Lead Software Engineer - Hardware Lifecycle

HWM-Water Limited; Cwmbran; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 26 days

Pension up to 10.5% employer

Health coverage

Parental leave

Employee assistance program

Salary sacrifice car scheme

Flexible working hours

Job summary

HWM-Water Limited is seeking a Lead Software Engineer for the Hardware Lifecycle to guide the transformation of our installation, deployment and fleet management tools. You will lead a small team, own technical direction across C# .NET, React, Xamarin/MAUI and Ruby on Rails, and collaborate with Product Management and the Head of Digital Delivery to deliver a cohesive product strategy.

The role blends hands‑on coding (up to 40%) with strategic leadership, focusing on platform consolidation,

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading a software team through modernisation or re-platforming.
• Strong product ownership with requirement shaping and prioritisation.
• Excellent communication with stakeholders and team members.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Hardware Lifecycle software team with mentorship and coaching.
• Own technical direction and architecture, articulating trade-offs to technical and non-technical colleagues.
• Act as product owner and shape the backlog with Product Management and customers.
• Manage legacy apps through end of support and limit maintenance to essential updates.

Skills

Software team leadership

C# .NET development

Mobile app development

React web development

AI-assisted development

Linux / Windows environments

Azure cloud

CI/CD & Git

SQL / RDBMS

Product ownership

Tools

Xamarin/.NET MAUI

Ruby on Rails

Flutter

Job description

Help grow a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day.Job Title: Lead Software Engineer – Hardware LifecycleReports to: Head of Digital DeliveryLocation: Hybrid, on-site 1 day per week (with more as needed) in Cwmbran, Wales.Job Type: PermanentAbout UsWe are a pioneer in network infrastructure monitoring with IoT technology, and develop innovations that keep critical resources flowing for water and wastewater utilities. Our customers operate large fleets of our sensors and dataloggers, with tens or hundreds of thousands of devices. Good software is critical to managing those fleets.About the RoleThe Hardware Lifecycle team is responsible for the software that enables HWM and our customers to manage device fleets at every stage of their lifecycle: deliver, deploy, run and renew.We're looking for an experienced Lead Software Engineer to lead the transformation of this software. Our strategy is to focus on three core products:An installation and deployment app, used by field engineers (mobile)A fleet monitoring cloud application for internal use (Ruby on Rails)A customer fleet administration cloud application (C# .NET and React)Today we have five. Two existing mobile apps need to be combined and rationalised into the single installation and deployment app, and a legacy desktop application will receive maintenance changes only until our support commitments end. Leading the team to that target state, and making these three products a genuine differentiator for HWM, is the core of this role.The role also carries a significant element of product ownership. You'll work closely with Product Management and the Head of Digital Delivery, but we're looking for someone self-driven who takes real ownership of the product. With the support of a designer, you'll get close to customers and field engineers, understand their problems and turn that into clear direction for the team, rather than working through tickets defined elsewhere.You'll lead three direct reports. The team is deliberately small, with a focused set of three products and extensive use of AI-assisted development tools such as Claude Code.The team sits within our wider Digital team, alongside several similarly shaped teams working on other priority areas. These teams share knowledge, help each other out and form tiger teams when a problem needs it, so you won't be working in isolation.This is a hands-on leadership role. We expect up to 40% of your time to be spent coding, varying with the phase of work, so you'll keep your technical skills sharp while leading the team.Key Objectives for the first 12 monthsDeliver measurable improvements in fleet operations, such as faster provisioning and deployment, and fewer support requests per thousand devicesAgree a roadmap and target architecture for consolidating onto the three core productsEvaluate the mobile platform options (.NET MAUI and Flutter), make a recommendation and begin delivering the combined installation and deployment app on the chosen platformBuild on the team's existing use of AI-assisted development to make it a core strength, and use it to accelerate the modernisation of our legacy codeResponsibilitiesLead the Hardware Lifecycle software team, providing technical guidance, mentorship and coaching, and improving team processesOwn the technical direction and architecture of the team's software, and clearly articulate engineering trade-offs to technical and non-technical colleaguesAct as product owner, working with Product Management, customers and colleagues across the business to shape and prioritise the backlog, and take responsibility for the outcomes deliveredManage legacy applications through to end of support, limiting changes to essential maintenanceDesign, develop and maintain high-quality software across our tech stack (C# .NET, React, Xamarin/.NET MAUI, Ruby on Rails, Azure, Git)Support our move from a Windows-centric environment to a more platform-agnostic approach, including LinuxIdentify and mitigate technical risks, and develop strategies to address technical debtProvide responsive support for urgent user issuesRole RequirementsLeadership SkillsProven experience of leading a software team, including:Experience of leading a team through a legacy modernisation or re-platformingA strong sense of product ownership, with experience of shaping requirements and priorities rather than only implementing themExcellent communication skills, with stakeholders and team members alikeA cool head with excellent problem-solving and troubleshooting skillsTechnical SkillsSignificant experience in software development, with strong C# .NET skillsExperience of mobile app development (Xamarin, .NET MAUI or Flutter) and web development, ideally ReactOpen-minded and willing to work across multiple technology stacks, including those new to youRegular, hands-on use of AI-assisted development toolsExperience with Linux as well as Windows environmentsFamiliarity with cloud-based services, especially Azure, and security fundamentalsExperience with CI/CD pipelines, Git and automated testingSignificant experience with RDBMS and SQLDesirableExperience with Flutter/Dart or Ruby on RailsExperience of IoT, device management or fleet/asset management systemsExperience in the utilities or critical infrastructure sectorPersonal or open-source projects outside of work (links welcome with your application)What we Offer37.5 hours per week with core working hours and flexible options. Benefits include 26 days of annual leave plus bank holidays, the option to buy or sell holidays, a pension plan with employer contribution up to 10.5%, a salary sacrifice car scheme, health coverage, parental leave, and an employee assistance programme. #HWMNot the right fit? Let us know you're interested in a future opportunity by clicking Introduce Yourself in the top-right corner of the page or create an account to set up email alerts as new job postings become available that meet your interest!