Head of Software Engineering

Experis UK; Nottingham; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Experis UK is partnering with a global software business to appoint a Senior Director of Engineering in Nottingham. You will lead a ~60-person engineering function across multiple products, shaping strategy and the technical future.

You will drive AI adoption, modernise legacy platforms and recruit strong leaders, delivering high-quality software with clear engineering standards and strong collaboration with Product and commercial teams.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in engineering with experience managing engineering managers
• Ownership of engineering strategy and delivery across multiple teams or products
• Modernisation of legacy systems
• Practical experience applying AI within software engineering (including agent orchestration and quality controls)
• Organisational design, headcount planning and recruitment
• Strong relationships with Product, commercial teams and senior leadership

Responsibilities

• Set engineering strategy across a growing portfolio of products
• Develop senior engineering managers and build a strong leadership team
• Lead the modernisation of legacy platforms while supporting newer technologies
• Drive the adoption of AI tools and agents across engineering
• Improve software quality, delivery confidence and technical standards
• Shape recruitment, team structures and investment priorities
• Bring greater consistency to tooling, security and development practices
• Support the integration of further acquisitions as your remit grows
• First six months: establish priorities, build relationships and progress AI adoption, tooling and security

Skills

Engineering leadership

Architectural decisions

AI in software

People management

Recruitment

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Python

.NET

Java

PHP

Job description

Senior Director of Software Engineering,

Nottingham | Wider East Midlands

£120000 - £160000 plus benefits

Shape the engineering direction of a growing software portfolio. Build the leadership team. Put AI into practice.

Experis is exclusively partnering with a global software business to appoint a Senior Director of Engineering at a pivotal stage in its growth.

Following several acquisitions, the business is bringing together a diverse software portfolio. This newly created role gives you the scope to shape its technical future, modernise established platforms and build an engineering organisation ready for further growth.

You will lead approximately 60 people through four to five senior engineering managers. With ownership of strategy, people and delivery, your decisions will influence how teams work, how products evolve and how the business delivers for its customers.

The opportunity

There is plenty to get your teeth into. You will bring teams and technologies together, tackle architectural challenges and turn AI adoption into practical improvements across the software development lifecycle.

Working closely with Product and senior leadership, you will help shape commercial plans and make sure engineering has a clear voice in the decisions that matter.

You will:

• Set engineering strategy across a growing portfolio of products.
• Develop senior engineering managers and build a strong leadership team.
• Lead the modernisation of legacy platforms while supporting newer technologies.
• Drive the adoption of AI tools and agents across engineering.
• Improve software quality, delivery confidence and technical standards.
• Shape recruitment, team structures and investment priorities.
• Bring greater consistency to tooling, security and development practices.
• Support the integration of further acquisitions as your remit grows.

Your first six months will offer the chance to make a visible impact. You will establish priorities, build relationships and drive progress on AI adoption, tooling and security.

What you will bring

You are an experienced engineering leader with the technical depth to challenge architectural decisions and the judgement to connect them to business priorities.

You enjoy developing other leaders, bringing clarity to complex environments and staying close enough to the detail to help teams move forward.

Your background will include:

• At least ten years in engineering, including experience managing engineering managers.
• Ownership of engineering strategy and delivery across multiple teams or products.
• Successful modernisation of legacy systems.
• Practical experience applying AI within software engineering, including agent orchestration and quality controls.
• Organisational design, headcount planning and recruitment.
• Strong relationships with Product, commercial teams and senior leadership.

Your programming language background is flexible. Experience with Python, .NET, Java or PHP would be useful, as would exposure to software and hardware integration.

You will be approachable, pragmatic and comfortable taking ownership in a growing business backed by private equity.

Why consider it?

This is a chance to shape a newly formed engineering portfolio at a point when your contribution will count. You will have a substantial team to lead, meaningful technical challenges to solve and a remit expected to expand as the business grows.

The business is building its engineering capability in Nottingham. Candidates across Nottingham, Leicester and the wider East Midlands are particularly encouraged to apply, with strong candidates from further afield also considered.

The interview process will involve two to three stages, including leadership and technical discussions.