Overview

Software Development Manager required for a manufacturer of life saving electronic solutions products. Part of a global group, this company offers rewarding careers, great benefits, and plenty of opportunities to grow in a supportive, energetic workplace. Hybrid working options (6 out of 10 days in the Rochester office).

Software Development Manager role with strong people management, process leadership, and delivery governance skills.

In this role, you will:

Lead and develop the software team through a period of process evolution.

Maintain our proven Waterfall framework while incorporating Agile-inspired practices for improved planning, reporting, and visibility.

Drive process improvements and maximise our use of Atlassian tools for work breakdown structures, progress tracking, and actionable reporting.

Develop and manage CI/CD pipelines to enhance build, integration, testing, and deployment workflows ensuring faster delivery of high-quality, compliant software.

Collaborate closely with the Project Management Office and other R&D managers to integrate software development into the wider product delivery process.

Foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and open communication.

Who you ll report to: Director of Research and Development Responsibilities

Responsibilities

• Project & Delivery Management
• Plan and prioritise software projects in collaboration with the Project Management Office.
• Allocate resources, manage risks, and set clear milestones and timelines.
• Oversee delivery of new products, features, bug fixes, and maintenance.
• Introduce Agile-inspired practices (Scrum, Kanban) within the Waterfall framework.
• Ensure Jira boards, sprint reports, and dashboards are accurate, up to date, and central to project governance.

Quality & Compliance

• Design and maintain CI/CD pipelines in collaboration with the Software Quality team.
• Align software development with regulatory, quality, and cybersecurity standards.
• Promote best practices in documentation and traceability from requirements through testing.
• Collaborate with other R&D managers to improve development workflows.

Team Leadership

• Build and develop a high-performing software team.
• Set clear objectives, conduct performance reviews, and ensure accountability.
• Promote a culture of ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Process Improvement

• Encourage retrospectives and turn lessons learned into actionable improvements.
• Trial workflow, automation, and tool enhancements that benefit software and wider R&D.
• Stay current with emerging practices in regulated software development and hybrid Agile/Waterfall delivery models.

Stakeholder Communication

• Provide regular progress updates to stakeholders.
• Facilitate planning sessions, reviews, and retrospectives that deliver actionable outcomes.
• Contribute to long-term product and technology roadmaps with structured, realistic delivery plans.

Qualifications

• Degree in Engineering (preferably with a Software focus) desirable. Essential Experience: Proven experience managing software development teams (engineers) delivering embedded (preferable), IoT, and cloud-enabled products.
• Demonstrated success introducing process improvements and CI/CD pipelines that improved performance while maintaining compliance and timelines.
• Experience leading cross-functional collaboration between software, hardware, and testing teams.
• Background in adapting Agile methods (Scrum, Kanban) within Waterfall structures.
• Practical experience using Atlassian tools (Jira, Bitbucket) for project tracking and reporting.

Knowledge & Skills

• Leadership & People Management: Strong track record as a people manager, including setting objectives, conducting reviews, and ensuring accountability.
• Conflict resolution and building a collaborative team culture.
• Process & Delivery: Expertise in SDLC management across both Waterfall and Agile-inspired practices.
• Structured Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) for design traceability.
• Ability to drive reporting, forecasting, and transparency using Jira dashboards and metrics.
• Communication: Excellent communication skills, able to convey technical and project information clearly to diverse stakeholders.
• Facilitation: Experienced in planning sessions, reviews, and retrospectives.
• Change leadership and continuous improvement.

Quality & Compliance

• Solid understanding of regulated software development practices (e.g., ISO9001, ISO27001, NIST).
• Experience embedding secure development lifecycle practices and ensuring audit-readiness.