Head of Software Engineering

Ubisense; Cambridge; Remote; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Ubisense, a leader in Industry 4.0, seeks a Head of Software Engineering in Cambridge to lead a high-performing engineering organization. The role covers strategy, architecture, delivery, tooling and day-to-day management, with a hands-on technical leadership style.

You will drive secure, reliable software delivery, modern DevOps practices, and an engineering culture focused on craftsmanship and continuous improvement. Significant interaction with CIO and cross-functional teams is expected.

Qualifications

• Track record of leading engineering at Head of Engineering level
• Experience with DevOps/CI/CD (Git, pipelines, artifact repositories)
• Experience with IaC (Terraform/Bicep)
• Containers/orchestration (Docker/Kubernetes) and cloud platforms (Azure/AWS)
• Strong architectural and leadership capabilities

Responsibilities

• Define engineering operating model aligning architecture, delivery and platform engineering to product goals
• Translate business objectives into technical roadmaps and OKRs
• Own engineering delivery: intake, prioritisation, estimation, sprint planning and release readiness
• Set standards for patterns, APIs, data and cloud infrastructure; steward ADRs
• Define SDLC methodologies and own DevOps toolchain (CI/CD, IaC, secrets management, test automation)
• Lead quality and security practices across the stack
• Line-manage architects, developers and testers; develop talent and career ladders
• Collaborate with Product, Support and IT to ensure feasible roadmaps

Skills

Technical leadership

Delivery excellence

Communication

People leadership

Systems thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering/Mathematics

Tools

Git

CI/CD pipelines

Artifact repositories

Terraform

Bicep

Docker

Kubernetes

Azure

AWS

Job description

Ubisense is a company at the forefront of Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet-of-Things. We build products that transform physical space into “smart space”, enabling software to see, understand and participate in the real world of people and business activities. In so doing, we augment people and objects with new forms of insight and intelligence that make the environments we live and work in more productive, safe and profitable. This unique ability to connect the physical to the digital has been our driving force for more than 18 years and has enabled Fortune 500 manufacturers like Daimler-Benz, Lockheed Martin and John Deere to revolutionise the way they build our cars, the most advanced aircraft and the machinery that grows our food.

We are a privately held company with around 65 employees, supporting customers across North America, Europe, UK, Japan and the Middle East. We have ambitious and well-funded growth plans, requiring talented people to help execute on our vision. We are looking for people who are interested in the future, who believe that technology will play a fundamental role in improving the world of tomorrow, and who want to be a part of making that happen.

About the role

The Head of Software Engineering is accountable for building and operating a high-performing engineering organisation that delivers secure, reliable, and maintainable software at pace. This role owns the end-to-end engineering lifecycle—from strategy and architecture to delivery, tooling, quality, and day-to-day line management—while cultivating engineering excellence and modern DevOps/CI/CD practices. The successful candidate is a hands-on technical leader who can write code, set engineering standards, lead teams through change, and develop the capability and performance of the engineering team. Certain people-management authorities are retained by the CIO, as set out below.

Key Outcomes (12-18 months)

• Reliable, predictable delivery: Transparent quarterly release train and sprint cadences; measurable improvements on DORA metrics (lead time, deployment frequency, change failure rate, MTTR).
• Modern delivery pipeline: A robust CI/CD platform with automated build, test, security scanning, and progressive delivery; trunk-based workflows and high-quality code reviews.
• Fit-for-purpose architecture: Clear architectural runway, reference designs, and decision records (ADRs); reduced complexity and improved scalability.
• Quality by design: Shift-left testing, high unit/integration test coverage, meaningful end-to-end test automation, and clear quality gates.
• Engineering culture: Engaged teams with strong craftsmanship, documentation standards, and continuous improvement mindset (SPACE metrics for developer experience).

Responsibilities

Strategy and Planning

• Define the engineering operating model, aligning architecture, delivery, and platform engineering to product goals.
• Translate business objectives into technical roadmaps, capacity plans and quarterly OKRs.

Delivery Ownership

• Own what/when/how of engineering delivery: intake, prioritisation, estimation, sprint planning, release readiness.
• Establish portfolio and release governance with clear stage gates (architecture, security, test, documentation).

Architecture and Technical Direction

• Chair architecture forums; set standards for patterns, APIs, data, and cloud infrastructure; steward ADRs.
• Ensure systems are observable (logs, metrics, traces) with SLOs and error budgets; lead major incident reviews and blameless post-mortems.

Methods, Tooling and Platform

• Define and evolve SDLC and development methodologies (Agile/Scrum/Kanban, trunk-based development, code review practices).
• Own the DevOps toolchain (source control, CI/CD, artefact management, IaC, secrets management, environments, test automation, security scanning).
• Partner with IT on platform reliability, scalability, cost, and resilience.

Quality and Security

• Set quality standards and test strategies (unit, integration, E2E, performance, security); implement coverage targets and defect escape thresholds.
• Embed secure coding and secure release practices.

People Leadership and Organisation

• Provide day-to-day line management for architects, developers, and testers, nurture craft disciplines and communities of practice.
• Lead resource planning, recruitment activity, onboarding, mentoring, and development of engineering talent; define career ladders and competencies, with appointments and material employment changes subject to the CIO’s approval.
• Own routine line-management activities, including regular one-to-ones, objective setting, development planning, feedback, workload allocation, wellbeing, leave approval, and the day-today management of performance and conduct.
• Identify performance or conduct concerns early, provide appropriate coaching and documented feedback, and elevate any matter that may require a formal disciplinary process to the CIO.
• Recommend salary, bonus, promotion, recognition, and benefits changes for the engineering team. Final responsibility and approval for compensation and benefits remain with the CIO.
• Formal disciplinary authority, including the initiation and outcome of formal disciplinary proceedings and any sanction, remains with the CIO. The Head of Software Engineering will provide relevant evidence, recommendations, and management input as required. Where a retained decision affects an individual, communicate and implement the agreed outcome in partnership with the CIO and, where appropriate, HR.

Stakeholder Management

• Work closely with Product, Support, Professional Services, and IT to ensure the roadmap is feasible, valuable, and supportable.
• Communicate plans, risks, and outcomes concisely to executives and non-technical stakeholders.

Financial and Vendor Ecosystem

• In conjunction with the CIO, manage engineering budgets, cloud/runtime costs, and ROI on tooling.
• Evaluate and govern vendors (cloud, tooling, testing services).

Documentation and Knowledge

• Ensure clear, current documentation (architecture, APIs, runbooks, user guides) and a robust knowledge base.
• Establish standards and workflows for Technical Authors integrated with release trains.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Track record of leading engineering at Head of Engineering level (or equivalent).
• Experience with DevOps/CI/CD (Git, pipelines, artifact repositories), IaC (e.g., Terraform/Bicep), containers/orchestration (Docker/Kubernetes), and cloud platforms (Azure/AWS).
• Strong command of software architecture (domain-driven design, modular monoliths/microservices, eventing), APIs, and data design.
• Proven quality leadership: test automation strategies, reliability engineering (SLOs, error budgets), performance engineering.
• Demonstrated security leadership within engineering: secure coding practices, vulnerability management, SBOMs, supply-chain security, threat modelling.
• Expertise in modern Agile delivery (Scrum/Kanban), product collaboration, and scaling patterns (e.g., lightweight portfolio cadence).

Nice-to-Have

• Experience with manufacturing/location-based solutions or industrial interfaces (OPC, MQTT), data streaming, and edge deployment.
• Familiarity with documentation workflows and technical authoring standards.
• Exposure to ITIL-aligned change/release processes and ISO/IEC quality/security frameworks.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field with a high computing content.

Core Competencies

• Technical leadership: Sets high bars, makes pragmatic decisions, and can deep dive when needed.
• Delivery excellence: Turns strategy into outcomes, manages trade-offs, and drives predictability.
• Communication: Explains complex topics to varied audiences; crisp executive updates.
• People and culture: Builds inclusive, high-trust teams; coaches and multiplies talent.
• Systems thinking: Optimises end-to-end flow and reliability, not just local focus.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• DORA: Lead time for changes; Deployment frequency; Change failure rate; MTTR.
• Quality: Defect escape rate; Test coverage health; Mean time between incidents; Performance SLAs/SLO adherence.
• Flow and predictability: Throughput, cycle time, on-time delivery vs. plan, WIP limits adherence.
• Security and compliance: Vulnerability remediation time; dependency hygiene; SBOM coverage; audit readiness.
• People leadership: Completion and quality of one-to-ones and development plans; objective alignment; skills and succession coverage; retention; and timely, well-documented escalation of formal people matters.

Working Practices and Governance

• SDLC policies and quality gates are enforced via automation (build, test, scan, deploy) with clear “go/no-go” criteria at each stage.
• Documentation is a first-class deliverable; releases are accompanied by updated architecture notes, API references, and user guides.
• Continuous improvement: Regular retrospectives across teams; quarterly engineering reviews; blameless culture.

Personal Attributes

• You manage your time effectively.
• You are willing to travel occasionally both nationally and internationally.

Ubisense is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from everyone and make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.