Principal .NET Developer

Job summary

We are seeking a highly experienced and forward-thinking Principal/Lead Developer to drive the design, development and delivery of secure, modern software solutions that underpin the Trust's Digital Clinical Strategy. Working in an agile, cross-functional development environment, you will take technical ownership of complex and innovative projects, ensuring high standards of engineering, architecture and operational quality.

This role is part of a brand new development squad, that will be driving forward a greenfield product, initially in the outpatient prescriptions space.

As a senior technical leader, you will influence strategic direction, champion best practice, and guide developers across multiple teams. You will bring deep expertise in .NET, cloud technologies and modern development approaches, while fostering a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration and innovation. This role provides significant autonomy to shape solutions, set technical standards, and ensure that digital systems are safe, scalable and aligned with organisational goals.

Main duties of the job

• Lead the design, development and delivery of secure, high-quality software solutions using modern frameworks, cloud services and engineering best practices.
• Act as a senior technical authority, providing expert guidance across architecture, development standards, DevOps, testing, and continuous delivery.
• Oversee highly complex and strategic technical initiatives, ensuring alignment with the Trust's Digital Clinical Strategy and long-term technology roadmap.
• Provide leadership, mentorship and professional support to development teams, promoting high performance, knowledge sharing and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to a range of stakeholders, including senior leaders, clinical colleagues and external partners.
• Contribute to planning and organisational activities, including estimating workload, defining roadmaps, supporting business cases and advising on resource planning.
• Ensure compliance with relevant IT policies, standards and governance requirements, including quality, security, legislative and change-management frameworks.
• Conduct research and evaluation of emerging tools, technologies and approaches, recommending improvements and driving innovation across the digital function.
• Coordinate day-to-day workload allocation and ensure the delivery of safe, reliable and scalable systems.
• Produce and maintain high-quality technical documentation, including specifications, user guides, test plans and architectural artefacts.

About us

We manage three major locality hospitals at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham, plus a number of smaller community hospitals and clinics from Tynemouth to Berwick on Tweed, covering one of the largest geographical areas of any NHS trust in the country. Leading in innovation and quality - opening a state of the art Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, the first of its kind in England. Do you want to work in one of the best performing NHS organisations in England? Work in an organisation that supports its staff and focuses on staff experience as much as it does the experience of its patients? You can live and breathe in an area that has the cleanest air, cost effective living, great nightlife, some of the best schools with a wealth of history available on your doorstep. Sound too good to be true? Well it isn't, this is what you get when you work for Northumbria Healthcare, this is the Northumbria Way! Please read 'applicant guidance notes' before submitting your application.