Lead Software Engineer

KO2’s client is seeking an experienced Lead Software Engineer to lead the design, development, and delivery of embedded software solutions for innovative systems. This role provides technical leadership across all software development activities, ensuring robust, scalable, and high-quality software that supports the performance, safety, reliability, and functionality of the company’s core products.

Working within a fast-paced small to medium-sized engineering environment, you will lead a team of software engineers across BSW and Application Software, define software architecture, drive software planning, documentation, and organisation, and collaborate closely with systems, electronics, mechanical, and test teams to deliver advanced electric drive technologies from concept through validation and production., * Lead the design and development of embedded software for electric drive systems, including BSW, Application Software, motor control, charging, DC-DC control, diagnostics, and system functions

• Define and maintain software architecture aligned with system and product requirements
• Lead, organise, and mentor software engineers, promoting best practice across software development, planning, and documentation
• Define software tools, methods, and processes, and lead technical decisions on design, architecture, and ASPICE-aligned development
• Oversee the full software lifecycle from requirements through implementation, verification, validation, and release
• Deliver key software milestones through effective planning, organisation, documentation, progress tracking, and change control
• Develop and review high-quality embedded software using model-based development, autocode, and manual coding as appropriate
• Support development of control algorithms and ensure software meets performance, safety, reliability, and quality requirements
• Lead software integration with hardware platforms, embedded targets, and system architectures
• Collaborate with systems, hardware, and test engineers to define requirements, interfaces, and integration strategies
• Define and oversee software verification and validation, including unit, integration, and system-level testing, with full traceability between requirements, code, and test
• Lead software reviews and ensure compliance with coding, quality, and development standards
• Lead day-to-day software team activities, supporting delivery, technical development, and capability growth
• Drive continuous improvement in software processes, tools, documentation, planning, and standards, including version control, automated testing, continuous integration, and configuration management
• Support compliance with relevant industry standards, safety requirements, quality systems, and regulatory requirements
• Contribute to new concepts and future product strategy for electric drive systems, while promoting safe working practices in development and test environments

• Expertise in developing, optimising, and maintaining embedded software for electric drive systems, including BSW, Application Software, motor control algorithms, DC-DC control algorithms, inverter control, diagnostics, and real-time systems
• Strong software planning, documentation, organisation, and delivery management capability across requirements, architecture, design, implementation, verification, validation, release, and configuration management
• Proven ability to lead software engineering teams, mentor engineers, allocate work, organise activities, maintain strong documentation, and ensure delivery of high-quality, reliable software solutions
• Strong capability in defining software architecture and ensuring effective integration with hardware, control systems, and wider vehicle or product subsystems
• Experience in developing and overseeing software verification and validation activities, including unit testing, integration testing, HIL, and system-level testing
• Ability to work closely with hardware engineers, controls engineers, systems engineers, and test teams to deliver cohesive, high-performance electric drive solutions
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and technical decision-making skills, with the ability to balance performance, robustness, maintainability, and delivery objectives

If you’re a technically strong software leader looking to shape the software strategy behind next-generation electric drive systems, this is a great opportunity to make a real impact within a growing engineering business.