Software & Controls Leader: Roadmap & PLC Systems in Bristol

Your role as a Software and Controls Manager is to ensure the effective development and delivery of optimal abatement & integrated systems control and software solutions that are fully aligned with the strategic objectives of the business and deliver differentiated value to the customer, delivered on schedule and within budget. You will report to the Technical Manager.

You will be accountable for:

• The end-to-end delivery of software for abatement & integrated system products.
• Working collaboratively with e‑Parts Project Managers to ensure clear hardware specifications are provided in line with the project schedule, and offering support as required to enable delivery of e‑Parts on time, to specification, and within budget.
• Creating, owning, and delivering the software product roadmap for future abatement & integrated system product platforms.
• Presenting the software roadmap at stakeholder and executive reviews.
• Aligning software strategy and deployment across NPI, A&D, ETO, and sustaining abatement and integrated system projects.
• Aligning software and controls processes with other product development teams where applicable and beneficial to the wider business, ensuring processes align with the divisional governance framework.
• Aligning software strategy and practices with global engineering teams.
• Proactively driving adoption of global software initiatives.
• Providing strong technical leadership, ensuring robust, scalable, and maintainable software solutions.
• Leading, managing, and developing the controls and software engineering team.
• Setting clear expectations for delivery ownership, accountability, and performance.

To succeed, you will need:

• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate with colleagues across different time‑zones and cultural diversity.
• Excellent communication, coupled with leadership, decision‑making, and project management skills.
• Enthusiasm for organisation, technology, and process changes.
• The ability to encourage, inspire, and motivate others, and the ability to drive change when required.
• Experience with continuous integration, continuous delivery, and automated testing.
• Experience with User Interface design and development (UI/UX).
• Experience with software development management tools, CI/CD build agents, and version control systems such as JIRA, Axosoft, Xray, Jenkins, TeamCity, Azure DevOps, SVN, and GIT.
• PLC programming – ladder logic, structured text, function blocks.
• Communications protocols – Modbus TCP/RTU, EtherCAT, Ethernet/IP, IO‑Link.

In return, we offer:

• A culture of trust and accountability.
• Lifelong learning and career growth.
• Innovation powered by people.
• Comprehensive compensation and benefits.
• Health and well‑being.

This role offers a hybrid working arrangement, allowing you to split your time between working remotely and being on‑site at our office in Bristol, United Kingdom (GB).

About Edwards: Edwards is a leading developer and manufacturer of sophisticated vacuum products, exhaust management systems and related value‑added services. Edwards solutions are integral to manufacturing processes for semiconductors, flat‑panel displays, LEDs and solar cells. They are also used within an increasingly diverse range of industrial processes for power, glass and other coating applications; steel and other metallurgy; pharmaceutical and chemical; and for scientific instruments in a wide range of R&D applications. Edwards has over 4,000 employees worldwide engaged in the design, manufacture and support of high‑technology vacuum and exhaust management equipment, and operates state‑of‑the‑art manufacturing facilities in Europe, Asia and North America.