CMAC Group
Director of Software Development
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About the Role
The Director of Software Development is a senior leadership role responsible for owning the technical direction, delivery capability, and commercial performance of the software development function.
This role requires deep, hands-on technical credibility alongside the ability to lead teams, work directly with customers, and make commercially sound decisions. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable diagnosing complex technical issues, architecting scalable solutions, and leading people and priorities.
This is not a purely strategic role, it demands full technical ownership and active involvement in engineering decisions.
What Success Looks Like
- Technical decisions are robust, scalable, and commercially sound.
- Solutions are designed for reuse and configuration, not repeated rework.
- Development priorities are clear, stable, and aligned to business value.
- Engineering teams are high-performing, engaged, and well-led.
- AI is used effectively, safely, and with strong cost discipline.
- Technology supports both customer outcomes and long-term profitability.
What you will do
- Own and demonstrate end-to-end technical understanding of all significant issues, guiding teams and engaging directly with customer technical stakeholders.
- Design and oversee scalable, reusable software solutions, ensuring customer-specific requirements are balanced against configurable, multi-use capabilities.
- Define and manage development priorities, balancing customer needs, business value, and technical health.
- Lead and develop a team of 10 engineers and contractors, driving performance, engagement, and capability growth.
- Own and manage cloud spend and engineering investment, ensuring cost efficiency and predictability.
- Manage and optimise the contractor model, balancing cost, capability, and delivery outcomes.
- Establish and govern the use of AI within the development lifecycle, covering tooling, controls, cost, and quality.
- Collaborate with internal stakeholders and customers to translate business needs into clear, deliverable technical solutions.
- Maintain high standards across architecture, engineering practices, security, and operational performance.
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About You
- A deeply credible technical leader who has progressed from a strong software engineering background.
- Naturally operate at both technical depth and strategic level, adapting your communication to engineers and non-technical stakeholders alike.
- Pragmatic and commercially aware, balancing ideal technical solutions with real-world constraints.
- Confident making difficult prioritisation decisions and clearly articulating trade-offs.
- Passionate about building and developing teams, not just delivering outputs.
- You take ownership, accountability, and pride in delivering high-quality outcomes.
Your Expertise
- Proven experience as a Senior Software Engineer, Tech Lead, or Engineering Leader, with continued technical depth.
- Strong ability to diagnose and resolve complex technical issues end-to-end, including root cause and trade-offs.
- Demonstrated experience designing reusable, configurable solutions (e.g. multi-tenant or productised platforms).
- Experience leading engineering teams (circa 8–15 people) including both permanent and contract resources.
- Strong experience managing prioritisation across competing demands (customer, business, technical).
- Hands-on experience with modern engineering environments (e.g. APIs, distributed systems, cloud platforms).
- Experience working with or across .NET, modern JavaScript frameworks (e.g. Vue.js), and cloud platforms (Azure or equivalent).
- Demonstrated experience implementing AI tools in the development lifecycle, including:
- Tool selection and practical usage
- Data protection and PII controls
- Cost management and optimisation
- Governance of AI-generated output
- Strong understanding of cloud cost management and operational efficiency.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage confidently with both engineers and customer technical stakeholders.
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About CMAC Group
We’re on a mission to keep the world moving - wherever, whenever people need it.
We believe disruption shouldn’t stop people in their tracks. From delayed flights to complex transport challenges, we make the complicated simple - getting people where they need to be safely and seamlessly.
Since 2007, we’ve built a technology-led platform connecting clients to a trusted global network, moving over 5 million passengers every year across the UK, Europe and beyond
We partner with airlines, rail providers, major corporations and emergency services, delivering 24/7 solutions through our family of brands when it matters most, with the scale and flexibility to handle even the most time critical journeys.
We’re not just moving people - we’re solving real world problems, creating calm in disruption and delivering exceptional service when it matters most.
CMAC Group actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
EDI is extremely important to us and we work hard to ensure that everyone connected with CMAC - whether employees, customers, Board Members, suppliers, or partners - has genuine and equal opportunities to participate in our organisation.
We welcome and support people of all backgrounds and identities, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
Our aim is to create an environment where everyone’s rights, dignity, and individuality are respected.
We value the unique contribution each person brings to our team and business, and we are committed to building an environment where everyone feels included and able to thrive.
CMAC Group is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates and are committed to ensuring fair, accessible, and equitable treatment for all applicants and employees.
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