Head of Software in Cambridge

Your new career starts here with Plextek.

COMPANY VISION

Plextek is a leading choice for employees and customers for exceptional engineering and strategic innovation to create better, safer, and more sustainable technologies and products.

OUR VALUES AND BELIEFS

Being a responsible business, we work with integrity and honesty. We share success with our people and our communities. We embrace diversity in outlook and work as a team with colleagues, customers, and suppliers to provide the best technical solution and professional service experience. We empower each other, we’re adaptable, show initiative, and deliver on our commitments together.

THE ROLE

We are seeking an experienced and technically capable individual to lead a multidisciplinary software department, reporting to the SVP of Engineering. Working across embedded software, DSP, FPGA and AI/ML, our software department supports technologies such as radar, sensing, communications, and an ever‑growing range of client projects across sectors as diverse as defence to healthcare. The role includes people leadership, capability development, technical oversight, and ensuring delivery quality across our software activities. The successful candidate will work closely with senior management to achieve the company’s strategic business goals and growth ambitions, and to drive a culture of continuous improvement and productivity. You will provide direct line management for senior members of the team as well as overall line management of the whole software department. You will also support project planning and resourcing, maintain oversight of ongoing technical work, and help develop and maintain best practices across the group.

Responsibilities will include:

• Manage and grow a capable, responsive, motivated, and delivery-focused team across embedded, DSP, FPGA, and AI/ML software and firmware.
• Lead active succession planning and capacity planning activities, hiring and developing people as necessary to ensure that the software department is the right size and shape, with the right mix of skills, for the delivery demands placed upon it.
• Make decisions on investments in tools and training.
• Encourage knowledge sharing across the team.
• Oversee appraisals and provide performance and development feedback.

Process Improvement:

• Drive continuous improvement changes to the software development processes, enhancing quality and efficiency and maintaining a position at the forefront of current industry best practice.
• Ensure governance of quality, rules, standards, and processes within the team.
• Conduct reviews and audits of software projects to ensure outcomes meet quality standards, driving improvements for future projects.

Technical Sales Support:

• Contribute to technical sales activities, including costing, proposal creation, and reviewing technical content for client bids.
• Develop and maintain strong customer relationships, working in conjunction with the commercial and project management teams.
• Identify and mitigate technical risks on software projects.

Project Planning and Resourcing:

• Collaborate with other department heads to manage project resourcing, ensuring that projects are appropriately staffed and that team members are getting the right opportunities to support their development.

THE PERSON

The ideal candidate will be a high-calibre individual with:

• A track record of relevant industry experience, preferably in a fee-for-service environment, in which they have provided technical leadership to deliver high-quality solutions.
• Technical breadth covering embedded software, DSP, FPGA firmware, test, cloud, and AI/ML – with depth in at least one of these areas and an ability to understand concepts across a broad range of technology areas.
• Proven experience of line management of individuals, managing managers, and developing teams.
• Ability to build strong relationships of mutual trust and respect with clients and colleagues.
• A passion for improving software development processes, and comfortable balancing process rigour with the needs of a wide variety of types of project – from studies, proofs of concept and early prototypes, to full scale high quality production systems.
• A good balance of technical, commercial / business and people skills.
• Exposure to the Defence industry, and able to obtain Security Clearance.

THE REWARDS

We offer an excellent package, a stimulating environment, and a real interest in your development to encourage you to achieve your full potential. We are a versatile business, able to support career progression as appropriate. We are based just south of Cambridge with easy road and rail routes to the vibrant city centre. We provide a friendly and supportive working environment, including regular on-site and off-site social events.

Details

Location: CB10 1NY
Position: Head of Software
Placement: Permanent