About IRISIRIS Software Group is one of the UK's largest privately held software companies, trusted by 100,000+ businesses, schools and accountancy firms to keep their operations running. Our software pays 1 in 6 UK employees, supports over 12,000 schools, and is relied on by 91 of the top 100 UK accountancy firms.We're a Great Place to Work certified employer, recognised for our commitment to well-being, inclusion and development - and we're growing fast.The OpportunityAs Director of Engineering (InfraOps), you will lead a central function of approximately 45 engineers responsible for Federated InfraOps, Core Infrastructure, Datastores, Service Desk operations, and near 24/7 incident support.You will be accountable for the organisational capability, service delivery, operating model, budget, and long-term effectiveness of the InfraOps function. your focus is ensuring the organisation, people, processes, governance, and commercial arrangements enable engineering teams to succeed.You will be responsible for creating a predictable, well-governed, and trusted service organisation that supports a large and complex software estate while balancing cost, operational resilience, and service quality.Define service boundaries and accountabilities between InfraOps and product engineering teams.Set objectives, priorities, performance measures, and service expectations aligned to wider Engineering goals.Escalate ownership, funding and operational risks appropriately to Engineering leadership.Workforce planning, succession planning, and organisational design.Recruitment, skills development, career frameworks, and talent growth across all levels.Building a collaborative, automation-focused culture across multiple geographies.Managing partner organisations and outsourced resources to ensure cost-effective, high-quality service delivery.Own the governance of engineering service desk operations.Platform, Supplier & Tooling ManagementYou will have responsibility for engineering-wide platforms, tooling, and supplier relationships.Commercial ownership of function-wide suppliers and engineering platforms.Driving consolidation toward strategic platforms including Azure, AWS, Jira and GitHub Enterprise.Ensuring platform assets remain secure, compliant, patched and operationally effective.Governance, Compliance & Risk ManagementYou will establish and maintain a strong operational control environment.Governance of change management, release enablement, access administration, disaster recovery testing and shared services.Identifying operational, resilience, security and capacity risks and driving mitigation plans.Budget & Commercial OwnershipYou will own the financial management of the InfraOps function.Budget ownership across headcount, contractors, partners and tooling.Building and defending business cases for investment in people, tooling and infrastructure.What We're Looking ForEssential Experience & Qualifications:Degree-qualified in Computer Science, Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent industry experience.Previous Director-level (or equivalent senior leadership) experience running an infrastructure, InfraOps or operations function of comparable scale, ideally within SaaS or cloud-native software.Proven experience (10+ years) in infrastructure, InfraOps or operations engineering, with at least 3 years leading and line-managing managers and teams.Strong track record of designing and evolving team structures and operating models across in-house and partner/offshore resources.Demonstrable ownership of budgets, headcount and supplier commercials, including renewals, negotiations, licensing and cost optimisation.Solid working knowledge of multi-cloud (Azure and AWS) and hybrid/private-cloud environments.Strong commercial acumen with the ability to articulate the cost and value of engineering operations to senior stakeholders.Highly effective at building trusted cross-functional relationships.Passionate about developing people and building high-performing teams.Experience partnering with Principal or Staff-level engineering leaders, maintaining a clear separation between technical authority and functional leadership.Growth: Continuous learning and career development opportunities.Belonging: A culture that celebrates diversity and empowers every individual.Application review — we assess your experience and potentialInitial call — a short conversation to learn about you and share more about the roleSkills assessment — tailored to the position, e.g. case study, coding challenge or portfolio reviewFinal interview — meet the team and explore how you'll make an IMPACT at IRISWe'll always walk you through the specific stages at the start of the process so you can prepare with confidence.If you need any adjustments or accommodations during the process, let us know, we’re committed to making this experience accessible for everyone.LocationIRIS Remote, UKEmployment TypeFull timeLocation TypeHybridDepartmentIRIS IRIS EngineeringIRIS Engineering Central
Engineering Manager - Remote or Hybrid Working employer: Iris Software
At IRIS Software Group, we pride ourselves on being a Great Place to Work certified employer, offering a supportive and inclusive work culture that prioritises employee well-being and development. As a Marketing Events Specialist, you'll have the opportunity to influence millions globally while enjoying continuous learning and career growth in a dynamic remote environment. Join us and be part of a team that celebrates diversity and empowers every individual to make a meaningful impact.
