OVO Group is a leading energy technology company determined to create a world with clean, affordable energy for everyone. Since launching in 2009, they have welcomed over a million members, planted a million trees, and set their sights on helping save the planet. They are on a mission to change energy for the better, including driving progress towards the target of net zero carbon living.The Tech org at OVO is entering an exciting growth phase, which includes hiring across all their data squads throughout the rest of 2024 and early 2025. The Machine Learning Engineering Senior Manager will provide crucial maternity cover (12 months) at a vital stage in OVO’s growth. You will manage a team of ML and data engineers who are developing innovative data products across the Retail sector of the data organisation.POSITION DETAILS:Reporting into the Head of Data Science for Retail, you will manage a team of machine learning engineers developing innovative data products that deliver great business outcomes for the Retail teams. Your team will own the end-to-end development of data engineering pipelines, machine learning pipelines, critical business data APIs and data products on the whole. You’ll be responsible for engaging with different business teams to understand their data and machine learning engineering needs and prioritising projects with your stakeholders. You’ll also support the development of your team through mentoring and achievable career progression plans.Your team will consist of engineers embedded in cross-functional ML Product squads and a new team focusing on the development of an AI Platform to support the delivery of AI models and use cases in OVO. You will also be responsible for coordinating a central community of ML Engineers and Data Engineers across the Data squads.RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:- Leading and inspiring a core Machine Learning Engineering team of specialists in data engineering, production engineering and machine learning engineering- Providing technical guidance, people management and ways of working improvements to the team. You’ll also be responsible for hiring new engineers into the team as required- Getting your hands dirty as required. You’re probably a coder and are likely to still help assist - certainly reviewing PRs and driving quality code- Taking ownership of business objectives for your team. This includes (but is not limited to) initial scoping; appropriately managing the team’s time and level of support; and ensuring high quality work is delivered on time- Championing the value of machine learning engineering in the business and advise on appropriate use of machine learning approaches and best practice. Work closely with the other data/tech teams to collaborate and demonstrate multi-functional expertise- Helping define standard methodologies in data and machine learning engineering and ensure they are followed. This includes documentation and reproducibility practices; assessing and implementing appropriate tooling; and platforms for data engineering collaboration- Managing data infrastructure including versioning, cost monitoring and security- Having oversight over the quality of code and pipelines generated by the team. This includes ensuring productionised work is well monitored and maintained after releaseESSENTIAL SKILLS & EXPERIENCE: - Experience in leading a team, producing data solutions and actionable tools/pipelines for stakeholders- Proven ability to deliver high-quality data and machine learning engineering projects end-toend, translating into true commercial impact within a business- Theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience in advanced data and machine learning engineering techniques. Excellent software engineering skills and production engineering experience, with commercial experience in Python (and potentially Scala)- Excellent presentation and communication skills - able to articulate results clearly and concisely to senior stakeholders. Ability to consult with, and sometimes challenge, teams of differing levels of data engineering knowledge- Skilled in building relationships and managing the priorities of multiple stakeholders- Ability to support career progression for a team, including choosing career paths and advising on development opportunities- Spot opportunities for data and machine learning engineering, and support conversations regarding ‘buy or build your own’ decisionsBONUS POINTS FOR:- Experience creating and managing APIs, maybe even in the context of surfacing data science models to the business/ customer- A passion for nurturing engineering talent, encouraging their development, and ensuring everyone is aligned with product delivery objectives- Excitement for developing data products that will positively impact over a million people and our environment- Experience with data and machine learning engineering delivering solutions, especially in the Google stack. Some knowledge of the following would also be beneficial: Terraform, SQL, Kafka, GCP (specifically Vertex AI and Composer), Airflow, CI/CD tools (e.G. Github Actions, CircleCI), Datadog- Knowledge of infrastructure & systems designs, particularly microservice architectures- Having worked with high performing engineering teams who have a strong sense of autonomy in their technical decision makingCOMPENSATION/BENEFITS:- Competitive six-figure salary + bonus- 34 days holiday including bank holidays- Pension matching up to 5%- Flexible working as standard- Enhanced parental leave policies- 4% cash flex fund which can be used towards a variety of benefits (pension top-up, annual leave top-up, gym memberships, healthcare cash plan, workplace ISA, etc.)- OVO community – opportunities for L&D and community involvement