Cleo
Engineering Director | UK (hybrid + remote) | Multiple roles
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Engineering Director | UK (hybrid + remote) | Multiple roles
About The Company
About Cleo
At Cleo, we're not just building another fintech app. We're embarking on a mission to fundamentally change humanity's relationship with money. Imagine a world where everyone, regardless of background or income, has access to a hyper-intelligent financial advisor in their pocket. That's the future we're creating.
Cleo is a rare success story: a profitable, fast-growing unicorn with over $300 million in ARR and growing over 2x year-over-year. This isn't just a job; it's a chance to join a team of brilliant, driven individuals who are passionate about making a real difference. We have an exceptionally high bar for talent, seeking individuals who are not only at the top of their field but also embody our culture of collaboration and positive impact.
If you’re driven by complex challenges that push your expertise, the chance to shape something truly transformative, and the potential to share in Cleo’s success as we scale, while growing alongside a company that’s scaling fast, this might be your perfect fit.
Follow us on LinkedIn to keep up to date with new product features and insights from the team.
The Role
Cleo is building something genuinely different -- a financial best friend that millions of people actually want to talk to. And we're looking for an Engineering Director who wants to help shape how we get there.
This is a pillar-level leadership role with real scope. You'll own people, delivery, and strategy across an entire pillar -- building and leading a team of Engineering Managers, Tech Lead Managers, Tech Leads, and Staff Engineers. You won't just be executing someone else's plan; you'll be setting the vision, designing the org, and making the calls that determine how your pillar grows and performs.
You'll be responsible for hiring the right leaders and developing them into the kind of engineering bench that sustains Cleo at scale -- not just for the next term, but for the next two years and beyond. This is a role where you'll have the autonomy to build the team and structure you believe in.
Delivery matters too. You'll work hand-in-hand with Product Directors and Staff Engineers to shape a compelling strategy for your pillar, own OKR delivery, and make sure your teams are focused on the highest-impact work -- not just staying busy.
Beyond your pillar, you'll have a real seat at the table. You'll contribute to how Engineering at Cleo operates as a whole, helping us build the technical foundations and culture to scale. If you care about engineering culture, craft, and doing things the right way, there's genuine room to lead on that here.
Want to hear directly from the team? Check out this blog post from a few of our engineering managers.
About You
We're looking for an Engineering Director who's energised by building -- not just maintaining. Someone who wants to make their mark on both the people and the product. On top of that:
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You lead people first, technology second. You know that your job is to create the environment where great engineers do their best work -- and you've got the track record to prove it. You balance pace with sustainability, and you hold yourself to the same standard you set for your teams. You've been a hands-on engineer before, and it shows. You earn credibility with your Tech Leads and Staff Engineers because you understand the work -- even if you're now leading through others rather than doing it yourself. You communicate with clarity and confidence at every level. Whether you're in the weeds with an EM or in a room with execs, you can make your point, push back when needed, and bring people with you. You've managed managers before and you know what it takes to build a great leadership team -- not just hire one. You invest in your people's growth, hold a high bar on performance, and you're not afraid of the hard stuff: the honest feedback conversations, managing underperformance head-on, and making tough calls when the situation demands it. You don't let things fester. You think seriously about succession and you leave teams stronger than you found them. You're genuinely comfortable with ambiguity and long-horizon thinking. You can hold a 1–2 year view while keeping today's delivery on track, and you help your teams feel confident in the face of change rather than unsettled by it. You bring a growth mindset -- to yourself and to the people around you. Cleo moves fast, experiments constantly, and learns from what doesn't work. We need you to model that.
Our Tech Stack
Cleo is built as a Ruby on Rails monolith with a single React Native app frontend, utilising TypeScript. We also leverage Python for machine learning services and PostgreSQL for our database, all hosted on AWS. Our CI/CD pipeline is fully automated, with production deployments happening on every merge via Heroku. Our backend engineers deploy multiple times a week, and we release our frontend app to Google and Apple for review at least once a week.
While we take a pragmatic approach, we place a strong emphasis on quality. Our code is peer-reviewed, and we maintain automated testing using Minitest and CircleCI. We're also actively working towards a more modular architecture, focusing on separating concerns to achieve all the benefits of microservices within a monolith, while progressively refactoring our code as we build new features. Everyone in the engineering team contributes to driving our technical strategy, voices & ideas from all levels are valued: we are all owners at Cleo.
What do you get for all your hard work?
A competitive compensation package (base + equity) with bi-annual reviews, aligned to our quarterly OKR planning cycles. You can view our public progression framework and salary bandings here: https://cleo-ai.progressionapp.com/ Work at one of the fastest-growing tech startups, backed by top VC firms, Balderton & EQT Ventures A clear progression plan. We want you to keep growing. That means trying new things, leading others, challenging the status quo and owning your impact. Always with our complete support. Flexibility. We can’t fight for the world’s financial health if we’re not healthy ourselves. We work with everyone to make sure they have the balance they need to do their best work Work where you work best. We’re a globally distributed team. Our Poland team works fully remotely, but we host virtual socials and an annual company offsite somewhere in Europe with all expenses paid. Other benefits; Company-wide performance reviews every 6 months Generous pay increases for high-performing team members Equity top-ups for team members getting promoted 25 days annual leave a year + public holidays (+ an additional day for every year you spend at Cleo, up to 30 days) Private medical insurance via Vitality, dental cover, and life assurance 1 month paid sabbatical after 4 years at Cleo Regular socials and activities, online and in-person We'll pay for your OpenAI subscription Online mental health support via Spill Enhanced parental leave Workplace Nursery Scheme And many more!
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We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
If there’s anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know.
UK App access: The Cleo app is no longer downloadable in the UK. If you’re an existing user, you’ll still have access to the app. But some features won’t be available. Why? 99% of our users are based in the US – where financial health is often overlooked. We’ve decided to shift our focus to where we can provide the most value and make the greatest impact for users who need it most. Then we’ll be able to apply what we learn to better support our UK users in the future.
By submitting this application, I confirm that all the information given by me in this application for employment and any additional documents attached hereto are true to the best of my knowledge and that I have not wilfully suppressed any material fact. I confirm I have disclosed if applicable any previous employment with Cleo AI. I accept that if any of the information given by me in this application is in any way false or incorrect, my application may be rejected, any offer of employment may be withdrawn or my employment with Cleo AI may be terminated summarily or I may be dismissed. By submitting this application, I agree that my personal data will be processed in accordance with Cleo AI's Candidate Privacy Notice
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