Software Engineering Manager

The Engineering Manager at Helvar:

We are looking for a strong Software Engineering Leader who can manage, develop, and inspire the UK software development team while helping drive a more unified engineering culture across Helvar.

This person must be able to coordinate engineering delivery, improve development practices, and lead the team through change. The priority is people leadership, engineering leadership, and delivery ownership rather than purely hands-on technical expertise.

The successful candidate will be expected to help remove country-based silos between the UK and Finland, building a stronger “One Helvar” mindset across teams.

1. The ideal candidate will be an experienced engineering leader with a strong software background and proven people management experience.
2. They should be confident leading teams, improving delivery, and influencing engineering culture.
3. They do not need to be the deepest technical expert in the room, but they must have enough technical credibility to understand software, hardware integration, infrastructure, security, testing, quality, and the full software development lifecycle.
4. This person should be comfortable working in a complex technical environment where hardware and software interact, and where IoT experience would be beneficial.

What experiance we are looking for

The candidate must have:

• Proven experience as a line manager of software engineers.
• Strong people leadership experience, including performance management, coaching, and team development.
• Experience driving engineering delivery and improving software engineering practices, including measurement-driven approaches (e.g. DORA metrics), CI/CD maturity,qualityand testing culture, and reducing cognitive load on teams.
• A hands-on technical background earlier in their career, ideally in software engineering.
• Strong understanding of the full SDLC, including infrastructure, security, testing, quality, deployment, and support.
• Understanding of how software and hardware systems integrate.
• Experience leading or supporting transformation, change management, or organisational improvement.
• Experience using AI in a professional context.
• Experience supporting or driving AI adoption within an organisation.
• Strong decision-making ability and the confidence to drive progress.
• High emotional intelligence, empathy, and the ability to guide teams through change.

Nice-to-Have Experience

• Experience working in engineering environments that span both hardware and software development - understanding the constraints, rhythms, and integration challenges that come with physical product development.
• AWSIoT product or platform exposure.
• Experience working in a product portfolio with mixed maturity levels - balancing investment across legacy/established products and next-generation development.
• Experience working in an international or multi-site engineering organisation.
• Experience bringing together teams across different countries or locations.
• Experience in embedded systems, connected devices, lighting controls, smart buildings, or similar technical environments.

Leadership Style Required

This role requires a strong leader more than a purely technical specialist.

The right person should be able to:

• Build trust quickly with engineers and stakeholders.
• Lead with clarity, empathy, and accountability.
• Challenge constructively.
• Drive performance without creating fear.
• Be honest and kind in their approach.
• Help teams navigate uncertainty and change.
• Champion behavioural competencies and company values.
• Create a culture of collaboration, ownership, and continuous improvement.

What you'll be doing as our Engineering Manager

The Engineering Manager will be responsible for:

• Line managing all UK-based software developers.
• Driving engineering delivery and ensuring work is coordinated effectively across teams.
• Improving software development practices, engineering standards, quality, testing, and delivery discipline.
• Supporting transformation and change across the software organisation.
• Building stronger collaboration between UK and Finland teams, removing countrysilosand encouraging shared ownership.
• Championing Helvar’s behavioural competencies and company values.
• Driving team performance with an approach that is both honest and kind.
• Supporting, coaching, and guiding the team through change with empathy.
• Making decisions, creating clarity, and moving things forward.
• Understand how systems are designed, built, tested, secured, deployed, and maintained.

Why Helvar:

• We value your growth: With a wide range of online learning opportunities and internal mobility, you’ll have the tools and support to advance your career.
• Autonomy and balance: Our culture is built on trust, offering you autonomy in your role while promoting a healthy work-life balance and benefiting from a supportive and collaborative environment.
• Wellbeing at the heart: Whether it’s our products for customers or how we care for our team, wellbeing is our top priority. We offer a dedicated Wellbeing Day every year, and all employees can take advantage of our weekly Empower Hour for wellbeing, community, or learning activities.
• A company you can trust: With over 100 years of history, we’re a stable, family-owned Finnish company that’s growing across our international locations.

If you’re excited to drive innovation, shape Helvar’s future, and grow in a company with a rich history and forward-thinking mindset, we want to hear from you!

Apply to join our team of talented and innovative experts!

If you’d like to be a part of the Helvar family, please apply for this vacancy via our Helvar Careers site at helvar.com/careers/ by the 15 of July 2026. We have added a few questions on the application form that we hope you wont mind responding too.

We will be continuously interviewing candidates during the application period and will fill the position as soon as we find the right match!

For additional information on the role, please contact our Talent Acquisition & Development Manager: Ben Fryer ben.fryer@helvar.com who will get in touch with you shortly.

In the meantime, please give us a follow on Instagram: @lifeathelvar

The Helvar Promise to You!

At Helvar, we’re determined to improve the wellbeing of people in every space - including our own employees. We promise you conditions that foster your personal growth and help you achieve your full potential. As a tight-knit company with a family ethos, we’re proud to see that Helvarians care deeply about our customers, our partners, our planet and each other. Our drive to create a better working environment is part of what we call Brighter Spaces.

We trust your vision! "Over the last 100 years, we've become experts at innovation. It's part of our culture. Together we evolve and adapt our solutions to create perfect conditions.“

We invest in you! "As we spend 1/3 of our life at work, it's important to have fun! We work in a friendly, easy-going atmosphere, and we're focused on improving your wellbeing. We celebrate a learning culture and promote Bright Ideas.”

You have the freedom to impact! “People help shape our success. This allows us to be true leaders. With your ideas, we're focused on achieving a brighter, sustainable future for generations to come.”

We’re with you all the way!

Helvar is an international SMART lighting controls technology company specialising in intelligent and energy-saving solutions. Helvar lighting control solutions and luminaire components help to create smart environments built for the future, using information, and working seamlessly with other systems. With a vast range of projects spanning from hospitals, schools, workplaces to cruise ships and Istanbul’s 3rd new airport (the largest in the world), Helvar designs open and flexible solutions for lighting across a range of applications. With over 100 years of expertise, Helvar serves its customers locally with offices in Finland, UK and Sweden and via our global network of partners in over 50 countries.

Do you want to shape the future of smart buildings that improve people's wellbeing? Great! We are world leaders in lighting intelligence and our solutions are built with people in mind. Our products and solutions save energy and improve human comfort. We offer an international and diverse working culture where your wellbeing is important to us. It's a place to grow and develop, while maintaining a healthy balance of work and life.

Helvar Recruitment Disclaimer

At Helvar, we are committed to creating a workplace that promotes a culture of respect, and opportunity for all. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other characteristic protected by law. We value the unique perspectives and experiences that each individual brings to our team and encourage everyone to apply.

If you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please do not hesitate to get in touch.