Lead Software Engineer

Technical Lead / Lead Software Engineer

Bristol | Hybrid Working 3x per week onsite

Permanent

£64,000 – £89,375 + Bonus + Excellent Benefits

SC Clearance Required

Do not wait to apply after reading this description a high application volume is expected for this opportunity.

We are supporting a growing National Security and Defence organisation with the appointment of a Technical Lead / Lead Software Engineer to help establish and grow a new engineering capability in Bristol.

This is a senior Lead opportunity for an experienced engineer who enjoys combining hands-on technical oversight with people leadership, mentoring, and delivery responsibility. The role will initially involve working closely with established teams before leading the development of a dedicated Bristol-based team supporting multiple secure programmes.

The successful lead software engineer will operate within a matrix environment across a variety of projects spanning cloud, DevOps, software engineering, and AI-enabled capabilities within highly secure and safety-critical environments.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead technical delivery across multiple secure software and engineering programmes
• Support the growth and development of a new Bristol-based engineering team
• Mentor and develop engineers, apprentices, and junior team members
• Ensure engineering processes, standards, and software lifecycle governance are followed
• Work closely with programme and functional leadership to support long-term capability growth
• Contribute to project planning, technical strategy, and delivery assurance
• Build strong working relationships across distributed teams and bring people together effectively within a collaborative engineering environment

Required Experience:

• Previous experience in a Technical Lead, Team Lead, or Engineering Leadership role
• Strong understanding of the full software development lifecycle
• Experience delivering large-scale or complex software systems within regulated or secure environments
• Strong stakeholder engagement and people leadership capability
• Experience mentoring and developing engineering teams
• Ability to operate effectively across multiple concurrent projects and teams

Technical Environment:

• Java
• C / C++
• Cloud and DevOps technologies
• AI-enabled systems and secure environments
• Safety-critical engineering standards and processes

Security Requirements:

• Active SC Clearance is required
• Candidates willing and eligible to progress through higher levels of clearance are highly desirable

Benefits Include:

• Annual bonus scheme
• Enhanced pension contribution (up to 10.5%)
• 9-day fortnight and half-day Fridays condensed hours option
• Private healthcare and dental cover
• Car lease and share schemes
• Flexible hybrid working arrangements

The organisation is open to candidates on notice periods of up to three months, with significant programme growth planned from September onwards. xwzovoh

For a confidential discussion, please get in touch directly.