Software Engineering Manager in Birmingham

Software Engineering Manager in Birmingham

Birmingham Full-Time 60000 - 80000 £ / year (est.) No working from home possible
SugarCRM

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead and mentor a dynamic team of software engineers while driving engineering excellence.
  • Company: Join a forward-thinking tech company focused on AI-driven solutions.
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible work options, and opportunities for professional growth.
  • Other info: Embrace a culture of continuous learning and collaboration.
  • Why this job: Make an immediate impact in a high-paced environment and elevate team performance.
  • Qualifications: 5+ years in software development and 2+ years managing engineering teams.

The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.

We are looking for a dynamic, hands-on Engineering Manager who thrives on new challenges and is excited about staying close to the code.

Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, or other relevant field, plus 5 years of professional experience in a technical software development position.
  • 2+ years of recent experience directly managing software engineers, including coaching, performance management, identifying skill gaps, and executing development and improvement plans.
  • 2+ years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring engineering talent.
  • 2+ years of experience leading Scrum team ceremonies.
  • 3+ years of experience developing web and/or mobile applications, backend services, and test automation in a professional software development organisation.
  • 3+ years of experience with tools such as Git, Jira, and Confluence, and with large-scale enterprise products and/or distributed SaaS systems.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead teams through ambiguity, pressure, or periods of low morale, while rebuilding trust, improving execution, and creating a sustainable pace of delivery.
  • Strong emotional intelligence, coaching ability, and interpersonal judgement, with the ability to resolve conflict, influence across the wider organisation, and communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Skilled in planning, risk management, and organisational skills, including experience managing remote teams across time zones and improving engineering systems, team processes, and operating rhythms to enable healthy, repeatable execution.

Desirable:

  • Measurable performance gains in team health, delivery predictability, or engineering effectiveness using key metric data.
  • Demonstrated reduction in defects through quality initiatives and engineering excellence practices.
  • Clear understanding of capacity and velocity, and the relationship of velocity to throughput.
  • Experience turning around underperforming or low-mora team through strong leadership, coaching, and systems improvement.
  • Experience driving improvements in developer productivity, code quality, release confidence, and operational maturity.

We want you to learn new things in this role, and we encourage you to apply if your experience is close to what we’re looking for. We understand that no candidate is perfectly qualified for any job. Experience comes in different forms; many skills are transferable; and passion goes a long way. Even more important than your resume is a clear demonstration of dedication, impact, and the ability to thrive in a fluid and collaborative environment.

What the job involves:

This role is uniquely positioned to make an immediate impact within product engineering by leading a team of engineers through a period of change, strengthening team health, and elevating engineering excellence while delivering on our AI-driven Revenue Intelligence capability. The ideal candidate will thrive in a high-paced, high-visibility position that works closely with cross-functional teams to deliver the product and technology roadmap, while bringing the emotional intelligence, technical judgement, and autonomy needed to build strong systems, restore confidence, and create a sustainable, high-performing engineering organisation.

  • Manage, mentor, and develop a team of software engineers through regular coaching, career development, performance feedback, and clear expectations, while leading core people management activities including 1:1s, reviews, goal-setting, promotions, compensation decisions, hiring, and resource planning.
  • Build a positive, resilient team culture that promotes psychological safety, collaboration, continuous learning, accountability, and sustainable ways of working, while assessing team health and addressing the root causes of morale, delivery, and organisational issues.
  • Lead delivery by facilitating effective team operating rhythms, removing blockers, improving processes, and using metrics such as velocity, cycle time, throughput, and defect rates to strengthen planning, balance workloads, and improve predictability.
  • Define product roadmaps and technical vision with stakeholders, communicate progress, risks, and trade-offs, and align delivery, architecture, and quality standards with business goals and team capacity.
  • Lead technical decision-making across architecture, engineering standards, code quality, testing, reliability, maintainability, and technical debt reduction, while providing hands-on guidance and championing engineering excellence across the team.
  • Manage cross-team dependencies through clear ownership, integration points, API contracts, co-ordinated releases, documentation, and thoughtful adoption of GAI tools to improve productivity and developer effectiveness.

Software Engineering Manager in Birmingham employer: SugarCRM

Join a forward-thinking company that values innovation and collaboration, where as a Software Engineering Manager, you will lead a dynamic team in a supportive environment focused on continuous learning and professional growth. With a strong emphasis on psychological safety and team health, we offer unique opportunities to make a significant impact on our AI-driven projects while enjoying a culture that fosters creativity and resilience. Located in a vibrant tech hub, our organisation provides access to cutting-edge resources and a network of like-minded professionals, making it an excellent place for those seeking meaningful and rewarding employment.

SugarCRM

Contact Details:

SugarCRM Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Software Engineering Manager in Birmingham

Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the tech industry, especially those who work at companies you're interested in. A friendly chat can lead to referrals, which can give you a leg up in the hiring process.

Tip Number 2

Prepare for interviews by practising common questions and scenarios related to team management and technical challenges. We recommend doing mock interviews with friends or using online platforms to get comfortable with articulating your experience.

Tip Number 3

Showcase your leadership skills during interviews. Share specific examples of how you've turned around teams or improved processes. This will demonstrate your ability to manage and inspire others, which is key for a Software Engineering Manager role.

Tip Number 4

Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows your enthusiasm for joining our team directly.

We think you need these skills to ace Software Engineering Manager in Birmingham

Software Development
Team Management
Coaching
Performance Management
Recruitment
Scrum Methodology
Web Development

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show Your Passion:When writing your application, let your enthusiasm for software engineering shine through! We want to see how excited you are about the role and how your experiences align with our mission at StudySmarter.

Tailor Your CV:Make sure to customise your CV to highlight relevant experiences that match the job description. We love seeing how your unique skills can contribute to our team, so don’t hold back on showcasing your achievements!

Be Clear and Concise:Keep your application straightforward and to the point. We appreciate clarity, so make sure your key points stand out. Use bullet points if it helps to organise your thoughts better!

Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it’s super easy!

How to prepare for a job interview at SugarCRM

Know Your Tech Inside Out

Make sure you brush up on your technical skills and knowledge relevant to the role. Be prepared to discuss your experience with tools like Git, Jira, and Confluence, as well as your hands-on coding experience. They’ll likely want to see how you can lead a team while still being close to the code.

Showcase Your Leadership Style

Be ready to talk about your approach to managing and mentoring software engineers. Share specific examples of how you've coached teams, handled performance management, and improved team morale. Highlight any measurable successes you've had in these areas.

Demonstrate Emotional Intelligence

This role requires strong emotional intelligence, so think of examples where you've resolved conflicts or influenced others across the organisation. Show that you can communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences, and that you understand the importance of team culture.

Prepare for Scenario Questions

Expect questions that assess how you handle ambiguity and pressure. Prepare scenarios where you've turned around underperforming teams or improved engineering processes. Use metrics to back up your claims and show how you’ve driven improvements in productivity and quality.