Software Development Manager

Salary: $180k-$200k plus super (some flex)

Are you a hands-on technical leader who enjoys helping software engineers perform at their best?

This is an opportunity to join an established Brisbane SaaS business in a senior engineering leadership position. You’ll lead a small software development team while remaining actively involved in the technology.

The role could suit an experienced Software Development Manager or Engineering Manager. It could also be an excellent next step for a Principal Engineer or Technical Lead who already mentors people, influences technical decisions and helps teams deliver.

This isn’t a management position removed from the code. You’ll remain technically involved through code reviews, architecture, problem-solving and occasional development while taking responsibility for the team’s performance, motivation and output.

The role

Reporting to a senior technology executive, you’ll lead the day-to-day operation and development of the engineering team.

You’ll create clarity around priorities, help projects get across the line and ensure engineers receive the direction, support and feedback they need to do their best work.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading, motivating and developing a small team of software engineers
• Mentoring junior and developing team members
• Managing performance and creating healthy accountability
• Remaining involved in code reviews, technical design and hands-on problem-solving
• Helping establish consistent engineering practices and architectural approaches
• Removing delivery roadblocks and keeping projects moving
• Working closely with Product, Design and Data colleagues
• Translating broader technical direction into practical execution

About you

You’ll have a strong software engineering foundation and enough current technical capability to remain credible with experienced developers.

Just as importantly, you’ll genuinely enjoy developing people. You’ll know how to have honest conversations, provide useful direction, motivate different personalities and create an environment where engineers can perform.

We’re looking for:

• Experience as a Software Development Manager, Engineering Manager, Principal Engineer, Technical Lead or Lead Software Engineer
• Recent hands-on software development experience
• Some direct people-management or team-leadership responsibility
• A track record of mentoring and developing software engineers
• Strong architectural judgment and modern engineering fundamentals
• Experience within a SaaS or software product environment
• Exposure to cloud-native technologies
• Experience across modern backend or frontend development
• The ability to work effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders

You don’t need to match every part of the existing technology environment. Strong fundamentals, technical breadth and the ability to learn are more important than an exact stack match.

The opportunity

You’ll join an established Brisbane software business with a mature SaaS product, experienced leadership and an excellent working culture.
The company is large enough to offer stability and interesting technical challenges, but small enough for your decisions to have a visible impact.

Flexible hybrid working is available, although this role will suit someone who values face-to-face collaboration and wants to spend regular time with their team.