Job Description
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, let's 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.
Actively leverage modern AI-assisted development tools (e.g. Claude Code or similar) to improve individual and team productivity, code quality, and learning, and support the team in adopting these tools effectively and responsibly.
Foster a strong focus on delivering meaningful user outcomes, ensuring that technical decisions are grounded in a deep understanding of the product domain and real user needs.
Encourage and enable the team to use product insight, user feedback, and data to inform design and engineering decisions, balancing speed of delivery with long-term value.
Understanding our users' problems, product domain 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 team’s 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++).
Experience using AI-assisted software development tools (e.g. Claude Code or similar) to improve development efficiency, code quality, or team effectiveness.
Demonstrated ability to apply strong product and domain understanding to guide technical decisions and prioritisation.
Track record of delivering measurable user or business outcomes, not just technical outputs.
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 and users to resolve ambiguity and maximise value.
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.
Strong analytical thinking, with attention to detail.
Proven experience in people or team management, with the ability to lead, motivate, and develop others.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships at all levels.
Skilled in providing constructive feedback, conducting performance reviews, and supporting staff development.
Proven ability to foster high-performing, engaged, and collaborative teams.
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, React.js.
Experience in configuring build systems for .NET (e.g. Team City, Jenkins, etc.).
Keen interest in the product and in customer needs.
Experience with AAC or assistive technology.
Experience managing recruitment, onboarding, and other people processes in collaboration with the People/HR team.
Understanding of performance management and continuous improvement principles.
Formal training or qualification in leadership, management, or coaching.
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 gain in-depth knowledge of our products and see first-hand the impact they have on empowering people every day.
You will have the opportunity to collaborate with teams across the business and contribute to shared goals.
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 people with disabilities.
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 whopping 25 days of holiday plus public holidays, we’ll 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.
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.
Our Commitments
At Smartbox, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable work environment where every individual's 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 Government’s Department of Work and Pensions. We are also the Founding Partner of Purple Tuesday. You can find out more on thinksmartbox.com.
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 [email protected] to discuss any such adjustments that we can make.
At Smartbox, it’s not about fitting into our culture – it’s 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.
We'd love to hear from you
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: https://thinksmartbox.com/join-the-team/
Agencies
Please respect that at this current time, we wish to try to recruit directly from the market rather than engage support from an agency.
Pay: £55,000.00-£65,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Company pension
Cycle to work scheme
Flexitime
Health & wellbeing programme
Life insurance
Private dental insurance
Private medical insurance
Referral programme
Sick pay
Application question(s):
Are you legally authorised to work in the UK?
Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status?
This role is based in our Bristol office. Will you be able to reliably commute to our office in Bristol?
Please read our Recruitment Privacy Notice and confirm your agreement: https://thinksmartbox.com/app/uploads/2024/07/Recruitment-Privacy-Notice.pdf
Do you have 5+ years of professional software development experience in modern C# or a similar language (e.g., Java, or C++)?
Do you have experience leading agile software teams, with first-hand knowledge of lean and iterative development practices?
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Bristol BS1 5PU
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, let's 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.
Actively leverage modern AI-assisted development tools (e.g. Claude Code or similar) to improve individual and team productivity, code quality, and learning, and support the team in adopting these tools effectively and responsibly.
Foster a strong focus on delivering meaningful user outcomes, ensuring that technical decisions are grounded in a deep understanding of the product domain and real user needs.
Encourage and enable the team to use product insight, user feedback, and data to inform design and engineering decisions, balancing speed of delivery with long-term value.
Understanding our users' problems, product domain 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 team’s 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++).
Experience using AI-assisted software development tools (e.g. Claude Code or similar) to improve development efficiency, code quality, or team effectiveness.
Demonstrated ability to apply strong product and domain understanding to guide technical decisions and prioritisation.
Track record of delivering measurable user or business outcomes, not just technical outputs.
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 and users to resolve ambiguity and maximise value.
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.
Strong analytical thinking, with attention to detail.
Proven experience in people or team management, with the ability to lead, motivate, and develop others.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships at all levels.
Skilled in providing constructive feedback, conducting performance reviews, and supporting staff development.
Proven ability to foster high-performing, engaged, and collaborative teams.
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, React.js.
Experience in configuring build systems for .NET (e.g. Team City, Jenkins, etc.).
Keen interest in the product and in customer needs.
Experience with AAC or assistive technology.
Experience managing recruitment, onboarding, and other people processes in collaboration with the People/HR team.
Understanding of performance management and continuous improvement principles.
Formal training or qualification in leadership, management, or coaching.
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 gain in-depth knowledge of our products and see first-hand the impact they have on empowering people every day.
You will have the opportunity to collaborate with teams across the business and contribute to shared goals.
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 people with disabilities.
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 whopping 25 days of holiday plus public holidays, we’ll 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.
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.
Our Commitments
At Smartbox, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable work environment where every individual's 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 Government’s Department of Work and Pensions. We are also the Founding Partner of Purple Tuesday. You can find out more on thinksmartbox.com.
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 [email protected] to discuss any such adjustments that we can make.
At Smartbox, it’s not about fitting into our culture – it’s 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.
We'd love to hear from you
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: https://thinksmartbox.com/join-the-team/
Agencies
Please respect that at this current time, we wish to try to recruit directly from the market rather than engage support from an agency.
Pay: £55,000.00-£65,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Company pension
Cycle to work scheme
Flexitime
Health & wellbeing programme
Life insurance
Private dental insurance
Private medical insurance
Referral programme
Sick pay
Application question(s):
Are you legally authorised to work in the UK?
Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status?
This role is based in our Bristol office. Will you be able to reliably commute to our office in Bristol?
Please read our Recruitment Privacy Notice and confirm your agreement: https://thinksmartbox.com/app/uploads/2024/07/Recruitment-Privacy-Notice.pdf
Do you have 5+ years of professional software development experience in modern C# or a similar language (e.g., Java, or C++)?
Do you have experience leading agile software teams, with first-hand knowledge of lean and iterative development practices?
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Bristol BS1 5PU
💡 Quick Summary
Seeking a career-building opportunity? The Software Team Lead position is now open for candidates interested in the Work from home Jobs sector. This role in Bristol offers a professional environment and growth potential.
Requirement Snapshot: Candidates should possess basic communication skills, a proactive attitude, and the ability to work in a team. Experience in Work from home Jobs is a plus.
