IWSR
Engineering Director
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
About Us
Now part of WGSN, the world's leading trend forecaster. IWSR is the global authority on beverage alcohol data and intelligence. For over 50 years, the world's leading drinks businesses have relied on IWSR as an integral part of their strategic planning and decision-making.
We're unique in how we work: combining proprietary longitudinal market data, consumer insights, and AI-enhanced data science with genuine on-the-ground human intelligence across 160 markets. That combination is what lets us tell our clients not just what the numbers say, but what's actually happening in the global beverage alcohol market.
Our clients span the full breadth of the industry, multinational spirits, beer, and wine producers; packaging and ingredient manufacturers; distributors; and financial institutions, all using our data to plan strategy and investment with confidence.
About the Role
The Engineering Director leads IWSR's technology function. You'll own the technology roadmap, be responsible for its delivery, and work closely with our Chief Product Officer and internal stakeholders to shape what gets built and why. You'll bring strong technical judgement, enough to make good architectural decisions, hold the team to a high standard, and speak credibly with engineers and non-engineers alike.
This isn't a pure people management role. The team has strong engineering management in place already. What it needs from its director is technical leadership, strategic clarity, and the ability to build trusted relationships with a demanding set of stakeholders.
What You Will Be Responsible For
Technology Strategy and Roadmap
- Own the technology roadmap in partnership with the CPO, working through the implications of commercial priorities, research cycle requirements, and platform capability
- Contribute to roadmap definition beyond the immediate horizon, identifying where technology can create new product opportunities or unlock efficiencies
- Represent the technology function in leadership discussions, translating between commercial ambition and delivery reality
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Delivery
- Hold overall accountability for technology delivery across our product portfolio: the client platform, internal researcher tooling (Collector), data pipelines, and emerging data products
- Work closely with programme management and product to ensure delivery is well planned, dependencies are visible, and risks are surfaced early
Stakeholder Relationships
- Maintain a close working relationship with the CPO on client platform requirements, involving genuine product management, not just execution
- Work with the internal product manager for internal tooling to ensure the research team's needs are heard and prioritized
- Build direct relationships with the research team, particularly the Head of Research and senior researchers, to understand how the research process works
AI and Engineering Practice
- Champion the adoption of AI within the engineering organization, not as a side project but as a core change to how the team works, including AI-assisted development, code review, documentation, and testing
- Drive our broader AI enablement programme so the business can take practical advantage of AI in research, data processing, and client-facing workflows
- Stay close to the evolving AI landscape and make informed bets on where investment will have the most impact
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Team and Culture
- Support the engineering lead in maintaining a high-performing, well-supported team
- Set and communicate clear engineering standards, ensure architectural decisions are made deliberately and documented
- Contribute to hiring and team development as the function evolves
What We Are Looking For
- Strong technical background, comfortable discussing architecture, infrastructure, and engineering trade-offs even if you're not writing production code day to day
- Experience leading technology delivery in a data-heavy or research-heavy environment, familiar with the challenges of products where data quality is the product
- Excellent stakeholder management, this role sits at the intersection of research, product, and engineering
- A genuine interest in AI, not as a buzzword, with experience applying it in an engineering context strongly preferred
- Comfort operating in a relatively small team, hands-on in some areas even while leading strategically
Useful Context
IWSR is part of the WGSN group. The engineering function has a close relationship with WGSN's technology organization, and part of this role involves navigating that relationship, understanding what IWSR needs to build itself versus what it can draw from shared group capability.
Benefits
In addition to a competitive salary, IWSR offers:
- Generous time off: 25 days holiday plus bank holidays and a company-wide end-of-year break.
- Flexible work environment: Hybrid working model with flexible hours.
- Comprehensive perks: Annual bonus scheme, pension, regular social events, and a volunteering policy.
- Growth opportunities: Lots of learning and development opportunities.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London