Applications are now closed
This is a senior leadership role at a pivotal stage in Vepple’s evolution. This role is central to Vepple’s next phase of maturity, helping the business move from founder-led delivery to a more scalable, resilient and well-governed product and engineering function. As the company continues to scale, we are seeking an experienced Head of Product & Engineering to provide clear ownership, direction and inspiration across our product and development functions.
Vepple is an enterprise SaaS platform operating in the Higher Education sector, helping universities to recruit students through personalised virtual experiences, guided tours, interactive maps and events. The platform is central to our customers’ recruitment strategies and is described by many as essential (see video).
The Head of Product & Engineering will be responsible for translating company strategy into a clear, executable product and technology vision, ensuring that product delivery, engineering quality and team development move forward in a joined-up, sustainable way.
This role will line manage the Product Manager and some of the development team, providing leadership across both disciplines while maintaining a strong collaborative relationship with the CTO and wider senior team. A major near-term focus of the role will be shaping and delivering the next evolution of the Vepple platform, including foundational decisions around CMS architecture, replatforming and how SEO and LLM/GEO considerations are embedded at the heart of a future v2 of Vepple.
We are a team of 16 people operating as specialists at the top of our game. We take our work seriously, but never take ourselves too seriously. Our culture, values and focus on sustainable growth have been central to our success and to the strong relationships we build with our university customers.
The Board is keen to provide employees with the flexibility to choose working patterns and locations that support work-life balance while maintaining strong collaboration and connection.
This role has a requirement to be in the office at key times throughout the year, with increased frequency during event planning and attendance periods, as well as the flexibility to attend more frequently if preferred. Our office space provides workstations, collaborative / break-out space, formal meeting rooms and quick access to Leeds train and bus infrastructure.
The feedback we receive from our team suggests that this is an unusual policy for such a business, hence the mention here in the job spec. This is from Tom, our CEO: “You will get paid for any extra hours that you work, or you will be given the time back.” Quite simply, you will never be asked to work more hours than contracted, without receiving that time back in lieu or being paid overtime. We have a formalised process and each person has a Google sheet to log extra hours worked. This extends to attending evening events and travelling to and from meetings. If you’re doing something outside of your normal hours that is to the benefit of the business, you need to take that time back.
As Head of Product & Engineering, no two weeks look the same. The outline below is illustrative rather than prescriptive and is intended to show how the role feels in practice, balancing planned work with interruptions and decision-making.
The week starts with the morning stand-up, which you run, followed immediately by the all-hands virtual meet. After that, you align with the CTO and Product Manager on priorities, upcoming decisions and areas of risk.
Before lunch, you review a draft PRD with Esther. The document has been initially drafted using AI; as you read it through, you refine the prompts and regenerate sections so it better reflects the intended scope and platform implications. The PRD is parked to revisit once technical context has been clarified.
In the afternoon, an issue is escalated by Robin (Solution Engineer) following input from Customer Success. You pause planned work to coordinate the response across Product and Engineering, manage communication, and ensure the issue is understood and stabilised.
Tuesday is focused on platform-level decision-making rather than deep technical detail. You land a decision with Esther that simplifies delivery and reduces risk, knowing it will shape how the development team proceeds.
You also make progress on items parked earlier in the week, before shifting priorities again as new information emerges.
Alongside the usual stand-up, you hold a 1:1 with a direct report and review early student insight work being established with the Product Manager.
Later, you review work nearing release, checking that what has been built aligns with the agreed specification and that the specification still makes sense now it exists in the product. You flag follow-up work without blocking release.
You finish slightly earlier to take care of personal commitments, then travel later that evening for a KickStart onboarding.
Thursday is taken up with a full-day KickStart onboarding alongside the Solutions Engineer, including travel back that evening. You log additional hours worked to take back later, in line with Vepple’s flexible working approach.
Friday starts with a “stand-up” and a go-to-market feature demo led by Esther, with Sales, Marketing and Customer Success present. You support where needed to clarify decisions and context.
You then return to items parked earlier in the week, including follow-ups from the incident and insights from the KickStart. Before finishing, you tidy your rolling priority list so it remains a clear shared reference for you, the CTO and the Product Manager.
To achieve the upper level of the salary range, you must provide evidence that you have substantial experience across the remits below. If you don’t yet have depth in a particular area, this will be reflected in the salary offered and supported through onboarding and development.
We are looking for someone who can:
By the end of the first year to eighteen months, the successful Head of Product & Engineering will have:
These values are a key consideration when hiring a new team member; we need to feel each team member shares these values:
Applications are now closed.
Send your email to: working@vepple.com
Your application must include the following information:
Please note: the successful candidate must, by the start of their employment, have permission to work in the UK.
We will use your data to process your application, including complying with any legal obligations, to enable us to manage the recruitment process. We will only share your data with relevant parties as part of our recruitment process and we will not share your data for marketing or employment purposes outside of Vepple. For more information on Vepple (Revolution Viewing LTD) job applicant privacy notice, please follow this link.
No recruitment agencies – thank you.
Hybrid working with a requirement for in-person (in Leeds) meet-ups once per week minimum, with more frequent attendance during onboarding and key planning periods.
Our office address is: Consort House, 12 South Parade, Leeds, LS1 5QS
Applications are now closed.
