Development Manager

HC-One - IT; Tees Valley; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

HC-One - IT is seeking an experienced technology leader to guide a team of Developers and Data Engineers in a hybrid office environment. The role focuses on stabilising live software and data services, with a portion of time dedicated to targeted development and data engineering for business transition.

You will manage incidents, implement robust monitoring and runbooks, and drive improvements, debt reduction, and secure practices while coordinating with architecture, cybersecurity, and

Qualifications

• Degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent practical experience.
• Significant experience in software engineering and live service support and maintenance.
• Experience supporting data extracts or pipelines in a production environment.
• Proven line management experience for developers and/or data engineers, including coaching, performance management, and capability development.
• Strong understanding of operating, supporting, and monitoring software and data services.
• Knowledge of cloud platforms, integration technologies, and data platforms.
• Strong Agile and DevOps knowledge, with sufficient data engineering expertise to support existing pipelines and transition extracts.
• Hands‑on experience across enterprise technology stacks such as C#/.NET, Java, JavaScript, Python, cloud technologies, and microservices.

Responsibilities

• Lead and line manage a team of Developers and Data Engineers, providing clear objectives, coaching, performance management, and development support.
• Oversee the day-to-day operation of live software applications and data services, ensuring incidents, defects, maintenance activity, and minor enhancements are prioritised and resolved effectively.
• Provide technical leadership across live services, ensuring monitoring, alerting, logging, documentation, and operational runbooks are in place.
• Act as an escalation point for service incidents and recurring problems, coordinating root cause analysis, corrective actions, and stakeholder communication.
• Ensure robust incident, problem, change, release, patching, testing, and documentation practices are embedded across the team.
• Drive service reliability through preventative maintenance, automation, and prioritised reduction of technical debt.
• Deliver controlled, time-bound changes to support business transition activity, including data extracts, configuration updates, and workflow amendments.
• Support the safe reduction or retirement of functionality where required, ensuring risks, dependencies, and service impacts are understood and managed.
• Maintain a prioritised operational backlog balancing incidents, technical debt, risk, and small change demand.
• Contribute to service lifecycle planning, resilience planning, and operational roadmaps.
• Provide clear reporting on service performance, incidents, risks, dependencies, and capacity.
• Help shape support models and operational improvements that enhance stability and supportability.
• Embed secure-by-design and privacy-by-design principles into service support and change activity.
• Ensure vulnerabilities are addressed through patching, remediation planning, and controlled releases.
• Proactively manage operational risks relating to availability, resilience, suppliers, and disaster recovery.
• Identify and deliver service improvements based on incident trends, operational metrics, problem management, and lessons learned.

Skills

Team leadership

Software engineering

Live service support

Data engineering

Cloud platforms

Agile/DevOps

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Related degree or equivalent

Tools

C#/.NET

Java

JavaScript

Python

Cloud technologies

Job description

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced technology leader who is passionate about building high-performing teams and ensuring critical software and data services remain secure, resilient, and fit for purpose.

Working across a complex operational environment, you will play a key role in leading developers and data engineers while providing technical and operational assurance for live services. The role is predominantly focused on business-as-usual service stability, support, and continuous improvement, with a smaller proportion of time dedicated to targeted development and data engineering activity that supports phased business transition.

Full time | Hybrid / office-based | Technology & Data Services

Fixed-term contract through to the end of January 2027

What you’ll be doing

Reporting into senior technology leadership, you will:

• Lead and line manage a team of Developers and Data Engineers, providing clear objectives, coaching, performance management, and development support.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and inclusive team culture that encourages pragmatic improvement and continuous learning.
• Oversee the day-to-day operation of live software applications and data services, ensuring incidents, defects, maintenance activity, and minor enhancements are prioritised and resolved effectively.
• Provide technical leadership across live services, ensuring appropriate monitoring, alerting, logging, documentation, and operational runbooks are in place.
• Act as an escalation point for service incidents and recurring problems, coordinating root cause analysis, corrective actions, and stakeholder communication.
• Ensure robust incident, problem, change, release, patching, testing, and documentation practices are embedded across the team.
• Drive service reliability through preventative maintenance, automation, and prioritised reduction of technical debt.
• Deliver controlled, time-bound changes to support business transition activity, including data extracts, configuration updates, and workflow amendments.
• Support the safe reduction or retirement of functionality where required, ensuring risks, dependencies, and service impacts are understood and managed.

Stakeholder & operational leadership

You will work closely with architecture, infrastructure, cyber security, and business stakeholders to ensure services are supported end-to-end and aligned to agreed service models.

You will also:

• Maintain a prioritised operational backlog balancing incidents, technical debt, risk, and small change demand.
• Contribute to service lifecycle planning, resilience planning, and operational roadmaps.
• Provide clear reporting on service performance, incidents, risks, dependencies, and capacity.
• Help shape support models and operational improvements that enhance stability and supportability.

Governance, risk & quality

A key part of the role is ensuring services are operated in line with organisational policies, regulatory requirements, and information governance standards.

You will:

• Embed secure-by-design and privacy-by-design principles into service support and change activity.
• Ensure vulnerabilities are addressed through patching, remediation planning, and controlled releases.
• Proactively manage operational risks relating to availability, resilience, suppliers, and disaster recovery.
• Identify and deliver service improvements based on incident trends, operational metrics, problem management, and lessons learned.

About you

We are looking for a technically credible and people-focused leader who can balance operational delivery with team development.

Essential

• Degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent practical experience.
• Significant experience in software engineering and live service support and maintenance.
• Experience supporting data extracts or pipelines in a production environment.
• Proven line management experience for developers and/or data engineers, including coaching, performance management, and capability development.
• Strong understanding of operating, supporting, and monitoring software and data services.
• Knowledge of cloud platforms, integration technologies, and data platforms.
• Strong Agile and DevOps knowledge, with sufficient data engineering expertise to support existing pipelines and transition extracts.
• Hands‑on experience across enterprise technology stacks such as C#/.NET, Java, JavaScript, Python, cloud technologies, and microservices.
• Ability to translate business requirements into clear technical outcomes and delivery plans.
• Excellent communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong problem-solving, prioritisation, and decision-making skills.

Desirable

• Experience of ITIL-aligned incident, problem, and change management practices.
• Experience contributing to operational roadmaps, service lifecycle planning, or transition programmes.

What you’ll bring

• A calm and pragmatic approach to operational leadership.
• Strong technical judgement and attention to detail.
• The ability to support and develop others through coaching and constructive feedback.
• A collaborative mindset and confidence working across multiple teams and dependencies.
• A focus on service quality, resilience, security, and continuous improvement.

Why join us?

Joining us means becoming part of a forward-looking organisation with a strong, long-term commitment to operational excellence and sustainable service delivery. Supported by substantial, planned investment, we are strengthening our technology and data capabilities to provide the stability, resilience, and scalability needed to support critical services both now and in the future.

You will have the opportunity to lead a skilled team, influence service improvement, and make a meaningful contribution to the reliability and evolution of the organisation’s technology and data landscape.

Team responsibility

Direct line management responsibility for:

• Developers (3)
• Data Engineers (5)