Systems Development Manager - GammaLabs in Manchester

At Gamma, we're more than just a leader in Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS). We're a fast‑moving technology organisation delivering innovative voice, data, and mobile solutions across Europe. Our product and service portfolio is at the heart of what we do - powering reliable, scalable communications for thousands of businesses. Behind the scenes, our engineering teams design, build, and maintain the software systems that generate real business impact. We combine the agility of a start‑up mindset with the stability of a leading European business. Collaboration, ownership, and continuous improvement define how we work - and we're always looking for people who want to build meaningful technology at scale.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the systems development function responsible for Telecoms support systems used by Voice Operations and Engineering.
• Provide technical and people leadership to Systems Developers of all levels, Test Automation Engineers, and Infrastructure and Automation Engineers within the team.
• Act as the accountable technical authority for systems development within the voice domain, making strategic build versus buy and investment decisions where appropriate.
• Translate operational, engineering, and product needs into a coherent multiyear roadmap for voice network troubleshooting, diagnostics, reporting, and automated testing.
• Ensure that support systems are designed to be scalable, resilient, secure, and aligned with the needs of a carrier‑grade telecom environment.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of automated test frameworks and environments supporting functional, performance, and resilience testing of voice platforms.
• Set clear engineering standards and practices covering software quality, test automation, CI/CD, monitoring, and operational readiness.
• Work closely with Voice Engineering, Operations, Architecture, and Product teams to prioritise requirements and deliver effective, integrated solutions.
• Ensure systems are observable and operable in production, with appropriate metrics, logging, alerting, and documentation in place.
• Manage team capacity, delivery commitments, and technical risk, ensuring predictable outcomes and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Led engineering teams delivering PHP‑based backend systems and internal platforms, supporting operational tooling such as monitoring dashboards, reporting systems, and diagnostics services.
• Provided technical leadership across PHP microservices and legacy systems, ensuring scalability, maintainability, and alignment with broader architecture without being a primary hands‑on contributor.
• Proven experience leading software or engineering teams responsible for building and operating internal platforms or support systems.
• Strong technical background in backend or systems development, with the ability to provide effective technical leadership and oversight without being a primary hands‑on contributor.
• Experience delivering systems that support operational and engineering users, such as monitoring, diagnostics, reporting, or network support tooling.
• Demonstrable experience owning technical roadmaps and translating business and operational requirements into prioritised delivery plans.
• Experience working with distributed or microservice‑based systems in a production environment.
• Experience using tools such as Jira and Confluence for delivery management and documentation.
• Strong understanding of software quality practices, including testing strategies, CI/CD pipelines, and operational readiness.
• Experience working closely with infrastructure, automation, or DevOps engineers to deliver reliable and scalable platforms.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across engineering, operations, architecture, and product teams.
• Strong people management skills, including coaching, development, and performance management of engineers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce clear documentation and communicate technical topics to non‑technical stakeholders.

Benefits

• 25 days of annual leave, plus an extra day off for your birthday.
• A volunteer day, allowing you to support a cause that matters to you.
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay.
• Contributory pension scheme with increased contributions from Gamma.
• Group income protection, life assurance (four times your salary), and private medical insurance through Vitality.
• Tax‑efficient share save and share incentive plans.
• Electric Vehicle scheme and Cycle to Work scheme.

This role is hybrid, with office and home working flexibility. If you feel you could be a great fit for Gamma but don't meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply - you might be exactly who we're looking for. Gamma is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building inclusive, diverse teams where everyone can be their authentic selves. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on any protected characteristics.