Software Development Manager x3 (AI Infrastructure)

Capital Executive Search; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Capital Executive Search partners with a rapidly scaling AI Cloud business building a data centre and GPU infrastructure platform. This hands-on Software Development Manager role lets you stay close to technology while shaping a high‑performing team and setting technical direction.

You will lead hiring, drive the full SDLC, establish best practices, and own the roadmap, balancing speed, quality and cost in a fast‑moving environment.

Qualifications

• 2+ years managing software engineering teams.
• Strong software engineering background with depth to read code and challenge designs.
• Proven experience hiring, developing and retaining engineers.
• Excellent communication across engineering, product and leadership.
• Comfortable working autonomously in a high-growth environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of software engineers.
• Set technical direction, prioritise work and own delivery.
• Remain hands-on with code and technical design.
• Establish engineering practices across planning, design, review, CI/CD and production operations.
• Coach engineers with a focus on progression and performance.
• Own hiring, interview processes and team growth.
• Build and execute the technical roadmap balancing speed, quality and cost.
• Own operational quality including on-call, incident response and post-incident improvement.
• Partner with Product, Site Operations and other teams to turn ambiguous requirements into scalable solutions.
• Anticipate internal customer needs and build platform capabilities before blockers.

Skills

Team management

Software engineering

Delivery ownership

SDLC

Distributed systems

Production operations

CI/CD

Hiring

Technical roadmap

Mentoring

Tools

Kubernetes

Terraform

Job description

Software Development Manager | AI Infrastructure & Platform Engineering

I’m currently partnering with a rapidly scaling AI Cloud business building the software platform behind large-scale data centres and GPU infrastructure. This is a hands‑on Software Development Manager opportunity for an engineering leader who still wants to be close to the technology, while building and developing a high‑performing team. The organisation is building much of its platform from the ground up, covering data engineering, automation, developer tooling, AI enablement and product engineering. There is little legacy to maintain and no established playbook to follow, so this is an opportunity to have genuine ownership over technical direction, engineering standards and team growth.

The role:

• Lead and develop a team of software engineers
• Set technical direction, prioritise work and own delivery
• Remain hands‑on with code and technical design
• Establish strong engineering practices across planning, design, code review, CI/CD and production operations
• Coach and develop engineers, with a strong focus on progression and performance
• Own hiring, interview processes and team growth
• Build and execute the technical roadmap, balancing speed, quality and cost
• Own operational quality, including on‑call, incident response and post‑incident improvement
• Partner with Product, Site Operations and other engineering teams to turn ambiguous requirements into scalable solutions
• Anticipate internal customer needs and build platform capabilities before gaps become blockers

What I'm looking for:

• 2+ years managing software engineering teams
• Strong software engineering background prior to management
• Enough technical depth to read code and challenge designs
• Proven experience hiring, developing and retaining engineers
• Strong understanding of the full software development lifecycle
• Experience owning delivery, prioritisation and technical roadmaps
• Background in distributed systems and production operations
• Comfortable operating autonomously in an ambiguous, high‑growth environment
• Excellent communication skills across engineering, product and leadership

Highly regarded:

• Previous experience as a Tech Lead or Senior Software Engineer
• Kubernetes and Terraform
• Experience building software alongside physical infrastructure or hardware‑intensive environments

This would suit an engineering leader who wants genuine ownership, technical influence and the opportunity to build rather than inherit. If you’re a hands‑on Software Development Manager or Engineering Manager open to a high‑growth AI infrastructure environment, I’d be keen to have a confidential conversation.