Software Development Lead

IRIS Software Group, one of the UK’s leading privately held software companies, is transforming how businesses, schools, and organisations operate through our comprehensive suite of cloud-native solutions. With over 100,000 customers across 135 countries, we deliver mission-critical software spanning accountancy and finance, HR and payroll, education management, and business operations. Our impact reaches deep into communities : over 4 million UK families connect with their children’s schools through our education apps, nearly 5 million employees globally are managed through our HR solutions, one in eight UK employees receive their pay through IRIS payroll systems, and we serve over 13,000 schools and academies nationwide.

We’re the largest third-party online tax filer with the UK Government and are trusted by 91 of the top 100 UK accountancy firms and 54 of the top 100 US CPA firms.

As we accelerate our transformation into an AI-first company, we’re pioneering the next generation of cloud-based solutions that don’t just digitise processes—they intelligently automate them. Our modernisation journey focuses on cloud-native architecture, advanced analytics, and AI-powered insights that enable our customers to work smarter, stay compliant effortlessly, and focus on what matters most to their success.

We remain committed to being more than a software provider—we’re partners in our customers’ growth, ensuring they can embrace the future with confidence while we handle the complexity behind the scenes. Our continued recognition as a Great Place to Work and Best Workplace for Women reflects our belief that exceptional people create exceptional solutions that make a real difference in millions of lives every day.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to join IRIS Software Group as we transform into an AI-first company delivering cloud-native solutions that impact millions of lives globally. IRIS produces an integrated suite of mission-critical software applications spanning accountancy, HR, payroll, education, and business operations. You will be working as part of an Agile team to deliver innovative solutions to user stories and requirements, contributing to our modernisation journey that serves over 100,000 customers across 135 countries.

The role is challenging and dynamic, with key deadlines to be met as we accelerate our cloud transformation and implement next-generation technologies. You’ll need to embrace continuous learning and bring a focused attitude to tasks that directly enable businesses, schools, and organisations to work smarter and more efficiently.

You will be involved in a variety of cutting-edge technical solutions, ranging from the latest .NET technologies using C# to various Front End Web JS Frameworks, all while contributing to our AI-powered platform evolution. You will be supported in your career growth by a highly experienced team, comprehensive learning opportunities, and a vibrant technical community committed to creating exceptional solutions that make a real difference in how our customers operate and succeed.

Main Responsibilities :

Delivery Management (40%)

Ensure projects are scoped, prioritised, and delivered on time with clear alignment to business goals and quarterly OKRs

Drive predictability, velocity, and quality through effective agile practices and continuous improvement

Communicate proactively with stakeholders (product, design, leadership, customers) on delivery progress, risks, and dependencies

Facilitate alignment between technical capabilities and business objectives through clear, strategic communication

Own team’s Agile maturity establish team delivery standards, and optimise team practices for maximum effectiveness and predictability

Balance workload, staffing, and hiring needs to maintain sustainable delivery while planning for growth

Manage up and across the organisation to secure resources, remove impediments, and represent the team strategically

Technical Leadership & Contribution (40%)

Provide strategic technical leadership through architectural guidance and critical technical decisions, with selective hands-on contributions

Define technical decisions and maintain system health through architectural oversight and technical debt management

Establish and drive comprehensive quality culture including TDD / BDD practices, testing standards, automated quality gates, and team code review excellence

Define team security standards ensure team compliance governance, and drive security-first culture within the engineering team

Stay technically current through code reviews, architectural discussions, strategic technical involvement and ensure alignment with broader organisational technical strategy

Delegate technical execution to senior team members while maintaining oversight and accountability

Define AI strategy and ensure responsible AI culture across teams

Empower team decision-making within established frameworks and escalation criteria

Define team documentation strategy establish governance frameworks for the team, and ensure knowledge management within the engineering team

People Management (20%)

Line manage engineers including coaching, performance reviews, career planning, and regular 1 : 1s

Create inclusive, collaborative environment that enables team success by removing blockers and providing resources

Develop team members through structured career development, skill building, and succession planning

Handle performance management including improvement plans, conflict resolution, and team dynamics

Technical Skills

Frontend Strategy : Strategic understanding of modern UI frameworks (e.G. Angular, React, Vue.Js, Blazor)

Backend Leadership : Strong understanding of .NET Core, C#, ASP.NET Core Web APIs, REST, application architectures, and distributed systems

Data Architecture : Strategic knowledge of SQL, NoSQL and data architecture decisions

CI / CD Strategy : Define team CI / CD strategy, establish team governance frameworks, and ensure adoption of deployment best practices across the team

Infrastructure as Code : Infrastructure as Code with Terraform, ARM Templates or AWS CloudFormation / CDK

Observability Strategy : DataDog, Application Insights or Amazon CloudWatch implementation with comprehensive observability strategy and cloud governance

Cloud Strategy : Strategic SAAS using Azure (Functions, Queue, Blob Storage, VMs, etc) or AWS (Lambda, SQS / SNS, EC2, etc.) ecosystems

Container Orchestration : Advanced Container (e.G. Docker) and Kubernetes (AKS / EKS) with production-scale deployments

Architecture Governance : Expertise in clean architecture, domain-driven design, and application architectural patterns

Scalable Solutions : Experience with highly scalable solutions and internet-facing traffic levels

Quality & Testing Leadership : Define team testing strategy, establish quality governance for the team, and measure team adoption with continuous improvement initiatives

Application Security : Confident vulnerability management, thread modelling and tracking

Production Support : Knowledge of observability and production support practices

Essential Experience Requirements

6+ years in software engineering, minimum 1 year of formal people management experience or 2+ years of technical leadership with mentoring responsibilities

Demonstrable experience delivering complex software projects using Agile methodologies

Proven recent technical skills with strategic contributions to production systems

Code review leadership with experience establishing review standards and culture

Demonstrated ability to balance technical excellence with business delivery requirements

Leadership and Soft Skills

Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills

Effective prioritisation and negotiation abilities

Strong analytical and strategic thinking capabilities

Ability to balance technical excellence with business delivery requirements

Fostering collaboration, promoting team building and culture development skills

Desirable Skills

Experience working with regulated or complex domains (finance, health, govtech) with audit requirements

Experience line managing engineers including 1 : 1s, performance reviews, and career development

Experience with platform engineering or shared service teams building reusable UI components and backend services

Experience with AI tools to enhance productivity and team development practices

Expertise with advanced monitoring and APM strategies using DataDog, including custom dashboards and alerting

Advanced understanding of modern UI architecture patterns (micro-frontends, SSR / SSG)

Experience as Engineering Lead, Tech Lead, or similar leadership role with full-stack teams

Exposure to DevOps processes and automation ensuring end-to-end responsibility of features

Advanced cloud certifications in Azure or AWS

Why Join us ?

Compensation & Benefits :

Competitive salary with leadership premium

Generous holiday allowance

Private medical healthcare

Life assurance - Pension (location dependent)

Professional Development :

Executive leadership development programs

Conference speaking and industry thought leadership opportunities

Advanced technical and management training

Mentorship from senior engineering leadership

Opportunity to shape engineering culture and practices

Culture & Environment :

Great Place to Work certified with leadership recognition

Best Workplaces for Women with inclusive leadership focus

Autonomous team leadership with strategic impact

Opportunity to build and lead high-performing engineering teams

Additional benefits : Cycle to Work, charity days, discount schemes