Head of Software Engineering

This is a genuine senior leadership appointment requiring someone who can combine software engineering leadership, operational excellence, technology transformation, supplier management and executive-level stakeholder engagement.

About you

You will be an established senior technology and software engineering leader who is equally comfortable setting strategy, leading organisational change and remaining accountable for the operation of complex live services.

You will understand that successful technology transformation is not simply about introducing new platforms.

It requires disciplined operational leadership, strong engineering decisions, effective risk management and the ability to modernise safely without compromising existing customer, contractual or regulatory commitments.

You will have experience simplifying a complex technology portfolio, establishing clear priorities and creating confidence with executives, clients, regulators, suppliers and delivery teams.

You will combine empathy and inclusive leadership with clear accountability.

You will know how to support and strengthen teams that have worked through demanding operational circumstances, while maintaining delivery focus and rebuilding sustainable capability.

You will be able to create an environment where experienced leaders understand their responsibilities, make effective decisions and remain focused on the outcomes that matter most.

Direct experience within qualifications, assessment or education technology would be valuable, but it is not essential.

We are interested in senior leaders from a broad range of technology-led, regulated or contractually controlled environments who can demonstrate the scale, complexity and accountability required for this role.

Relevant backgrounds could include:

• Qualifications and assessment technology
• Awarding organisations
• Education technology
• Government technology and public services
• Financial services and payments
• Healthcare technology
• Utilities
• Telecommunications
• Transport
• Major digital platforms
• Enterprise software
• Other high-stakes or mission-critical service environments

Essential experience

You will bring:

• Proven experience leading large-scale software engineering, DevOps and technology service organisations at senior director, technology director or equivalent level.
• Experience leading managers and senior leaders across globally distributed, matrix or partner-led structures.
• Demonstrable accountability for complex digital products, platforms or services operating at scale.
• Experience supporting business-critical, revenue-critical or mission-critical technology services.
• Strong operational leadership across production readiness, resilience, service performance, capacity, major incidents, problem management, business continuity and disaster recovery.
• A strong track record of improving the reliability, security, performance and supportability of critical technology services.
• Substantial experience operating within a regulated or contractually controlled environment.
• Experience delivering against demanding milestones and service levels.
• Responsibility for assurance, audit evidence, risk mitigation, technology controls and contractual commitments.
• Confidence engaging directly with senior clients, government stakeholders, regulators or equivalent external bodies.
• A deep understanding of modern software engineering, cloud technology, DevSecOps, APIs, secure system design, application security, observability, quality engineering and application operations.
• Experience modernising complex legacy technology estates while maintaining live service, operational continuity and data integrity.
• Evidence of translating business and product priorities into credible engineering roadmaps, investment priorities and measurable delivery outcomes.
• Experience leading technology recovery, stabilisation, resilience or significant service-improvement activity.
• Experience building engineering capability, developing senior leaders and creating effective succession plans.
• Strong supplier and commercial management experience.
• Experience delivering through strategic third parties and intervening when partner performance is below expectations.
• Experience owning significant capital and operating budgets.
• Evidence of prioritising investment and contributing to business cases, financial forecasts and strategic planning.
• Outstanding executive communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Sound judgement and the ability to make risk-based decisions under pressure.
• The ability to simplify complexity, create clear priorities and provide transparent assurance regarding delivery, service health and risk.

Desirable experience

The following would be particularly valuable:

• Knowledge of qualifications, assessment, examinations, awarding, marking or results delivery.
• Experience leading technology platforms supporting schools, colleges, learners, educators or assessment professionals.
• Experience supporting services with immovable deadlines, critical operational events or significant peaks in demand.
• Technology leadership within government services or major public-sector contracts.
• Experience working alongside a major platform or enterprise transformation programme while remaining accountable for existing live services.
• Experience leading an operational recovery or rebuilding confidence following a demanding period of technology delivery.
• An understanding of the needs of schools, colleges, learners, assessment associates, regulators and sector bodies.
• Experience using AI, automation or agentic development responsibly within a secure and controlled enterprise engineering environment.

What success looks like

Success in this role will mean:

• Critical qualifications and government technology commitments are delivered to the required quality, contractual, regulatory and operational standards.
• Examination, marking, awarding and results periods are supported by robust technology readiness, resilience and assurance.
• Critical platforms demonstrate improving reliability, performance, security and supportability.
• Material incidents, risks and defects are resolved effectively, with fewer recurring problems.
• Root-cause analysis and lessons learned result in sustained service improvements.
• Engineering roadmaps, backlogs, resources and investment are visibly aligned with business and product priorities.
• There is clarity regarding scope, technical debt, delivery risk and cross-portfolio dependencies.
• Legacy modernisation and transformation milestones are delivered safely.
• Live service continuity, data integrity and regulatory compliance are protected throughout technology change.
• Engineering standards, DevSecOps practices, automation and operational insight are applied consistently across internal and partner teams.
• Strategic suppliers deliver against clear outcomes, commitments and controls.
• Capital and operating budgets are managed effectively.
• Technology investment demonstrates measurable value, improved efficiency and meaningful risk reduction.
• The engineering function has strong leadership depth, critical skills, clear succession plans and sustainable delivery capacity.
• Executives, clients, regulators and delivery partners receive clear, credible and timely assurance.
• Technology is regarded as a trusted, accountable and effective delivery partner across Pearson Qualifications.

Your leadership approach

You will be a visible, thoughtful and decisive leader who can create clarity and confidence during periods of pressure and change.

You will provide clear direction while empowering experienced leaders and teams to deliver.

You will model ethical, inclusive and accountable leadership and build trust across organisational, client and supplier boundaries.

You will be comfortable inheriting complexity, making it understandable and creating a realistic path forward.

You will communicate openly when risks arise, escalate concerns early and ensure that problems lead to meaningful learning and sustained improvement.

You will be able to balance competing operational, commercial, regulatory and transformation priorities without losing focus on the customer and learner experience.

Above all, you will connect technology decisions to learner, customer and qualification outcomes and recognise the importance of protecting the integrity of high-stakes assessment.