Software Development Manager / Engineering Lead

About

Our client, an innovative technology and software solutions business, is currently seeking an experienced Software Development Manager / Engineering Lead to join their growing team based in Hazelwood, Pretoria.

This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for leading the software development teams that build and maintain the organisation's core platform and project-specific software deliverables. This role combines strong technical depth with disciplined execution management.

Requirements

• Strong software engineering background with the credibility to manage Developers in a technically demanding environment.
• Solid understanding of software architecture, software development lifecycle (SDLC), release management, estimation, and engineering trade-offs.
• Demonstrated experience running Agile or sprint-based delivery environments.
• 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.

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.

Desired Skills

• Software Development
• SDLC
• Software architecture
• Agile
• Sprint
• Release management
• Engineering trade-offs

Desired Work Experience

• 5 to 10 years