Succeeding as an Engineering Lead at Wise Platform
Kostas Stamatoukos, Senior Director of Engineering for Wise Platform in Singapore, shares the key qualities that define effective engineering leadership 🚀
“The best engineers stay curious, asking how we could make something 10× better, not just 10x cleaner.”
Kostas Stamatoukos (He/Him)
Senior Director of Engineering for Wise Platform
Tell us about your role at Wise
I’ve spent over a decade at Wise and I've had the opportunity to build products, grow teams, and learn from some of the best engineering leads I know. Currently, I lead the engineering teams for Wise Platform, which stands as our fastest-growing area in Wise.
To power that growth, we need strong teams and engineering leads play one of the most critical roles in making that happen. Find out more below on what I’ve learned about leading a team ⬇️
About Wise Platform
At Wise Platform, we’re fuelling Wise’s mission to make international money movement instant, convenient, transparent, and eventually free for everyone, everywhere..
We power international payments for some of the world’s largest banks, financial institutions, and online platforms, embedding Wise’s infrastructure directly into their products so they can offer leading international transfers to their customers.
Customer obsession and accountability
Success begins with a deep obsession for the customer and full accountability for the products we build, beyond just the technical aspects. At Wise, it’s essential to care about whether our solutions solve real-world problems for partners and customers, just as much as code quality or system design. Leads don't just follow a roadmap; they're integral in shaping the direction and purpose of their teams. This starts with staying close to customers, understanding their operations, and feeling their pain points to make informed decisions about what to build next.
Stay product-driven, not project-driven
We always aim to remain product-driven, developing capabilities that make sense as part of the broader product, ensuring reusability across various partners. Every integration should strengthen the product, not fragment it.
Be involved in the “why” and “what,” not just the “how”
Engineering leads should go beyond delivery - they need to understand and help to shape the why and what, not just the how. A great test of leadership is whether you could lead effectively without a product manager, maintaining the focus on the right outcomes based on your understanding of the customer and the problems they face.
Stay hands-on and care about your craft
Our leads remain actively involved in building products. It's not just about supporting and leading your team, it’s about ensuring quality, design clarity and product reliability. Being ready to review code, debug, or sketch with the team keeps your judgment sharp and your team inspired.
Empower your team to own problems and solve them
Embracing ownership and accountability is key at Wise. As a lead, your role is to empower your team to take charge of key initiatives. This approach fosters growth, learning, and motivation, building a resilient team capable of delivering complex work.
Ultimately, you’re not just leading projects — you’re empowering the next generation of leads and staff engineers at Wise.
Get it done
We value leads who can get things done - it sounds simple, but it’s rare. You need to combine urgency with a sharp focus and help unlock blockers for your team, make trade-offs and deliver results without waiting for perfect conditions.
Our partners move fast. If we don’t solve their problem, someone else will. The best leads maintain momentum and quality simultaneously.
Influence beyond your team
At Wise Platform, we're leveraging the robust infrastructure we’ve built over the last 14 years. To accelerate our progress, it's essential to influence teams across Wise. By inspiring those who manage core aspects of our product to address partner challenges, we can move ten times faster. Exceptional leads build strong cross-team relationships and align everyone towards a shared goal.
Move fast, but build for the future
We’re building a network for the world’s money.. So, reliability is non-negotiable - we move with urgency, but we also build with the future in mind, designing systems that can handle the next billion transactions.
Stay curious and creative
The best engineers stay curious, asking how we could make something 10× better, not just 10x cleaner.
Innovation often comes from re-examining what everyone else has already accepted as good enough.
Final remarks
Being an Engineering Lead at Wise Platform isn’t about managing projects or reporting metrics. It’s about owning a product end-to-end, leading a team that’s solving real problems for global enterprises, and doing it with craft, urgency, and curiosity.
We’re building the network for the world’s money, and we want to do it in a way that will work for generations to come.
If you’re someone who’s curious, accountable, and ready to build at scale, we’d love to have you on the journey with us.
Roles you might be interested in
Salary
90500 - 127000 GBP Annual
Location
London
Job Family Group
Data Science
Locations
London
Description
We’re looking for a technical Lead Data Scientist (IC3) to join our growing KYC (Know Your Customer) and Onboarding Team in London. This role is a unique opportunity to understand the customer onboard
Reference
3b656654-e8b6-460c-9d8c-43adf67676ea
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
105000 - 135000 GBP Annual
Location
London
Job Family Group
Engineering
Locations
London
Description
We’re looking for an Engineering Lead to join the embedded finance team. Our mission is to build the world's best embedded finance platform for our partners. You’ll be working closely with multiple fu
Reference
ea80ec81-db36-4746-a4a2-c739767dc5ad
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
75,000 - 115,000 GBP Annual
Location
London
Job Family Group
Analytics - General
Locations
London
Description
We are looking for a strategically-minded Lead Analyst to join our Marketing Analytics team. This role is centered on owning reporting and deepening our understanding of what actually drives marketing
Reference
7250e65d-a781-4b5e-bc7a-5480acf2ae14
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
90500 - 127000 GBP Annual
Location
London
Job Family Group
Data Science
Locations
London
Description
We are seeking a quantitative researcher or quantitative developer to join our Treasury FX Data Science team. You will help build and operate the models and production systems behind FX pricing, risk
Reference
829707b1-fa6d-4576-8103-5c1d7890f95f
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
111000 - 145000 GBP Annual
Location
London
Job Family Group
Engineering
Locations
London
Description
We are expanding our Latam & Mea Payments Team and are looking for ambitious and highly skilled Senior Software Engineers to join the engineering team.You will lead the development of the critical int
Reference
2cfeb249-1c4a-42a8-9bfa-5fce421bff12
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
93000 - 120000 GBP Annual
Location
London
Job Family Group
Product Management
Locations
London
Description
Product Operations is a small team of specialists at Wise. Our focus is the machine - the people, processes and practices - that builds our product. We work with autonomous product teams to help them
Reference
e3f53ed6-fe14-4021-a8a2-ee45ce92ebcd
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
105000 - 150000 GBP Annual
Location
London
Job Family Group
Analytics - General
Locations
London
Description
We are looking for a Senior Analytics Manager to join the Pricing Analytics team at Wise.This role offers an opportunity to have a direct and measurable impact on Wise’s mission — money without borde
Reference
72968d0c-eb00-4c1b-8fec-b87027585b93
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
MYR 10,600 Monthly + RSUs
Location
Kuala Lumpur
Job Family Group
Customer Compliance
Locations
Kuala Lumpur
Description
We’re looking for an AML Investigations Team Lead to join our team in KL. This role is a unique opportunity to have an impact on Wise’s mission by helping identify suspicious activity and through that
Reference
f3e0ab01-d240-4d4a-b7c6-21c1096a36bb
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
8,250 - 10,250 SGD Monthly
Location
Singapore
Job Family Group
Finance Specialists
Locations
Singapore
Description
About the RoleWe’re looking for a Finance Manager, (Associate Controller, APAC 12-month FTC) to join our Regional Finance team in Singapore.You’ll play a key role in strengthening our Regional finance
Reference
00005b6d-b327-4e00-9fb9-d40efcaac399
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Salary
Base + RSU
Location
Singapore
Job Family Group
Verification
Locations
Singapore
Description
Role & Job purposeAs a Partner Risk Assessment Specialist, you will play a critical role in ensuring that Wise adheres to regulatory and compliance requirements. You will be responsible for onboarding
Reference
492e1b94-8a5d-49d1-9372-5f8308284a5f
Expiry Date
01/01/0001
Articles you might like
Teaser
People profileContent Type
BlogPublish date
09/10/2026
Summary
Breaking into Product Management (PM) can feel like mission impossible: you need PM experience to get the role, but you need the role to get experience. We built Product Academy to bridge this
by
Sapphire Birmingham
Teaser
People profileContent Type
BlogPublish date
08/28/2026
Summary
"I traded my sabbatical for an application, changed my plans, and joined Wise in June 2020. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made." Mika Sei (She/Her) Japan C
by
Verona Hasani
Teaser
People profileContent Type
BlogPublish date
08/18/2026
Summary
“Don’t limit yourself to what’s written in your job description—be naturally curious, ask questions, and constantly look for ways to make things better.” Charlene Su (She/Her) Head o
by
Sapphire Birmingham
Teaser
Our workContent Type
BlogPublish date
08/18/2026
Summary
Every four years, football gets millions of people moving across borders, navigating new cities, and dealing with unfamiliar currencies. Thanks to Visa, we’ve launched the Limited Edition Wise
by
Verona Hasani
Teaser
People profileContent Type
BlogPublish date
08/13/2026
Summary
“For us, ESG isn’t a separate project, it’s a part of how we build a global product.” Caroline Corbett-Thompson (She/Her) Global Environmental, Social Impact and Governance Lead
by
Verona Hasani
Teaser
People profileContent Type
BlogPublish date
07/28/2026
Summary
“The best quality check is the one that never has to happen because we've already designed the problem out of existence.”Sreevishnu Sachidananda (He/Him) Head of Quality CS & Payment Op
by
Verona Hasani
Teaser
People profileContent Type
BlogPublish date
07/22/2026
Summary
"At Wise, we expect our analysts to have just as much voice and ownership over what we build—and in what order—as the Product Managers. It is a true, cross-functional partnership."Hazal Mu
by
Verona Hasani
Teaser
People profileContent Type
BlogPublish date
06/10/2026
Summary
"Wise truly sees potential in people; they don’t just look at your current role, they look at what you’re capable of becoming." Islam Muhammad (He/Him) Interim FinCrime Operations Seni
by
Verona Hasani
Teaser
People profileContent Type
BlogPublish date
05/13/2026
Summary
“For me, the hallmark of a great Implementation Manager is empowering partners by translating complex technical capabilities into experiences that feel effortless.” Cindy Momodu (She/Her)
by
Verona Hasani
Teaser
People profileContent Type
BlogPublish date
05/07/2026
Summary
"What keeps me here is the sense of ownership and responsibility. Teams are empowered and truly accountable for their domains” Marta Lima (She/Her) Engineering lead
by
Verona Hasani