Software Development Manager / Engineering Lead

Role

Software Development Manager

Reports to

Head of Delivery

Primary focus

Developer management, sprint execution, roadmap coordination

Leadership style

Patient, highly competent, people-oriented, administratively strong

Role Purpose

The Software Development Manager / Engineering Lead is responsible for leading the software development teams that build and maintain CohesionX’s core platform and project-specific software deliverables. This role combines strong technical depth with disciplined execution management. It is not a ceremonial Scrum role; it requires someone who can understand architecture, developer dependencies, sprint mechanics, technical risk, and the realities of software delivery in a fast-moving environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the daily management of developers across the relevant engineering teams, covering both core platform development and project development work.
• Own sprint planning, sprint reviews, backlog grooming, task refinement, effort forecasting, and prioritisation of technical work.
• Run and facilitate the engineering operating cadence, including daily stand-ups, weekly planning sessions, and regular review sessions.
• Translate roadmap priorities into executable workstreams and ensure individual developer tasks remain aligned to broader product and project objectives.
• Understand and manage interdependencies across developers, components, services, and release plans so that blockers are surfaced early and sequencing is practical.
• Work closely with product, delivery, and architecture leadership to balance technical quality, deadlines, capacity, and business impact.
• Maintain visibility over engineering throughput, sprint health, risks, bottlenecks, and forecast accuracy.
• Drive engineering discipline in task definition, acceptance criteria, follow-through, documentation, and handovers.
• Coach developers constructively, support professional growth, and create a calm, accountable team environment.
• Make sound technical calls where needed and escalate architectural concerns before they become delivery failures.

Experience & Capability Requirements

• Strong software engineering background with the credibility to manage developers in a technically demanding environment.
• Solid understanding of software architecture, the software development lifecycle, release management, estimation, and engineering trade-offs.
• Demonstrated experience running Agile or sprint-based delivery rhythms in practice, not just administratively.
• Comfort managing detailed task flows while still understanding the bigger technical picture.
• Ability to work across multiple teams and coordinate linked work without losing momentum or quality.
• High level of administrative discipline, including reliable tracking, follow-up, prioritisation, and meeting management.
• Strong interpersonal capability with the patience and maturity to lead high-skill technical teams effectively.

Personal Attributes

• Patient and measured under pressure.
• Highly organised and detail oriented.
• Technically credible and respected by developers.
• Good with people and able to coach without losing accountability.
• Structured, disciplined, and dependable in execution.

Success in the Role Looks Like

• Predictable sprint execution and improved forecast accuracy.
• Clear task ownership and fewer hidden engineering dependencies.
• Higher developer productivity with less confusion and rework.
• Stronger alignment between roadmap intent and engineering output.

Remuneration

Annual Salary CTC ~ TBC

About CohesionX

CohesionX is led by South African industry veterans and visionary leaders, dedicated to fostering sustainable growth through technological breakthroughs and a culture of collaboration. Building secure, enterprise-grade AI platforms that blend seamlessly into existing workflows, the company turns intelligence into an invisible force multiplier across operations. With VectorMind, their top South African flagship AI product, they prioritise real business outcomes over flashy tools, helping organisations extract value from unstructured data, automate decisions, and deploy agentic workflows tailored to their domain.