Merlin Technology | London / Hybrid | B1
At Merlin Entertainments, we create world-class experiences that bring people together – from LEGOLAND® and SEA LIFE to Madame Tussauds and beyond. As part of our ambitious global digital transformation, we’re looking for a Digital Engineering Director to lead the technology that powers our guest experience across the world.
This is a senior, high-impact leadership role at the heart of our Digital Transformation – shaping the platforms that millions of guests interact with every year.
Reporting to the VP, Global Engineering, you’ll own the end-to-end digital engineering portfolio that underpins Merlin’s global guest journey. From mobile apps and interactive kiosks to ticketing, POS, payments, integration, and cloud platforms – this role sets the technical direction and drives delivery at scale.
You’ll lead multiple high-performing engineering teams and technical leaders, working closely with Product, UX/UI, Operations and Commercial teams to deliver seamless, secure and scalable digital experiences across web, app and on-site touchpoints.
This is a role for a strategic technical leader who can operate confidently at board-level and dive deep when needed.
Strategic & Technical Leadership
Define and execute Merlin’s digital engineering strategy, aligned to our business and technology vision
Own the multi-year roadmap for all digital platforms, ensuring scalability, security and innovation
Partner with senior stakeholders to align engineering delivery with commercial and guest outcomes
Architecture & Platform Excellence
Provide technical leadership across mobile, web, kiosk, POS, ticketing, integration and cloud platforms
Champion modern engineering practices including microservices, API-first and event-driven architectures
Lead platform engineering, DevOps, SRE and APIM strategies to ensure reliability and performance
Engineering Delivery
Own the full software development lifecycle, from ideation through to live operations
Champion agile and DevOps ways of working across global engineering teams
Manage budgets, vendors and resource planning across the digital portfolio
People & Culture
Lead, mentor and develop multiple engineering teams, tech leads and managers
Build a culture of engineering excellence, innovation, learning and accountability
Drive talent development, succession planning and career progression
Operational Excellence
Ensure high availability, resilience and performance across all digital platforms
Oversee incident management, continuous improvement and operational KPIs
Ensure compliance with security, data protection and industry standards (e.g. GDPR, PCI-DSS)
10+ years’ experience in software engineering, with at least 5 years in senior technical leadership roles
Proven experience leading large-scale digital platforms across mobile, e-commerce, ticketing, POS or payments
Strong background in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure or GCP), microservices and API management
Deep expertise in agile delivery, DevOps, CI/CD and SRE practices
Experience leading global, multi-disciplinary engineering teams
Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence technical and non-technical audiences
Commercially minded, with a clear understanding of how technology drives customer experience and revenue
Experience in retail, hospitality or multi-site international environments is a strong advantage.
At Merlin, how you lead matters as much as what you deliver. We’re looking for leaders who are:
Soulfully Curious – open, inquisitive and always learning
Results Focused – accountable, decisive and outcome-driven
Extraordinary Teammates – collaborative, inclusive and generous with knowledge
Developers of People – passionate about growing talent and building future leaders
You’ll be part of a global organisation with iconic brands, ambitious growth plans and a genuine commitment to creating memorable experiences – not just for our guests, but for our people too.
If you’re excited by large-scale digital platforms, global complexity and the chance to shape the future of guest experience, we’d love to hear from you.
Come and help us build the digital experiences behind the magic.
We’re growing fast and alongside a fun and friendly environment, we offer a fabulous package and amazing prospects – ideal if you’re already fantastic and want to become even better (our magic can help here). Benefits include Pension, Life Assurance, discretionary company bonus, 33 days’ holiday including bank holidays, a Merlin Magic Pass which gives you and your friends and family free admission to all of our attractions worldwide, an Enjoy the Ride pass which entitles you and 5 loved ones unlimited entry into your regional attractions, 25% discount in our retail shops and restaurants and 40% discount on LEGO, plus lots more!
Competitive
Follow us on Instagram: @Merlinentertainments
The greatest place in the world to work and play 💜
Merlin Entertainments is the global leader in branded entertainment destinations. We create and deliver memorable, immersive brand experiences for over 60 million guests every year.
Merlin Entertainments has over 140 attractions worldwide, ranging from indoor attractions such as SEA LIFE and Madame Tussauds to iconic theme parks like LEGOLAND and Alton Towers Resort.
Working for Merlin Entertainments is unlike a job anywhere else. You could be counting penguins, protecting the sea, crafting the perfect celebrity eyebrows or making a child’s day magical. Not all of us have jobs in attractions, but we are all involved in fascinating work. Sound like fun? Join us, and be part of creating amazing memories for millions of people around the world.
