Software Engineering Director

A Software Engineering Director plays a fundamental role in shaping and delivering high quality software solutions to complex client challenges across discovery and delivery.

You will partner closely with clients to understand engineering challenges across the application stack, translating business needs into scalable technical solutions. You'll remain hands-on throughout delivery, contributing to architecture, key technical decisions and critical parts of the codebase while leading teams across front-end, back-end and full-stack development to deliver secure maintainable and high performing software.

Specifically, you will:

• Lead technical delivery across complex multi-team software initiatives spanning front-end, back-end and full-stack solutions with accountability for overall quality and outcomes.
• Remain hands-on in architecture, design and code, particularly across user interfaces, APIs, services and data layers were design and execution matter most.
• Set and uphold strong engineering standards across the full stack, including development practice and operational excellence.
• Bring a practical understanding of AI-enabled systems with experience applying AI capabilities and tools within front-end, back-end or platform engineering contexts where they add genuine value.
• Guide teams in the thoughtful and responsible use of modern engineering and AI tooling, improving delivery efficiency and developer experience.
• Coach and mentor Senior Principals, Architects and Senior Engineers, strengthening technical leadership and hands-on capability across front-end, back-end and full-stack teams.
• Act as a trusted technical voice with clients, clearly explaining architectural decisions, trade-offs and delivery approaches.
• Foster an inclusive, collaborative engineering culture built on craftsmanship, learning and continuous improvement., We have deep relationships with leading technology partners and they love us for our innovative and outcome based approach. Our people are passionate about solving our clients problems using the tech that's the best solution for them. What's more, we're there to work side-by-side with our client teams to enable them for success long after we've gone. We're all about momentum that outlasts us.

Flexibility

Life is busy, and we understand that. Our team often juggles work, family, personal commitments, and crucial client obligations. We prioritise supporting our people in balancing what matters to them while ensuring we meet our client commitments. Flexibility is key, as we sometimes need to adapt to meet client needs. This way, our team can work on high-impact projects they'll love, knowing they have the flexibility to manage their personal and professional lives effectively.

People-first

Great solutions start with great people and those great people are at their best when they're empowered to be their true authentic selves through leading with kindness, empathy and striving for equity we're able to create better experiences for our people and our clients. Our culture is central to everything we do - encouraging passion, adventure, adaptiveness and diversity of thought. Inclusion, diversity and equity is at the top of our agenda, we have created a community where we empower our team to be the best version of themselves.

Rewards

There's no shying away from it - the compensation and benefits on offer have to be competitive too, right? We know that. That's why we have a dedicated team working with our leaders to ensure our packages are fair, competitive, and rewarding!

Do you have experience in Test automation?, * A strong hands-on software engineering background, with significant experience delivering production-grade systems.

• Experience working across full-stack development, with a solid understanding of how these layers interact in modern applications.
• Practical experience with AI or AI-assisted tooling, and an understanding of how it can be applied effectively within software engineering teams.
• Strong grounding in core software engineering principles such as system design, APIs, distributed systems and data-driven architectures.
• A proven ability to set technical direction while remaining engaged in hands-on delivery when needed.
• Experience with modern delivery practices including CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, cloud platforms and operational resilience.
• Demonstrate proven experience in leading, managing and growing software engineering teams, developing engineers and leaders through coaching, mentorship, performance management and creating clear progression paths.
• A passion for developing engineers and raising technical standards through mentorship and leadership.
• A collaborative leadership style, able to engage effectively with both engineers and senior client stakeholders.

We have a question for you - and it's something we're passionate about. Can you imagine a world in which you can truly love your life and your work? Well, we have some good news - creating that world and making this vision a reality is what we get out of bed for; it's our north star.

Slalom is a global, human-centric business and technology consulting firm. We specialise in partnering with organisations that aspire to excellence, helping them tackle complex challenges and achieve transformative results through strategy, technology, and business transformation services. By prioritising people, Slalom creates a unique consulting experience, with a team of strategists and engineers delivering practical, end-to-end solutions that drive impactful outcomes for our clients. We empower people and organisations to dream bigger, move faster, and build better tomorrows for all. Our Software Engineering team builds the core applications and services that power our products and deliver value to users around the world. We focus on creating scalable, secure, and high-performance systems that enable rapid innovation and seamless user experiences. By leveraging modern engineering practices and cloud-native technologies we aim to reduce complexity, accelerate delivery, and continuously improve our platforms. We're excited to welcome a Hands-on Director of Software Engineering to join our Manchester team and help drive forward our mission of building world-class software., Slalom is a next-generation professional services company creating value at the intersection of business, technology, and humanity. With our fiercely human approach, we deeply understand our customers-and their customers-to deliver practical, end-to-end solutions that drive meaningful impact. Supported by over 400 technology partners, our 10,000+ team members in 11 countries and 52 offices we Inspire people and organisations to envision greater possibilities, accelerate progress, and shape a brighter future for everyone.