Head of Product & Engineering
2 days ago
Swansea
About Dezrez Services Ltd Dezrez Services Ltd is one of Wales’ most innovative and fast-growing technology companies, delivering market-leading software and legal solutions to the UK estate agency sector. We combine deep industry knowledge with a passion for technology to help agencies operate more efficiently, serve their clients better, and grow their businesses. As we enter our next phase of growth – with AI and automation at the core of our strategy – we are looking for an exceptional leader to take ownership of both Product and Engineering, unifying these disciplines under a single, commercially driven vision. The Role This is a pivotal senior leadership position, reporting directly to the Managing Director. The Head of Product & Engineering will own the full lifecycle of our software products – from vision and roadmap through to delivery, quality and ongoing improvement. You will lead a multi-disciplinary team of Product Owners and Engineers, fostering a high-performance culture that is data-driven, customer-focused and relentlessly committed to quality. Critically, you will champion the adoption of AI tools and practices across both your teams and the wider business – not as a future ambition, but as a present-day driver of efficiency, quality and competitive advantage. Key Responsibilities Product Strategy & Roadmap • Define and own the product vision, strategy and roadmap across the full portfolio, aligning with business objectives and commercial priorities, • Report to the Managing Director on roadmap progress versus actuals; provide monthly all-company product updates, • Track market trends and competitive dynamics, ensuring Dezrez remains ahead of the curve in proptech innovation, • Be a ruthless but transparent prioritiser – able to say ‘no’ with evidence, and explain trade-offs in terms stakeholders understand, • Manage both New Product Development (NPD) and Business As Usual (BAU) lifecycles across the portfolio Engineering Leadership & Delivery • Own the software development lifecycle end-to-end, from requirements through architecture, delivery, release and maintenance, • Lead, mentor and line-manage a multi-discipline engineering team, fostering a culture of accountability and excellence, • Drive Agile/Scrum best practices, ensuring predictable, high-quality delivery increments at scale, • Maintain tight change control across release plans, with particular focus on cross-team dependencies, • Ensure architectural decisions are sound, scalable and future-proof, owning the back-office platform and system architecture, • Manage delivery risk proactively, balancing pace with quality and business impact Embracing AI to Drive Efficiency & Performance • Lead the organisation’s AI adoption strategy across Product and Engineering – identifying, evaluating and implementing AI tools that deliver measurable efficiency gains, • Embed AI-assisted development practices (e.g. GitHub Copilot, code review automation, automated testing) into the engineering workflow to improve developer velocity and code quality, • Drive the use of AI in product discovery – including user research analysis, behavioural data modelling and intelligent prioritisation frameworks, • Explore and implement AI-powered features within Dezrez products that create tangible value for estate agency customers, keeping us at the forefront of proptech innovation, • Build internal capability and confidence in AI tools across the wider team, removing barriers to adoption and upskilling staff where needed, • Establish clear metrics to measure the ROI of AI initiatives., • Stay at the leading edge of AI and machine learning developments relevant to our sector, acting as an internal champion and thought leader Stakeholder Management & Communication • Act as the primary interface between Product, Engineering, and senior stakeholders including the MD, board and commercial teams, • Communicate strategy, roadmaps, dependencies and progress clearly and confidently at all levels of the organisation, • Work collaboratively with Sales, Marketing, Customer Success and Finance to ensure product investments are commercially grounded, • Lead user research, sense-making, experience planning and design, ensuring solutions genuinely meet customer needs People & Culture • Coach and develop your team: hold regular 1-to-1s, set meaningful objectives, conduct appraisals, and actively support career growth, • Build an inclusive, high-trust team environment that promotes autonomy, ownership and continuous learning, • Maximise retention by creating a culture where talented people want to stay and grow Skills & Experience Essential • 10+ years’ experience in Product and/or Engineering leadership roles, ideally spanning both disciplines, • Demonstrated success leading multi-disciplinary product and engineering teams, • Strong track record of delivering complex software products on time, to quality and within budget, • Deep understanding of Agile/Scrum methodologies and modern software development practices, • Hands-on experience with AI tools in a professional context – whether in product development, engineering workflows or business operations, • Commercially astute: able to translate technical decisions into business value and communicate confidently to board level, • Compelling communicator and storyteller, able to distil complex information for technical and non-technical audiences, • Proven ability to influence and build alignment across an organisation, including senior leadership, • Strong prioritisation skills: comfortable managing trade-offs, making evidence-based decisions and driving to consensus, • Experience managing software architecture and platform strategy at scale Desirable • Experience in proptech, SaaS or estate agency software sectors, • Familiarity with machine learning concepts and the application of AI/ML in software products, • Experience working with legal or compliance-adjacent products, • Ambition to grow into a Technical Director or CTO role Equal Opportunities Dezrez Services Ltd is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, experiences and identities. All applications are considered solely on merit.