Head of Software Engineering; Model and Platform Engineering

Head of Software Engineering (Model and Platform Engineering)

Department: Technology

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Oxford, UK

Reporting To: Chief Technology Officer

Aurora's models and infrastructure provide the platform that enables governments, investors and utilities to make billion-dollar decisions on the journey to net zero. We are looking for an exceptional Head of Software Engineering to lead the organisation responsible for designing, building and running the models that underpin Aurora’s global analysis and software.

Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, you will lead the engineering of our flagship modelling platforms — Origin, our power market scenario modelling platform, and Chronos, our battery storage valuation and dispatch optimisation platform — working closely with Product Engineering, AI & Data Engineering and our Modelling teams to deliver world‑class analytical platforms at global scale. A talented engineering team, distributed across Oxford and our growing international hubs, will look to you for technical leadership, organisational direction and a culture of engineering excellence.

Working closely with Product Management and senior technology leadership, you will define engineering strategy, shape delivery roadmaps and drive the evolution of our modelling platforms. You will play a key role in modernising software delivery, refining how we embed AI‑enabled development practices and ensuring Aurora continues to scale its modelling and software capabilities efficiently and effectively.

If you thrive on enabling teams to solve complex technical problems, have experience leading quantitative or data‑intensive engineering organisations, and have successfully transformed teams to adopt modern Agile and AI‑native development practices, we'd love to hear from you.

• Lead and inspire a growing 35‑person, five‑squad engineering organisation split between Oxford and São Paulo, setting direction, standards and a shared sense of purpose.
• Lead delivery excellence — Establish a high‑performance delivery culture that consistently achieves business goals, delivers strategic initiatives on time and enables Aurora to execute effectively against its product and technology roadmap.
• Develop people and teams through hands‑on coaching, career development, training initiatives and effective performance management.
• Shape engineering strategy and roadmap in partnership with Product Management, Modelling, AI & Data Engineering and Product Engineering, balancing short‑term delivery with long‑term platform evolution.
• Lead Aurora's model engineering transformation
  , embedding modern software engineering practices, AI‑enabled development workflows and continuous delivery approaches to improve quality, productivity and delivery speed of our models.
• Drive engineering excellence through strong architecture, testing, security, operational and delivery standards, supported by metrics and data‑driven decision making.
• Own organisational and financial performance
  , including budget management, capacity planning and investment prioritisation.
• Contribute to Aurora's wider technology strategy
  , helping shape the future direction of our modelling platforms, software products and engineering organisation.

Required attributes:

• Engineering leadership at scale - Significant experience leading high‑performing engineering organisations delivering complex software products, platforms or technical programmes through periods of growth and organisational change.
• AI‑native engineering leadership - Proven experience leading teams through the adoption of AI‑assisted and agent‑based software development practices, delivering measurable improvements in engineering productivity, quality and delivery outcomes.
• Agile delivery expertise - Deep experience building and running modern Agile engineering organisations using continuous delivery and data‑driven continuous improvement.
• Strong execution and organisational leadership - Demonstrated track record of developing teams, building engineering capability and delivering complex technical initiatives while balancing…