Director of Software Engineering

Im working with an established software products company that is currently evolving towards an AI-enabled, platform-centric delivery model. Theyre scaling up their engineering capability and looking for a key leader to join their team in the North East.

Theyre splitting out a combined leadership position to create a dedicated Director of Engineering. The focus here is purely on people leadership, high delivery standards, and building talent density across the UK team while aligning closely with their US counterparts.

If you love the "people side" of tech leadership and excel at keeping teams motivated through growth and change, this is a great fit. Youll be stepping into a trusted role with high autonomy - no micromanagement here. You get the backing of an international organisation, the pace of a growing business, and a sensible work-life balance with just 1-2 days in the office monthly depending where you live.

• Leading from the front: Managing multiple Engineering Managers, QA Testing Managers, and an overall team of ~30 internal staff plus contractors.

• Driving delivery & quality: Ensuring cross-functional squads hit their goals deterministically, embedding quality engineering, test automation, and modern DevOps practices.

• Deputising for executive leadership: Acting as a trusted second-in-command locally and stepping up to represent the UK team on a global stage.

• Navigating change: Coaching teams through AI adoption, evolving ways of working, and managing dependencies across US and UK teams.

• Managing operations: Taking ownership of workforce planning, engineering strategy, and overall budget allocation.

• Proven experience leading sizeable engineering functions (ideally managing managers, multiple squads, and testing teams).

• Exceptional people-first leadership with a knack for inspiring teams and navigating ambiguity.

• Background managing software delivery within agile product environments.

• Strong financial, budgeting, and workforce planning capability.

• Experience collaborating with distributed or US-based teams is a major plus.

• A background in SaaS platforms or EdTech.

• Experience integrating test automation and AI-assisted tools into delivery pipelines.

• A strong grasp of modern cloud architectures and scaling platforms.

• Salary: Up to £120k base (with flexibility for exceptional experience) + company bonus.

• Work pattern: Hybrid (typically1-2 days per fortnight or monthdepending on your location in Durham).

• Culture: High support, high challenge, trusted environment with great work-life balance.

• Interview process: Fast and focused (no technical testsjust conversation, culture fit, and stakeholder alignment).

Drop me a message or send over your CV to start the conversation!