Lead Software Engineer

Lead Software Engineer

Active SC Clearance Essential

Our client, an innovative UK technology company is building a next-generation AI platform fordefence and health applications. Their systems operate in highly regulated, mission-critical environments where reliability, security, and performance truly matter.

Were looking for aLead Software Engineerto take technical ownership of key platform components, guide architectural decisions, and mentor engineers as we scale. This is a hands-on leadership role youll be writing code, shaping systems, and directly influencing the future of the platform.

This is a genuineground-floor opportunityto shape both the technology and the engineering culture within a growing, mission-driven business.

What Youll Be Working On

• Leading thedesign, development, and evolutionof intelligent, distributed systems
• Architecting and buildingAI-driven capabilities, including:
• Large Language Models (LLMs)
• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
• AI agents and orchestration workflows
• Designing and maintainingbackend services and APIs(primarily Python, FastAPI / Flask)
• Building and scalingdata pipelinesand search systems using:
• ElasticSearch, Weaviate, Pinecone, and other vector databases
• Engineeringsecure, containerised architecturesusing Docker and Kubernetes
• Ensuringhigh availability, fault tolerance, and performancefor mission-critical workloads
• Providingtechnical leadership and mentorshipto other engineers
• Contributing to technical strategy, tooling choices, and engineering best practices

What Were Looking For

Essential

• ActiveSC clearanceandBritish nationality (no dual nationality)
• Degree in Computer Science, AI, or a related field or equivalent industry experience
• Strong background inPythonor similar languages
• Significant experience withbackend development, microservices, and distributed systems
• Hands-on experience withAI/ML systems, including LLMs, RAG, or vector databases
• Solid understanding ofcontainerisation and orchestration(Docker / Kubernetes)
• Experience deliveringsecure, on-premise or regulated systems
• Proven ability tolead technically, mentor others, and take ownership of complex problems

Desirable

• Experience in defence, government, healthcare, or other regulated domains
• Familiarity with DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure as code
• Exposure to data engineering, ETL pipelines, or high-volume data processing
• Experience working inSME or start-up environments, comfortable wearing multiple hats

Salary: £90,000 - £100,000 (DOE) + Bonus + Benefits

Hybrid working 1 day per week onsite in either Winchester/Basingstoke

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