Head of SW Engineering

Head of Engineering
Location: South Of England
Salary: £85k–£95k (based on experience) plus Benefits
Reports to: CTO
Company Overview:
Our client is a scale-up SaaS technology company that provides services in the Telecoms, ISP, and MSP sectors. They are making significant ground in their growth strategy and are seeking to hire a Head of Engineering to help them achieve their goals.
Role Overview
We are seeking an experienced Head of Engineering to lead and take full ownership of engineering delivery, team performance, and operational excellence across our client’s software development organisation.
Reporting to the CTO, this is a high-impact leadership role that sits at the intersection of technical credibility and engineering management. You will be responsible for building a high-performing engineering function, establishing clear accountability, and ensuring the organisation delivers software in a structured, predictable, and scalable way.
Key Responsibilities

• Lead and take accountability for the performance of the engineering function, fostering a high-performing, professional, and delivery-focused culture.
  
• Set clear expectations around ownership, accountability, and engineering standards across all teams
  
• Coach, mentor, and develop engineers, raising the overall capability and consistency of the function including performance management, addressing underperformance where required and recognising strong contribution
  
• Own the delivery of the engineering roadmap, ensuring work is delivered predictably, on time, and to a high standard including overseeing sprint planning, backlog management, and development workflows to ensure consistent execution
  
• Monitor delivery performance (velocity, cycle time, bottlenecks) and take action to improve outcomes
  
• Define and implement consistent engineering processes across teams, including:
  
  • Agile delivery (Scrum / Kanban)
    
  • Code review practices
    
  • Testing frameworks and QA processes
    
  • Release management and deployment
    
  • CI/CD workflows
    
• Set and enforce clear standards for code quality, documentation, and maintainability
  
• Although this role is not hands-on coding, strong technical credibility is essential. So, an earlier career as a software engineer, with experience building modern web applications (Node.js, TypeScript, Vue.js or similar).
  
• Comfortable engaging on technical design, reviewing architecture, and supporting complex challenges across AWS, Docker, and event-driven or serverless systems.
  
• The Head of Engineering directly leads two Development squads and one QA squad, with accountability for delivery, quality, and performance across the engineering function.
  
• Work closely with the CTO to align engineering execution with technical strategy and partner with Product to ensure roadmap priorities are delivered effectively
  
• Coordinate with DevOps and Support to ensure smooth deployment, platform reliability, and strong operational feedback loops
  Success Measures (6–12 Months)
  
• A well-structured and accountable engineering function with clear ownership at all levels
  
• Consistent and predictable delivery of roadmap commitments
  
• Improved engineering performance, velocity, and delivery confidence
  
• Strong and consistent engineering standards across teams
  
• Reduced reliance on the CTO for day-to-day delivery oversight
  
• A motivated, engaged, and high-performing engineering tea
  Essential Skills & Experience
  
• Proven experience leading engineering or development teams in a SaaS or software environment
  
• Experience managing multiple teams or squads
  
• Demonstrated ability to improve delivery, processes, and team performance
  
• Experience working closely with Product in an agile environment
  
• Strong organisational and leadership skills, with the ability to bring structure to complex environments
  
• A leadership style that sets clear expectations, drives accountability, and improves performance
  Personal Attributes
  You should be highly organised and operationally disciplined as well as having a demonstrable leadership presence with the ability to build trust and credibility quickly. We need a leader that is pragmatic, delivery-focused, and results-oriented. You should be experienced and comfortable setting and enforcing high standards and able to operate effectively in a fast-moving, evolving SaaS environment