Director Software Engineering (Porto, PT)

About Planet

Planet is a global provider of integrated technology and payments solutions for retail and hospitality customers.

We create great experiences for the millions of people who use our payments, software, and tax-free solutions every minute of every day.

Planet empowers its customers to deliver great customer experiences by combining payments and software in ways that drive greater loyalty, increase revenue and save time.

Founded over 35 years ago and with our headquarters in London, today we have more than 2,500 employees located across six continents serving our customers in more than 120 markets.

Role Overview

The Director of Software Engineering is responsible for leading and developing a small, highly skilled team of software engineers working across multiple regions. The role combines hands-on technical leadership with people management, delivery accountability, and cross‑functional collaboration.
This position requires strong experience in C# and C++. The Director will ensure high engineering standards, predictable delivery, and alignment with business and architectural strategy.

What you will do

Engineering Leadership & Delivery

• Provide technical leadership across C# and C++ codebases, ensuring high standards of quality, performance, security, and maintainability
• Own delivery outcomes for the team, including planning, prioritisation, and execution
• Ensure consistent engineering practices (code reviews, testing strategies, CI/CD, documentation)

People Management & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a geographically distributed team of software engineers
• Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and career development planning
• Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement

Operational Excellence

• Establish and monitor engineering KPIs (delivery predictability, quality metrics, operational health)
• Identify and manage technical debt and operational risk
• Ensure systems meet relevant legal, fiscal and security requirements
• Drive continuous improvement in tools, processes, and ways of working

Who you are

Technical

• Strong professional background in C# and C++ within commercial software environments
• Solid understanding of software architecture, distributed systems, and modern development practices
• Experience working with legacy systems alongside modern platforms

Leadership

• Proven experience leading small software engineering teams
• Experience managing engineers across multiple regions or remote-first environments
• Strong coaching and mentoring skills

Delivery & Communication

• Demonstrated ability to deliver complex software reliably
• Fluent English

Why Planet:

Planet is an equal opportunity employer where diversity is valued, and all employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need.

Come and grow your career in the most exciting, fast paced technology market, with a business that delivers feel-good connected commerce.

We would love to hear from you – Apply now.

At Planet, we embrace a hybrid work model, with three days a week in the office.

Reasonable accommodations may be made in order to allow for an individual to perform the essential functions of this role successfully.

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