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
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.
For a confidential discussion, please get in touch directly.