Engineering Manager, Desktop Platforms

Engineering Manager - Desktop Platforms (CI/Research)

Location: Mechelen, Belgium

Function: R&D - Desktop Platforms

Role Type: People Manager

Scope: Global, multi-site

About the Role

We are looking for an Engineering Manager to lead teams within our Desktop Platforms organisation during a period of significant modernisation.

Cochlear is investing heavily in its engineering foundation: reproducible and containerised builds, unified CI/CD, architectural modernisation, stronger cybersecurity, improved release governance, and scalable multi-site execution across Europe and Australia.

This is a technical people-leadership role. You are accountable for outcomes-team capability, delivery predictability, quality, and compliance-rather than hands-on coding or project management. Your leadership directly influences our ability to deliver safe, reliable clinical software at global scale.

What You’ll Do

• Build, lead, and develop high-performing engineering teams delivering clinical desktop software
• Create clarity and stability in complex, regulated environments
• Ensure predictable delivery through disciplined planning and early risk management
• Raise engineering standards across CI/CD, testing, documentation, and quality practices
• Ensure adherence to architectural patterns and regulatory expectations
• Partner closely with Architecture, DevOps, QA, Regulatory, Product, and Delivery
• Drive continuous improvement while reducing technical debt and legacy complexity
• Foster a culture where quality, safety, and accountability are the default

What We’re Looking For

• Experience leading engineering teams delivering complex, long-lived software products
• Strong people leadership skills: hiring, coaching, feedback, and performance management
• A solid technical foundation and the ability to engage credibly with architects and senior engineers
• Familiarity with modern engineering practices (CI/CD, automation, DevOps)
• Experience in regulated, safety-critical, or quality-driven environments is a strong advantage
• Comfort operating in global, multi-site organisations
• Clear communicator with strong judgment, ownership, and calm leadership under pressure

Minimum Requirements

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of professional experience in software engineering, including significant time (at least 3 years) in engineering leadership or people-management roles.
• Proven experience leading teams delivering complex, long-lived production software where reliability, quality, and risk management are critical.

Education

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.
• Candidates from other engineering backgrounds are considered provided they have substantial, demonstrable experience in professional software development.
• A rigorous engineering foundation is required; this role is not suitable for non-engineering profiles.

Language Skills

• Fluent professional English is mandatory (spoken and written).
• Dutch and/or French are advantageous but not required.

Technical Scope

• Strong background in modern software engineering practices (CI/CD, automation, testing, DevOps).
• Experience with desktop or system-level software is a strong advantage.
• Exposure to regulated, safety-critical, or quality-driven environments is highly valued.

Leadership Scope

• Demonstrated experience hiring, coaching, and performance-managing engineers, including senior engineers and technical leaders.
• Ability to operate credibly with Architects, DevOps, QA, Regulatory, Product, and senior leadership.
• Comfortable owning outcomes, making hard trade-offs, and representing engineering reality at leadership level.
• Lead engineering teams building technology that improves and restores hearing for millions of people
• Work in a modern engineering environment undergoing meaningful transformation
• Solve complex problems where quality, safety, and reliability truly matter
• Collaborate with talented engineers across Europe and Australia

Do career-defining work with purpose, scale, and long-term impact