Lead Software Engineer

Job Title

Lead Software Engineer

Role Summary

Lead a cryptographic software IP team, owning technical direction, delivery, and people development for application and embedded software IP. Work across hardware, verification, product vulnerability, and stakeholder teams to deliver high-quality software to customers.

The role combines hands-on technical leadership, architectural reviews, project planning, hiring and line management, and occasional customer-facing technical engagement.

Experience Level

Senior — minimum 10 years in software design and/or verification; technical lead or senior engineer ready to step into leadership.

Responsibilities

Lead, manage, and deliver software IP projects; combine technical and people leadership.

• Plan and allocate work with engineering leaders and project managers to meet the product roadmap.
• Act as technical lead for application and embedded software IP from specification through customer delivery.
• Line management: hiring, onboarding, performance reviews, coaching, and career development.
• Mentor engineers and serve as a point of contact for software design expertise within the company.
• Define architectures and provide feasibility feedback across multiple technical domains.
• Coordinate with verification and hardware teams; review verification and test plans.
• Ensure tooling, CI, linting, and implementation quality for IP blocks and subsystems.
• Engage with customers on integration and technical sales calls as required.

Requirements

Must-have skills and experience:

• At least 10 years' experience in software design and/or verification, with experience building software IP blocks end-to-end.
• Proven technical leadership and project planning experience.
• Expert-level C in embedded environments.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Understanding of cryptographic algorithms, protocols, and key management systems.
• Ability to specify architectural solutions and apply knowledge effectively in unfamiliar situations.

Nice-to-have:

• Familiarity with post-quantum cryptography standards and protocols (e.g., NIST PQC).
• Rust in embedded environments and software/hardware co-design experience.
• Arm and RISC-V experience; knowledge of side-channel security countermeasures.
• Experience with GitLab CI or CI/CD principles and testing; Python proficiency.
• Previous experience managing cross-functional software teams.

Education Requirements

Degree in Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field preferred, or equivalent practical experience. The posting specifies at least 10 years' relevant software design/verification experience as an acceptable equivalent to formal education.

About the Company

Company: PQShield

Headquarters: Oxford, United Kingdom

PQShield develops cryptographic and hardware security solutions focused on post-quantum resistant encryption, secure cryptographic IP and secure silicon/software integration. Founded in 2018, the company works with hardware designers and enterprises to deploy quantum-resistant security products.