Security Innovation Engineering Manager

Tesco UK
• Welwyn Garden City
• Full-Time
• Working hours 36
• Apply by 31-Aug-2026

As a Security Innovation Engineering Manager in Tesco's Innovation Engineering team, you will build and lead a new engineering capability that accelerates Tesco's cyber defence through applied Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, and modern engineering practices. You will help protect a retail ecosystem serving millions of customers, ensuring innovation is delivered safely, responsibly, and at scale.

This role combines hands‑on technical leadership with strong stakeholder engagement, and you will be equally comfortable reviewing code and architecture as you are shaping strategy and communicating outcomes to senior leaders. Your focus will be on turning high‑potential ideas into production‑grade capabilities that deliver measurable security value without compromising trust, resilience, or responsible AI principles. In the immediate term, you and your team will focus on the needs of our Cyber Threat Intelligence and Detection Engineering teams.

This team operates as an innovation incubator for Cyber Defence capabilities, rapidly exploring ideas, validating them through prototypes and experiments, and ensuring the strongest concepts move into secure, reliable production services. Depending on the nature of the capability, ownership may either remain within this team or transition to the most appropriate long‑term service owner once the solution is proven and operationally ready.

You will work closely with our Security Automation Engineering team to build a shared roadmap of opportunities across Cyber Defence, helping us decide where to build, buy, or adapt technology to deliver our vision.

We’re all about the little helps. That’s why we make sure our Tesco colleague benefits package takes care of you – both in and out of work.  to find out more!

• Annual bonus scheme of up to 20% of base salary.
• Holiday starting at 25 days plus a personal day (plus Bank holidays).
• Private medical insurance.
• 26 weeks maternity and adoption leave (12 months service required at the qualifying date) at full pay, followed by 13 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay, we also offer 6 weeks fully paid paternity leave.
• Free 24/7 virtual GP service, Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for you and your family, free access to a range of experts to support your mental wellbeing.
• This information is a shortened summary, refer to our policies for full details.

• Lead innovation‑to‑production delivery:
  Drive a portfolio of engineering initiatives that turn AI and automation opportunities into secure, reliable, and measurable security capabilities for Tesco. This includes establishing a clear process for idea generation, research, challenge, selection, and rapid prototyping, with close stakeholder involvement and clear success criteria.
• Set technical direction and standards:
  Establish pragmatic engineering guardrails aligned to Tesco’s wider engineering standards, including secure‑by‑design principles, testing strategy, code review discipline, and release approaches, so prototypes are safe, supportable, and suitable for real‑world use.
• Champion applied AI with responsible governance:
  Lead the safe adoption of applied AI in cyber defence, ensuring appropriate controls, transparency, success measures, and risk management are built in from design through to operation.
• Operate with a product and service mindset using Agile methodologies:
  Manage roadmaps, backlogs, and delivery plans to ensure work is prioritised by security value, customer impact, and operational outcomes. Encourage early feedback, continuous learning, and a willingness to stop or redirect work when evidence shows a better path.
• Develop and retain talent:
  Coach and grow engineers through mentoring, feedback, and structured development, and hire inclusively using high‑quality technical assessment to build a diverse, high‑performing team.
• Influence across Cyber Defence and Technology:
  Partner with security and engineering teams to align priorities, remove delivery friction, and support adoption of new capabilities through clear…