Software Team Lead

Join Smartbox and make a meaningful impact as our newest team member!

Are you a passionate Software Team Lead who wants to play a part in creating technology that gives a voice to those without speech Smartbox is seeking a dedicated and talented individual like you to join our team and make a real difference in the lives of people with disabilities.

At Smartbox we take pride in being a leading company in assistive communication technology. Our innovative products combining specialised hardware advanced software and engaging content are used by individuals with diverse needs worldwide. All around the world our products accomplishments and aspirations are a reflection of our teams values: passionate caring empowering achieving together and enabling change.

We believe that everyone deserves a voice and our inclusive culture reflects this belief. By joining Smartbox you will become part of a team that values diversity fosters collaboration and supports a community of users who rely on our technology to communicate effectively.

In addition to the rewarding nature of our work you will collaborate with talented professionals who share a common goal of pushing the boundaries of innovation while considering the environmental impact of our products and processes. We strive to develop sustainable solutions that minimise our carbon footprint and promote a greener world. By joining Smartbox you will have the chance to shape a more inclusive society while actively contributing to our sustainability efforts. Together lets make a difference that extends beyond communication technology and leaves a positive mark on our planet.

How will you be making a difference

• Leading and mentoring a team of software engineers and QA specialists.
• Understanding our users problems and our commercial constraints and opportunities and bringing technology expertise to bear to solve them in creative ways.
• Working with product and technical leadership to build a combined roadmap that balances product and engineering priorities.
• Leading the collaborative planning of your teams work.
• Working on anything from UI to core functionality and data stores from fixing bugs to integrating new technologies.
• Joint responsibility for designing and implementing a scalable and high-performance software architecture using appropriate architectural standards and best practices.
• Writing clean working cross-platform C# code (.NET 8) and associated tests and improving the standard of existing code as you touch it to make it more testable reliable and maintainable.
• Working closely with electronics engineers product specialists UX designers and other developers to design develop and support robust solutions.
• Collaborating with stakeholders and customers to build an understanding which helps to solve problems in a way that meets their needs.
• Being responsible for driving collaborative improvement in team practices and processes.
• Assisting the Head of Software Development in recruitment activities.

The successful applicant will also be asked to perform other duties on an ad-hoc basis and will need a proactive attitude to this.

Essential Qualifications/skills/experience

• Passionate about changing lives with assistive technology.
• A history of making an impact in a software team lead role.
• Experience leading effective agile software teams including first-hand experience of lean and iterative development.
• Good understanding of Agile/Scrum methodologies and their use in software teams.
• 5 years of professional software development experience in modern C# or similar (e.g. Java C).
• Knowledge of Computer Science fundamentals in data structures algorithm design problem-solving and complexity analysis.
• Excellent understanding of software design principles.
• Cloud and Windows/iOS application development.
• Knowledge of professional software engineering best practices including coding standards architecture patterns code reviews source control continuous integration build processes testing and operations.
• Highly confident and experienced with automated testing from unit tests to system and integration tests.
• Confident working on problems from scratch resourceful in turning problems into simple solutions and proactive in working with stakeholders to resolve ambiguity.
• Confident picking up an existing codebase refactoring and improving test coverage to deliver safe code changes.
• Versatility - enjoying turning your hand to new things with a flexible approach to evolving business priorities.
• Great interpersonal and communication skills.
• Strong analytical thinking with attention to detail.

Useful Qualifications/skills/experience

• Cloud experience (particularly best practices around deployment security permissions and resource management).
• Any of the following technologies: WPF/XAML Avalonia Entity Framework SQL Server Android JavaScript .
• Experience in configuring build systems for .NET (e.g. Team City Jenkins etc).
• Keen interest in the product and customer needs.
• Experience with AAC or assistive technology.

Additional information:

• In this role you will have the flexibility to work between your home and our office locations in Malvern and Bristol. For this role we require the candidate to work in the Bristol office twice a week as a minimum.
• You will need to maintain a deep understanding and knowledge of all our products and their uses.
• You will meet and keep in regular contact with other teams in the business.

Why join us

Here at Smartbox we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments providing flexible working and encouraging all staff to engage in a diverse range of year-round learning and personal development opportunities. In addition you will work alongside highly motivated colleagues in an environment of strong teamwork whilst also having fun. This is a hugely rewarding role and a career to be proud of where every day you will go home knowing you made a positive difference in the lives of disabled people.

Rewards and benefits

At Smartbox our employees always do their best which is why we give so much in return. In addition to your competitive salary private medical insurance and whooping 25 days of holiday plus public holidays well shower you with perks including:

Dress: We want you to feel comfortable in the office smart casual is perfect.

Food: You can find free healthy office snacks in our kitchens.

Hybrid working: Two days a week in the office for the rest of the week feel free to skip the commute and hit your deadlines from home. Laptop and home working IT kit provided.

Flexible work schedule: balance is key to innovation and we want to make sure you are at the top of your game with a schedule that will work for you (prior agreement from your line manager is required).

Give back to the community: Each year every member of staff will get the opportunity to spend one paid day volunteering for a good cause of their choice.

You our best asset: We believe in investing in you and your development. Stay with us and grow with us! We will reward you with more holidays for your long service!

Wellness: Stretch away the stress every morning with our online trainers available via our cooperative perk website or hit the gym. We provide gym discounts too!

Wellbeing: You gain unlimited access to a benefit and Wellbeing app Yulife providing store discounts and wellbeing services.

Mental health: You will have access to the 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme for a wide range of support advice and resources about Family Health Life Money and Work.

Peace of mind: Every employee benefit from a company pension group life assurance and income protection.

Fun: Complimentary theatre and cinema tickets to Malvern Theatres. We organise many free social events including team outings and get-togethers.

Eco-friendly: You can sign up for a cycle scheme (save 25%-39% on a new bike or E-bike by cycling to work) or lease an electric car through a salary sacrifice scheme after 2 years of service.

Bonus potential: We work hard and Smartbox recognizes that with a discretionary annual bonus.

Finances: Enjoy a wide variety of savings and discounts with Corporate Perks. You can save on electronics food shopping fashion fitness entertainment and all things travel.

Our Commitments

At Smartbox we are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable work environment where every individuals unique background and perspective are valued and respected but how are we doing it

We are proud to have been awarded Disability Confident Employer status by the UK Governments Department of Work and Pensions. We are also the Founding Partner of Purple Tuesday. You can find out more on .

We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment practices are barrier-free and as inclusive as possible. This includes making adjustments during the job application process and throughout your future career with us. Please email to discuss any such adjustments that we can make.

At Smartbox its not about fitting into our culture its about adding to it. Our diverse team brings together unique talents and inspires each other to create amazing products that reflect the diversity of our users and customers.

Wed love to hear from you

Our ever-evolving team powers the business across the world and brings the next generation of AAC solutions to life. Together we experiment innovate and create across the full product lifecycle. And in a collaborative and close-knit culture we support each other to search for better. We support our community and contribute to a sustainable future for our business and the planet.

Join us as a Software Team Lead and take our technology and your career into new territories.

Share your operational expertise and passion for making an impact within your cover letter and CV. We look forward to receiving your application.

For a full job description please visit: respect that at this current time we wish to try and recruit directly from the market rather than engage support from an agency.