & AI Lead, and work alongside our dedicated Innovation team. You will set the overall strategy, best practices and standards for how the team works, giving you a rare opportunity to shape both a product and an engineering culture at a pivotal moment for the company.

This is a senior, highly visible role with real influence across the business. You will act as a trusted technical adviser to company leaders, consulting on the right technical solutions to business challenges, and partner with product owners to turn their ideas into robust, buildable software architecture, then oversee its delivery within the Engineering team. You will also play a key part in our AI strategy, ensuring AI capabilities are built into new and existing products and contributing to our AI leadership team as a strategic adviser, while integrating Engineering closely with collaborating teams to bring new and existing products to success.

Alongside this, you will have ultimate responsibility for the smooth running of the Engineering function, including platform stability and uptime, security by design and compliance, and incident response management, as well as managing our technology supplier portfolio. We are looking for someone with proven strength in software architecture, team strategy and leadership, process management and team building.

Key responsibilities for the role include:

• Leading the Engineering team, with overall accountability for its growth, wellbeing and performance, supporting and developing the Engineering management team, and mentoring future leaders within the team
• Setting team structure, objectives and hiring plans, and leading a positive team culture where everyone thrives
• Defining and embedding the team’s ways of working, including development standards, code review, release management and quality assurance
• Owning the engineering roadmap for our first SaaS product, from launch readiness through to developing, growing, scaling and maturing the product 
• Reviewing and signing off solution designs with product owners, making sure they are scalable, secure and deliverable within the team’s capacity
• Working with company leaders to align Engineering strategies with wider company priorities, scope technical solutions and prioritise projects and resources, including deciding whether to build, buy or enable teams to deliver solutions
• Shaping our AI roadmap with the AI leadership team and leading the delivery of AI features across new and existing products
• Reviewing and maintaining our monitoring, service levels and incident response processes that keep our platforms stable and available
• Embedding security by design and maintaining compliance with relevant standards and client requirements, in collaboration with our inhouse IT and Legal teams
• Building feedback loops with client-facing teams so that customer insight shapes the product roadmap
• Building a strong internal network and team culture that raises the visibility of the Engineering team and its capabilities across the company, and keeps the team close to what client-facing teams need
• Selecting, contracting and managing the Engineering team’s technology suppliers, balancing cost, risk and performance

Career Profile

To learn more about the personal and professional development opportunities at Costello Medical, explore first-hand career profiles from our colleagues about their experiences with the company: https://www.costellomedical.co.uk/careers/working-at-costello-medical/

About Costello Medical

Costello Medical is a rapidly growing global healthcare agency specialising in medical communications, market access and health economic and outcomes research. We work with a wide range of clients,  including the industry’s most successful pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, patient and public health bodies and charitable organisations.

Technology and innovation sit at the heart of how we work. We are always looking for best-of-breed software and have built a strong internal technology stack, but we are equally willing to build our own solutions where they bring genuine value and opportunities that off-the-shelf products cannot. Our Engineering team sits at the forefront of digital innovation for our scientific teams, turning their expertise into digital tools and products.

We have been listed in the Top 100 Best Companies to Work For list since 2017, the Boston Globe’s Top Places to Work list in 2025 and were proud to receive B Corporation accreditation in 2022. Learn more about us, our work, and our mission on our website: https://www.costellomedical.com/