Working at the intersection of biology, physical science and engineering our clients invent, design and manufacture products and technologies in areas including (but not limited to) cell therapies, point of care diagnostics, high-throughput drug discovery, molecular detection, DNA sequencing and cancer screening.

Multidisciplinary teams of scientists, engineers and designers collaborate to realise the most ambitious challenges set by our clients; global market leaders, as well as exciting technology start- and scale ups.

They are making big strides in revolutionising manufacturing and process automation so more people have access to ground-breaking cell therapies that have shown incredible results in fighting cancer, with a proven track record in delivering cutting-edge diagnostic solutions, and pushing the limits of PCR instruments.

The role

As a Software Project Leader within Life Sciences you will be focusing on projects in the field of Medical Diagnostics. Our clients teams have designed and delivered innovative bench top analysis systems for a number of different clients in recent years, and we want to continue and develop this track record with your help.
This is an exciting opportunity to use your engineering skills across a range of disciplines. You will be a key member of our engineering team. You will have experience of leading software projects, but you will be flexible in your approach and will have the opportunity to work closely with the broader electronics, mechanical, biology and system engineering aspects of the projects as well.

This role will appeal to you if you retain a passion for “hands-on” development while, at the same time, using your experience to guide the “big picture” thinking needed to bring projects to a successful conclusion.

In this role you will:

• Plan and manage the content, budget, schedule, deliverables, and resourcing for software projects, usually as part of a wider multi-disciplinary project team
• Provide day to day leadership for our software engineers and enable the successful delivery of software projects, both large and small
• Support technical sales activities by providing high level estimates, timelines, risks and assumptions to the proposal / bid process
• Follow and contribute to the ongoing development of the quality management system for software projects.

This role is ideal for a hands-on, experienced and collaborative software project leader who is keen to grow within an impact-led organisation.You are a natural problem solver, eager to tackle new challenges, able to work across multiple projects at the same time

Essential skills and experience:

• Experience of Project Management and leadership of, mostly embedded, Software Projects across a range of sizes, durations and domains as part of a broader multidisciplinary team.
• Manage the full software engineering life cycle including requirements gathering, creation of project plans and schedules, and obtaining and managing resources.
• Facilitate project execution, deployment and closure.
• Excellent knowledge of different delivery methodologies such as Waterfall/Agile/ Iterative and knowledge of how to apply them effectively.
• Experience of identifying and managing work packages for internal and external teams
• Able to engage and influence a wide range of stakeholders, including customers, directors, other project managers and the development teams (sometimes as a leader and sometimes applying your hands-on development skills)
• Excellent communication skills to summarise project status and discuss critical issues/milestones.
• An excellent academic record with 1st or 2:1 degree in Software Engineering or equivalent

Other useful skills for this role:

• Experience as Product Owner, SCRUM Master or similar roles – Certifications welcome.
• Use of planning and task tracking tools such as JIRA
• Experience of defining and tracking work packages with external development partners
• Familiar with agile project management, including SCRUM, Kanban or SAFe
• APM/PMI certified
• Familiar with multiple project estimation techniques
• Knowledge of embedded and system software development, this may be from working in industries such as Medical, Defence, Automotive, Aerospace or Railways.
• Knowledge of Quality assurance processes for software such as IEC62304 or DO-178B/C.

Our client is an employee-owned business operating from green surroundings on Melbourn Science Park, 10 miles south of Cambridge. They're currently building their brand-new sustainable offices and labs in the same location.

Their working culture encourages entrepreneurship, shared ideas, and technical collaboration, while providing you the freedom to do your best work. However, they understand the importance of work-life balance and offer freedom and flexibility in how you self-manage your working week.

Benefits include:

• Annual profit-related bonus
• 25 days holiday
• Employer pension contribution of 12% of pensionable pay
• Free lunch and all-day refreshments
• Private medical insurance for employees and dependants
• Enhanced family friendly leave
• Life insurance worth 6x salary
• Electric car leasing scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Season ticket loan
• An activities and community fund that supports healthy activities that bring colleagues together
• Local sports facilities and theatre discounts and memberships
• A comprehensive relocation package is also available, if applicable.