Devices Team Lead

Job Purpose

The Devices Team Lead leads the day-to-day work of the Devices engineering team, covering hardware, firmware, embedded Linux, AI-powered camera systems and ConnectedCare. The role owns delivery planning, technical quality and team development, and acts as the senior technical escalation point for the device estate. Working closely with the CPTO and the Architecture function, the Team Lead turns business objectives and roadmaps into clear, achievable plans for the team, and gives every engineer a clear line of sight from their work to company plans.

This is a hands-on leadership role: the Team Lead is expected to stay close to the code and hardware while building a planned, proactive way of working in place of reactive firefighting, and championing the adoption of AI-assisted development tools across the team.

This role is well suited to an experienced engineer stepping into their first formal leadership position; coaching and management development support will be provided.

Key Responsibilities:

Delivery & Planning

• Own the quarterly Devices delivery plan, agreed with the CPTO, and the balance between planned work and reactive demand
• Plan and prioritise the team's workload, managing capacity and dependencies across hardware, firmware, embedded and ConnectedCare workstreams
• Track and report committed versus delivered work, flagging risks early
• Coordinate releases across the device estate, including firmware release management

Team Leadership & Development

• Line management of the Devices engineers: regular 1:1s, performance reviews and development plans
• Set SMART goals for every team member, linked to the roadmap and company plans
• Communicate company and product direction to the team through regular briefings
• Foster a culture of ownership, quality and continuous improvement
• Lead the adoption and effective use of AI-assisted development tools to enhance team productivity

Technical Oversight & Quality

• Maintain development standards, coding practices and review discipline across the team
• Drive automated testing, CI/CD and release quality for firmware and embedded software
• Act as senior technical escalation point for complex device issues, coordinating incident response
• Oversee technical risk, hardware validation and compliance with relevant standards and certifications
• Implement architectural patterns and designs as defined with the Architecture function, and feed back implementation challenges

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with the Architecture function to keep design and implementation aligned
• Work with Product, Project Management and Business Analysis teams to shape and deliver technical solutions
• Collaborate with Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Quality teams on device production and testing
• Support Sales and Customer Success with technical pre-sales input and escalations

Process & Governance

• Establish and refine development processes, release management and testing procedures
• Implement metrics and KPIs to measure team performance and device fleet health
• Ensure compliance with security, data protection and automotive regulatory requirements
• Manage hardware lifecycle, obsolescence planning and version control strategies

Skills / Experience / Competency Required:

Essential

• 5+ years of embedded systems, firmware or hardware development experience
• Deep expertise in at least one of: firmware development (C, C++), embedded Linux systems, hardware design, or vehicle communication protocols (CAN, OBD-II, J1939)
• Experience mentoring, coaching or technically leading other engineers (formal line management experience is not essential)
• Track record of owning and delivering technical work to plan, from concept through to production or field deployment
• Ability to plan and prioritise a team's workload and balance planned delivery with reactive demand
• Clear communicator, able to explain technical topics to non-technical stakeholders and to represent the team to senior leadership
• Understanding of telematics, automotive or IoT device development

Desirable

• Experience adopting AI-assisted development tools and measuring productivity gains
• Exposure to camera systems, computer vision or edge AI
• Knowledge of ConnectedCare / telecare products and standards
• Familiarity with automotive standards: ISO 26262, ASPICE, UN R155/R156
• Experience with manufacturing processes, supplier management and hardware certification
• Experience of DevOps practices and CI/CD for firmware and embedded software

Personal Attributes:

• Technically credible leader who earns trust from engineers and senior stakeholders
• Organised and delivery-focused, able to bring structure and predictability to a busy team
• Genuine interest in developing people and giving them clarity and direction
• Strong communicator, able to connect day-to-day work to company plans
• Proactive problem-solver who anticipates risks and takes ownership of outcomes
• Resilient and calm under pressure, able to lead through technical challenges and ambiguity
• Quality-driven, with high personal standards and attention to detail

Our Values:

• We’re a close-knit team who care about each other, our customers and making a positive impact, our values drive who we are and the decisions we make:

• Caring & Committed – We show up for each other and deliver with dedication
• Make a Difference – We create impact that matters
• Relentless – We push forward until we succeed
• Do the Right Thing – We choose integrity every time
• Joy of the Journey – We enjoy the ride and celebrate along the way

Health & Safety:

As a Trakm8 Group employee, you have the following H&S responsibilities:

• To comply with the Group H&S policy and procedures
• To take care of your own health and safety and that of people who may be affected by what you do (or what you do not do)
• To co-operate with others on health and safety
• To not interfere with, or misuse, anything provided for your health, safety or welfare
• To wear/use the correct Protective Equipment at all times
• To follow the training you have received at all times

Information Security:

As a Trakm8 Group employee, you have the following Information Security responsibilities:

• To follow the Group Information Security policies at all times;
• To follow the Trakm8 Secure Development Policy at all times;
• To ensure that passwords under your responsibility are kept confidential;
• To keep Group or Company information secure and confidential at all times;
• To inform your manager immediately if you detect, suspect or witness an incident that may be a breach of security

This role requires screening in the below areas:

• References
• Pre-Employment Credit Check

The above job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for the position. All job descriptions are subject to possible modifications in line with the needs of the business.