3x a week on-site in London - Non Negotiable
*No sponsorship provided*
This role is suited to a modern engineering leader, not a hands-on developer. You will bring:
- A proven track record of modernising application environments
- Strong leadership capability and the ability to uplift teams into new ways of working
- Practical experience of cloud, DevSecOps, API-led architectures, and AI-enabled engineering
- The ability to operate confidently at CIO / business leadership level
My client are seeking a forward-thinking IT Application Development Manager (Head of) to lead the transformation and modernisation of the internal application landscape. This is a key leadership role within the Technology function, responsible for evolving our development practices, building a high-performing engineering team, and delivering cloud-native, API-driven, and AI-enabled solutions.
Operating as part of the Technology Leadership Team, you will play a critical role in shaping engineering strategy, embedding DevSecOps and CI/CD practices in Azure, and driving the adoption of Agentic AI and intelligent automation across the software lifecycle and application operations.
This is primarily a leadership and delivery role. While occasional hands-on involvement may be required, your primary focus will be enabling your team, setting standards, ensuring quality delivery, and partnering with the business to deliver value.
Key Accountabilities
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of ~5 developers, supporting their transition to modern engineering practices and technologies.
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and innovation.
- Drive adoption of agile, DevSecOps, and product-aligned ways of working.
- Define roles, capabilities and development pathways aligned with the future-state technology landscape.
- Recruit and onboard talent as required to support modernisation ambitions.
- Own and evolve CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps practices across GitHub and Azure DevOps.
- Ensure automated, secure, and scalable delivery pipelines including:
- Build, test, release automation
- Security scanning (SAST/DAST, secrets, dependencies)
- Code quality and test automation standards
- Establish measurable delivery performance (e.g. deployment frequency, lead time, change failure rates).
- Integrate delivery practices with Change & Release governance while maintaining speed and quality.
3. Cloud-Native Application Modernisation
- Lead the transition from legacy applications (including SORCE) to a modern cloud-native architecture.
- Microservices and modular architectures
- Resilience, scalability, and observability
- Align with architecture, infrastructure, and security teams to ensure platform consistency and compliance.
4. AI-Enabled Engineering & Intelligent Operations
- Lead the practical adoption of Agentic AI and automation across development and operations:
- AI-generated and assisted code (Copilot, Claude)
- Automated unit testing, test generation, and syntax validation
- AI-assisted documentation and knowledge management
- Intelligent incident triage and operational insights
- Introduce guardrails for secure and responsible AI usage, including auditability and risk controls.
- Embed AI and automation into run, support, and maintenance activities to improve service quality and efficiency.
5. API & Integration Engineering
- Lead development and support of APIs and integration services across internal systems and external SaaS solutions.
- Versioning, security, authentication and observability
- Promote reusable integration patterns and robust error handling practices.
6. Stakeholder Management & Business Partnership
- Act as a trusted partner to business stakeholders, translating requirements into technical solutions.
- Work closely with PMO, Product Owners, BAs, and delivery teams to shape priorities and outcomes.
- Engage with IT service functions (Change, Release, Service Design, Support) to ensure solutions are operable and supportable.
- Support adoption, training, and enablement of delivered systems.
- Communicate effectively with non-technical audiences, including senior leadership.
- Ensure alignment with internal governance frameworks, security policies, and regulatory requirements.
- Support audit activities and ensure traceability, controls, and compliance across delivery and operations.
- Manage the application development budget, balancing cost efficiency with innovation.
- Oversee vendor relationships (SaaS providers, delivery partners) ensuring value and service quality.
9. Technology Leadership Contribution
- Support cross-functional initiatives (e.g. SaaS implementations, discovery work, process improvement).
- Contribute to broader IT leadership activities (town halls, community events, offsites).
- Help shape operating model improvements across the technology function.
Technology Environment
- Core Stack: .NET Core, C#, MS SQL, React
- Automation: Power Automate
- AI Tooling: GitHub Copilot, Anthropic Claude
Leadership & Delivery
- Inspires and develops high-performing teams
- Leads through transformation and ambiguity
- Drives delivery outcomes with discipline and pace
Technical & Functional
- Strong understanding of cloud-native architectures and DevSecOps
- Practical experience modernising application estates
- Ability to govern and guide technical direction without needing to be hands-on
Communication & Stakeholder Management
- Excellent communicator with both technical and business audiences
- Builds trust and credibility at senior levels
- Influences decisions and drives alignment across functions
Analytical & Problem Solving
- Strong root-cause analysis capability
- Balances speed, risk, and quality effectively
Skills, Knowledge & Experience
- Proven leadership experience managing software development teams
- Strong experience with Azure DevSecOps and CI/CD implementation
- API and integration development experience (REST, APIM)
- Experience with Power Automate and workflow automation
- Experience working with modern Microsoft stack (.NET, Azure, React)
- Strong stakeholder management across business and IT
- Experience working within governance, risk and compliance frameworks
- Experience with Agentic AI / AI-assisted engineering practices
- Knowledge of AI tools such as Copilot and Claude in software delivery
- Experience using AI/automation to enhance testing, operations and support
Working Relationships
- Business stakeholders and leadership teams
- Product Owners, Business Analysts, PMO, Project Managers
- Application Support and Service Management teams
- Change, Release and Service Design functions
- Architecture, Infrastructure and Security teams
