Head of Software Engineering

Head of Software Engineering - Contract

3 months | £600-£650 per day | Inside IR35

Hybrid: 2 days per week in London | Start ASAP

We're partnering with a large, complex and purpose-driven organisation undergoing a major technology and engineering transformation to get an experienced Head of Software Engineering contractor.

You'll lead a multidisciplinary function spanning software, integration, data and platform engineering. A key priority will be setting clear engineering standards and embedding consistent practices that improve quality, delivery and operational resilience.

This assignment combines leadership with strong technical credibility. You'll work closely with senior technology leaders, engineering managers and senior engineers to shape engineering direction while remaining involved in architecture and technical decisions.

The role

Define engineering standards, governance and ways of working across the function.

Establish best practice across software development, testing, code quality, DevOps, CI/CD and Infrastructure as Code.

Guide architecture and platform decisions, ensuring services are scalable, resilient, secure and maintainable.

Lead engineering managers and senior engineers across multiple teams, building collaboration and accountability.

Assess engineering maturity, identify priority improvements and drive practical changes during the assignment.

Support cloud-native transformation across Microsoft Azure, event-driven architecture, platform engineering and automation.

Work with senior stakeholders to balance delivery priorities, engineering quality, technical health and cost.

What we're looking for

Proven experience leading multidisciplinary engineering functions within large, complex organisations.

A strong track record of setting engineering standards and embedding them successfully across teams.

Deep understanding of modern engineering practices, cloud-native architecture and DevOps, ideally within Microsoft Azure environments.

The technical credibility to challenge decisions constructively and guide managers, architects and senior engineers.

Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence technical and non-technical audiences.

A collaborative, pragmatic leadership style and the ability to make an impact quickly.

Experience in AI is a significant advantage, particularly applying AI to engineering workflows, automation or the delivery of AI-enabled services.

Experience within regulated or operationally critical environments-such as public sector, education, healthcare or financial services-would also be key.

This is an opportunity to shape a growing engineering function and establish standards that support a substantial technology transformation.

Available to start ASAP? Send your CV to sdunscombe

Services advertised are those of an Employment Business