Lead Talent Acquisition Partner - Software Engineering

Capital One (Europe) plc; City of London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial technology organization in London seeks a Lead Software Engineering Recruiter. The role involves developing talent acquisition strategies, partnering with engineering leadership, and creating top candidate experiences. Ideal for a strategic thinker with a proven recruiting track record in the competitive London market. Offers hybrid work, strong career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits.

Benefits

Pension scheme

Bonus

Generous holiday entitlement

Private medical insurance

Flexible benefits

Qualifications

• Proven track record as a full-lifecycle recruiter with expertise in LON software engineering.
• Strategic thinking abilities to solve talent challenges and advise senior stakeholders.
• Experience in building authentic employment brands through community involvement.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute long-term talent acquisition strategies.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to engineering leadership.
• Create high-touch candidate experiences and drive strategic initiatives.

Skills

Talent acquisition strategy

Stakeholder management

Community building

Exceptional communication

Job description

About this role

Are you a highly strategic, Lead Software Engineering recruiter ready to directly influence the growth of a leading financial technology organization?

This is a high-impact, full-lifecycle role where you will partner directly with Engineering Directors to solve complex talent challenges, amplify our brand, and secure the industry's most sought-after software engineers in the competitive London market.

What You’ll Drive

This position goes beyond filling roles; you will be the market expert and the strategic engine behind our growth.

• Strategic Talent Acquisition: Develop and execute innovative, long-term sourcing and attraction strategies to build robust pipelines of high‑calibre software engineering talent, solving for both immediate demand and future organizational needs.
• Engineering Leadership Partnership: Serve as a trusted advisor to engineering leaders, leveraging your deep market knowledge of the London software engineering market to influence hiring models, compensation strategy, and the long-term talent quality bar.
• Data-Driven Influence: Utilize market insights and recruiting data to inform and influence organizational decisions related to talent benchmarking, search strategy, and pipeline investment.
• Culture & Brand Activation: Lead our presence in the London tech community. You will own the strategy for hosting engineering user groups at our Old Street office and spearhead our impactful presence at major industry conferences.
• World-Class Candidate Experience: Create inspiring, high‑touch experiences for every engineering candidate, focusing on powerful storytelling that connects top talent directly to our mission and technical challenges.
• Recruiting Innovation: Stay ahead of the curve on emerging sourcing techniques, interview innovations, and the evolving dynamics of the wider UK engineering market to ensure we maintain a competitive edge.

What You’ll Bring

• Deep Domain Expertise: Proven track record as a full‑lifecycle recruiter with a deep, nuanced understanding of the London software engineering landscape.
• Strategic & Consultative Approach: Ability to move beyond tactical recruiting to think strategically about talent challenges, advise senior stakeholders, and shape organizational hiring strategy.
• Community Building: Experience in leveraging community involvement (meetups, conferences, thought leadership) to build an authentic employment brand and generate pipelines.
• Exceptional Stakeholder Management: Highly effective communication and relationship‑building skills to partner with busy hiring managers and provide a world‑class experience to candidates.

Where and how you’ll work

This is a permanent position based in our London office.

We have a hybrid working model which gives you flexibility to work from our offices and from home.

We’re big on collaboration and connection, so you’ll be based in our London office 3 days a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Many of our associates have flexible working arrangements, and we’re open to talking about an arrangement that works for you.

What’s in it for you

• Bring us all this – and you’ll be well rewarded with a role contributing to the roadmap of an organisation committed to transformation.
• We offer high performers strong and diverse career progression, investing heavily in developing great people through our Capital One University training programmes (and appropriate external providers).
• Immediate access to our core benefits including pension scheme, bonus, generous holiday entitlement and private medical insurance – with flexible benefits available including season‑ticket loans, cycle‑to‑work scheme and enhanced parental leave.
• Open‑plan workspaces and accessible facilities designed to inspire and support you. Our Nottingham head‑office has a fully‑serviced gym, subsidised restaurant, mindfulness and music rooms.

What you should know about how we recruit

We pride ourselves on hiring the best people, not the same people. Building diverse and inclusive teams is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. We want to work with top talent: whoever you are, whatever you look like, wherever you come from. We know it’s about what you do, not just what you say. That’s why we make our recruitment process fair and accessible. And we offer benefits that attract people at all ages and stages.

We also partner with organisations including the Women in Finance and Race At Work Charters, Stonewall and upReach to find people from every walk of life and help them thrive with us. We have a whole host of internal networks and support groups you could be involved in, to name a few:

• REACH – Race Equality and Culture Heritage group focuses on representation, retention and engagement for associates from minority ethnic groups and allies.
• OutFront – to provide LGBTQ+ support for all associates.
• Mind Your Mind – signposting support and promoting positive mental wellbeing for all.
• Women in Tech – promoting an inclusive environment in tech.
• EmpowHER - network of female associates and allies focusing on developing future leaders, particularly for female talent in our industry.

Capital One is committed to diversity in the workplace.

If you require a reasonable adjustment, please contact [e-mail]. All information will be kept confidential and will only be used for the purpose of applying a reasonable adjustment.

For technical support or questions about Capital One’s recruiting process, please send an email to [e-mail].

Capital One does not provide, endorse nor guarantee and is not liable for third‑party products, services, educational tools or other information available through this site.

Capital One Financial is made up of several different entities. Please note that any position posted in Canada is for Capital One Canada, any position posted in the United Kingdom is for Capital One Europe and any position posted in the Philippines is for Capital One Philippines Service Corp. (COPSSC).

Who We Are

At Capital One, we’re building a leading information‑based technology company. Still founder‑led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Fairbank, Capital One is on a mission to help our customers succeed by bringing ingenuity, simplicity, and humanity to banking. We measure our efforts by the success our customers enjoy and the advocacy they exhibit. We are succeeding because they are succeeding.

Guided by our shared values, we thrive in an environment where collaboration and openness are valued. We believe that innovation is powered by perspective and that teamwork and respect for each other lead to superior results. We elevate each other and obsess about doing the right thing. Our associates serve with humility and a deep respect for their responsibility in helping our customers achieve their goals and realize their dreams. Together, we are on a quest to change banking for good.