Head of Software Engineering (Product Engineering)

Aurora Energy Research; Oxford; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading energy analytics firm in Oxford is seeking a Head of Software Engineering to lead their product engineering organization. This role requires significant experience in managing large, distributed teams and delivering scalable, secure software solutions in a SaaS environment. The ideal candidate will champion a culture of continuous improvement and be instrumental in shaping the technical direction of the company's software products. The position offers a hybrid working model with various employee benefits.

Benefits

Private Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Parental Support

Salary-Exchange Pension

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Local Oxford Discounts

Cycle-to-work Scheme

Flu Jabs

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading engineering organisations of 25+ people in an international commercial setting.
• Proven success scaling and coaching multi-site squads, including offshore hubs.
• Hands-on experience architecting and operating client-facing, cloud-native products.
• Experience leading teams who release software updates on demand, using rigorous continuous delivery principles.
• Consistent record of delivering complex software on schedule.
• Skilled at balancing near-term product goals with long-term platform health.
• Exceptional mentoring skills; committed to building diverse, inclusive teams.
• Able to align engineers, product, and executives around a shared technical vision.
• Deep familiarity with AWS or another major public cloud.
• Working knowledge of secure software development practices.
• BSc/MSc in Computer Science, Engineering or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead and inspire a 25-person, five-squad engineering organisation.
• Grow people and teams through hands-on coaching and training initiatives.
• Deliver scalable, secure, and maintainable solutions.
• Shape the roadmap in lockstep with Product Management.
• Spearhead process and architectural innovations.
• Partner closely with the Head of Platforms & Models.
• Manage the Product Engineering cost centre to support sustainable growth.
• Hire and retain world-class talent.
• Maintain accountability for Aurora's client-facing software systems.
• Define Aurora's technology strategy.

Skills

Senior-level leadership

Distributed-team mastery

SaaS at scale

Continuous Delivery champion

Execution excellence

Commercial & Customer focus

People developer

Influential communicator

Cloud expertise

Technical foundation

Security & compliance

Education

BSc/MSc in Computer Science, Engineering or a related field

Tools

AWS

TypeScript

Express

AWS Lambdas

MySQL

MongoDB

React-based micro front ends

Job description

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Head of Software Engineering (Product Engineering)

Department: Tech - Software Development

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Oxford, UK

Description

(Kindly note that interviews will commence end of August 2025)

Aurora's EOS suite provides the software platform that enables us to help governments, investors and utilities make billion-dollar decisions on the journey to net-zero. We're now looking for an inspirational Head of Software Engineering (Product Engineering) to lead our product software engineering organisation as it designs, builds and runs our client-facing software.

You'll lead the engineering of our flagship software products such as Origin, Chronos and Amun, partnering closely with the Models & Data Platform team that builds the models powering them. Our talented software engineers - spread across Oxford and our fast-growing hub in Gurugram - will look to you for vision, coaching and technical direction as they ship multiple releases a day to our users.

Working closely with the Head of Software Engineering for Platforms & Models and the Product Management Team, you'll set the engineering roadmap, safeguard software quality and champion a culture of continuous improvement. Your influence will stretch from strategic architecture decisions and budget ownership to hiring the next generation of technical talent.

If you thrive on scaling modern cloud products, nurturing high-performing teams and delivering software that shapes the future of energy, we'd love to meet you.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and inspire a 25-person, five-squad engineering organisation split between Oxford and Gurugram, setting direction, standards and a shared sense of purpose
• Grow people and teams through hands-on coaching, career development, training initiatives and effective performance management
• Deliver rock-solid software by producing scalable, secure, and maintainable solutions that advance Aurora's long-term vision and business goals
• Shape the roadmap in lockstep with Product Management, sequencing work and resources to maximise customer and commercial impact across a multi-product portfolio
• Champion continuous improvement by spearheading process, tooling and architectural innovations that boost efficiency, quality, and developer happiness
• Align platforms & products by partnering closely with the Head of Platforms & Models to harmonise application, data and infrastructure strategies
• Own the numbers by managing the Product Engineering cost centre, forecast spend and optimised budgets to support sustainable growth
• Scale the organisation by hiring, onboarding and retaining world-class talent, ensuring the right skills and capacity for future demand
• Champion operational excellence by maintaining end-to-end accountability for the availability, performance and compliance of Aurora's client-facing software systems
• Set technical direction by playing a key role in defining Aurora's technology strategy and standards

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Senior-level leadership: significant experience leading engineering organisations of 25+ people in an international commercial setting
• Distributed-team mastery: proven success scaling and coaching multi-site squads, including offshore hubs (ideally India)
• SaaS at scale: hands-on experience architecting and operating client-facing, cloud-native products built on microservices and micro-front-ends
• Continuous Delivery champion: experience leading teams who release software updates on demand, using rigorous, automated continuous delivery principles
• Execution excellence: consistent record of delivering complex software on schedule, raising quality bars and de-risking architectural decisions
• Commercial & Customer focus: skilled at balancing near-term product goals with long-term platform health, and translating business needs into engineering priorities
• People developer: exceptional mentoring, feedback and career-pathing skills; committed to building diverse, inclusive teams
• Influential communicator: able to align engineers, product, and executives around a shared technical vision and roadmap
• Cloud expertise: deep familiarity with AWS (preferred) or another major public cloud including cost-governance know-how
• Technical foundation:experience of our tech stack or similar would be advantageous (TypeScript / Express / AWS Lambdas, MySQL, MongoDB and React-based micro front ends)
• Security & compliance: working knowledge of secure software development practices and ISO27001/SOC2 or equivalent
• Academic foundation: BSc/MSc in Computer Science, Engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

What we offer

Some of the benefits we include are:

• Private Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Parental Support
• Salary-Exchange Pension
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• Local Oxford Discounts
• Cycle-to-work Scheme
• Flu Jabs

At AER, we are committed to offering flexibility in the way we work. Most of our roles are hybrid with a mix of in-office/home working and potentially adjustable working hours. Let's discuss what works for you and AER during the interview process.

The Company is committed to the principle that no employee or job applicant shall receive unfavourable treatment on grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy, and maternity.

To apply, please submit your Résumé / CV, a personal summary, your salary expectations and please inform us of your notice period.

Unfortunately, we are unable to accept applications via email, telephone, or social media platforms. To be considered for this position, please submit your application using the link provided. Applications submitted through any other channel will not be reviewed.