Head of Software Development & Developer Experience

Tesco PLC; Welwyn Garden City; Hybrid; GBP 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus up to 45%

Car Cash Allowance

Holiday 25 days + personal day

Private medical insurance

Retirement savings Tesco contribution

Maternity/Adoption leave & paternity

Job summary

Tesco PLC is seeking a Director-level leader to drive developer experience and tooling, shaping how software engineering evolves with agentic AI. You’ll own budgets, manage suppliers, and oversee top tools like GitHub, SonarQube, and Nexus while guiding strategy and execution for thousands of engineers across global teams.

You will lead geographically distributed teams, balance delivery pace with risk, and establish thought leadership across the technology organisation.

Qualifications

• Experience leading geographically dispersed teams.
• Proven track record in developer tooling and SDLC improvements.
• Strong budget and vendor management skills.

Responsibilities

• Budget ownership and supplier relationships for developer tooling.
• Oversee evolution of key developer tools (GitHub, SonarQube, Nexus).
• Shape SDLC strategy in light of Agentic AI developments.
• Lead agentic AI enablement for development teams.
• Provide thought leadership across Technology on Agentic AI execution.
• Own developer experience data collection, insights, and opportunities.
• Manage managers across geographically dispersed teams.
• Balance speed with security, resilience and prudence.

Skills

Team leadership

Vendor management

Strategic thinking

SDLC expertise

Hands-on coding

Communication

Budget management

Tools

GitHub

SonarQube

Nexus

Job description

Tesco PLC is seeking a Director-level leader to drive developer experience and tooling, shaping how software engineering evolves with agentic AI. You’ll own budgets, manage suppliers, and oversee top tools like GitHub, SonarQube, and Nexus while guiding strategy and execution for thousands of engineers across global teams.

You will lead geographically distributed teams, balance delivery pace with risk, and establish thought leadership across the technology organisation.