Software Project Manager

Company: Planet Education Networks (PEN Group)

Job Role: Software Project Manager

Salary Range: £43,000 - £48,000 Per Annum

Employment Type: Full-Time

Working Days & Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm

Location: On-Site, Canary Wharf, London

About the Role

PEN Group is seeking an experienced Software Project Manager who began their career as a software developer and has since transitioned into delivery or product management. This is not a pure PM role — we need someone who genuinely understands code, can earn the trust of engineers, and can hold a technical conversation about architecture, performance, and trade-offs.

You will take ownership of a growing portfolio of in-house software platforms used across all businesses connected to PEN Group. You will manage a small overseas development team day-to-day from our Canary Wharf office, acting as the bridge between business stakeholders and technical delivery.

Career Profile We Are Seeking

We are specifically looking for candidates who have followed a trajectory similar to:

• 2+ years as a software developer or technical lead, writing production code
• Subsequent move into a delivery or management role: Software Project Manager, Technical Product Manager, Engineering Lead, Delivery Manager, or similar

(Candidates who have only ever worked in project or product management without a prior development background will not be considered for this role. Your development experience is what will make you effective here.)

About the Projects

You will lead the development and continuous improvement of a growing suite of internal and commercial software platforms spanning multiple industries:

• EdTech platforms and education management systems
• HR and staffing management platforms
• Hospitality and operations systems
• Travel and booking-related systems
• Website builder and CRM platforms

There is a strong and growing emphasis on AI integration across all products — including workflow automation, intelligent data processing, reporting insights, and AI-assisted user experiences. Many projects will evolve from MVP stage to scalable production systems, requiring strong architectural thinking and long-term maintainability planning.

Key Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end delivery of multiple software projects simultaneously
• Day-to-day management and support of an overseas development team of engineers
• Translate business requirements into well-scoped technical tasks, epics, and milestones
• Track progress, manage risks proactively, and unblock delivery issues
• Conduct code reviews and provide technical guidance where appropriate
• Communicate clearly with both technical teams and non-technical senior stakeholders
• Ensure platforms are built to be scalable, secure, and maintainable from the outset
• Evaluate technical approaches and contribute to architectural decisions
• Define and maintain development standards, workflows, and documentation practices

Essential Requirements

Prior Development Background (Required):

• Minimum 2 years of hands-on software development experience building production systems
• Proficiency in one or more modern stacks: JavaScript/TypeScript, React/Next.js, Node.js, PHP, or equivalent
• Solid understanding of relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and data modelling
• Experience shipping at least one production software platform from development through to live

Project & Team Management (Required):

• Proven experience managing software delivery from requirements through to production release
• Experience leading or coordinating a small technical team, including remote or offshore engineers
• Comfortable using project management and collaboration tools (Jira, Linear, GitHub, Notion, etc.)
• Strong planning, prioritisation, and stakeholder communication skills

Desirable (Nice to Have)

• Experience scaling products from MVP to full production with real user load
• Cloud or serverless deployment experience (AWS, GCP, Azure, or Vercel/similar)
• Database schema design and query performance optimisation
• Familiarity with AI/ML tooling or LLM integrations in production systems
• SaaS, CRM, or enterprise platform experience
• Agile or Scrum certification (though practical experience is more important to us)

Why Join PEN Group

• High level of ownership — you will shape how products are built and delivered, not just track tickets
• Work on a diverse portfolio of platforms with real business impact across multiple industries
• Collaborative culture that values technical depth and practical delivery over process for its own sake
• Competitive salary based on experience, plus Tier 2 visa sponsorship available for the right candidate
• Office based in Canary Wharf, London with a dynamic and growing team

Benefits

• Annual leave (7.2 weeks)
• Workplace pension scheme.
• Company Sick Policy.
• Statutory maternity/paternity pays.
• Career development opportunities
• Training and self-development opportunities.
• Gym membership discounts
• Retail discount schemes
• Cinema discounts
• Grocery discounts
• Cycle to work
• Investing and savings opportunities
• Financial wellbeing – personal debt advise.
• Financial wellbeing education
• My Mind Pal (mental fitness)