Software Engineering Director

We are looking for a Software Engineering Director who combines strong technical depth with proven people leadership. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who thrives in scale-up environments and can balance strategy with execution.

As Software Engineering Director, you will lead multiple engineering teams and play a key role in shaping how engineering operates at Opus 2. Reporting to the SVP, you will translate business and technology strategy into executable plans, drive delivery excellence, and develop a high-performing engineering organisation.

You will remain technically credible and engaged, supporting teams with architectural decisions, complex problem solving, and technical direction where needed.

What you'll be doing

Leadership & Strategy

• Lead multiple engineering teams to deliver high-quality, scalable software aligned with company strategy and the SVP’s direction. 
• Translate strategic vision into clear, actionable engineering plans and roadmaps. 
• Act as a senior voice in technology decision-making and long-term platform evolution.

Delivery Excellence

• Ensure predictable, high-quality delivery across teams. 
• Establish and continuously improve engineering processes, ways of working, and delivery practices. 
• Define, track, and act on meaningful engineering metrics (velocity, quality, reliability, team health). 

Technical Direction

• Shape and evolve architecture, standards, and engineering best practices. 
• Promote systems that are scalable, secure, maintainable, and fit for growth. 
• Provide hands-on technical leadership when required, particularly for complex or high-risk initiatives.

People & Culture

• Coach and develop Engineering Managers and Tech Leads, building leadership capability and autonomy. 
• Foster a psychologically safe, inclusive, and high-engagement engineering culture. 
• Build strong teams that are motivated, accountable, and proud of what they deliver.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Product, Design, DevOps, and Finance to align priorities, capacity, and investment. 
• Ensure engineering is seen as a trusted, strategic partner across the business. 

Operational Excellence

• Own engineering operational health, including stability, security, compliance, and incident management. 
• Ensure effective on-call, incident response, and post-incident learning processes.

What Success Looks Like

• Predictable, high-quality delivery across engineering domains. 
• Strong leadership pipeline with empowered Engineering Managers and Tech Leads. 
• Scalable architecture and mature, pragmatic engineering processes. 
• Transparent reporting and data-driven decision-making. 
• Engineering recognised as a strategic partner within Opus 2. 

Requirements

What we're looking for in you

Experience

• Significant experience leading multiple software engineering teams in a scale-up or fast-growing environment. 
• A strong software development background with the ability to be hands-on when needed. 
• Experience designing and operating distributed, cloud-based systems. 
• Proven track record of improving delivery predictability, quality, and team health. 
• Experience coaching and developing engineering leaders. 

Technical Background

• Significant Strong understanding of modern backend and frontend architectures. 
• Experience with some or all of: 

• Go 
• Kubernetes 
• React 
• AWS 

• Comfort operating at both architectural and code-level discussions. 

Leadership Qualities

• Pragmatic, outcome-focused, and calm under pressure.
• Excellent communicator who can align technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Passionate about building strong engineering culture and high-performing teams.
• Comfortable balancing short-term delivery with long-term platform health.

Why Join Opus 2

• Influence the direction of a growing, mission-driven technology company.
• Lead and shape an engineering organisation at a pivotal stage of growth.
• Work with smart, motivated people solving meaningful, complex problems.
• Competitive compensation and flexibility appropriate for a senior leadership role.

Benefits

Opus 2 is a global leader in legal software and services, trusted partner of the world’s leading legal teams. All our achievements are underpinned by our unique culture where our people are our most valuable asset. Working at Opus 2, you’ll receive:

• Contributory pension plan.
• 33 days annual holidays, flexible working, and length of service entitlement.
• Health Insurance.
• Loyalty Share Scheme.
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice.
• Cycle to Work Scheme.
• Calm and Mindfulness sessions.
• A day of leave to volunteer for charity and an active CSR team raising money towards a company charity.
• Regular Company Social Events.
• Yearly Development Retreat.