44 lead software engineer jobs found

Lead Software Engineer — Mission‑Critical Delivery (Defence & Security) Contract | Bristol (Hybrid) | Outside IR35 | High‑priority programme Build software that actually matters. We’re delivering secure, high‑integrity platforms used across Defence & Security—systems where reliability, correctness and speed of delivery are non‑negotiable. If you’re a hands‑on leader who can turn complexity into shippable software and align multi‑disciplinary teams behind a clear plan, this is your arena. Why this role is different Real authority: You’ll own end‑to‑end technical delivery across multiple workstreams—not just “influence” it. High‑impact environment: What you build gets deployed and relied on , not shelved. Hands‑on leadership: Lead by example in code, pipelines, and architecture— engineering first , PowerPoint second. Calm in the storm: When the situation’s ambiguous or time‑critical, you set direction and move the needle . Hybrid working:...

Lead Software Engineer Hybrid remote working SC Eligibility is essential (SC clearance would be desirable) Up to £78 p/h Outside IR35 A Leading Defence prime with offices around the U.K are looking for a Lead Software Engineer to provide hands-on leadership across a high-priority software delivery programme. This is a senior contract role suited to a self-starter who can quickly understand complex problem domains, translate requirements into actionable delivery plans, and drive engineering teams to successful outcomes. You will act as the technical and delivery focal point across multiple workstreams, ensuring work is properly sequenced, risks are actively managed, blockers are removed, and the programme maintains momentum. This opportunity combines technical leadership, delivery ownership, and stakeholder engagement, making it ideal for someone who has successfully led engineering teams in fast-moving, high-pressure environments. Essential Skills...

Lead Software Engineer 6 month contract Based in Bristol Offering £80ph Outside IR35 Do you have experience in AI/ML development or model-based engineering? Do you have experience in Python, C#, or .NET? Do you want to work with an industry-leading company? If your answer to these is yes, then this could be the role for you! As the Lead Software Engineer, you will be working alongside a market-leading Defence and Aerospace company who are constantly growing and developing. They are always looking to bring on new talents such as yourself and further develop your skills to enable you to grow within the company and industry. Do you the nature of the work you will be involved in, you will be required to go through MOD SC clearance. You will be involved in: Own end-to-end technical delivery across the programme Make time-critical delivery decisions in the absence of programme leadership Break down high-level requirements into structured deliverables...

Lead Software Engineer Rate: £600 a day IR 35 Determination: Outside IR35 Location: Bristol Working Pattern: 20% onsite Clearance: SC Clearance required Overview: Technical Leadership, Operational and People Management, Technical direction of complex projects A global defence technology consultancy ole are looking for an experienced Lead Software Engineer to provide hands‑on leadership across a high‑priority software delivery programme. This is a senior contractor role requiring a self‑starter who can quickly understand a complex problem domain, translate requirements into actionable deliverables, and drive engineering teams to successful outcomes. You will act as the technical and delivery focal point for multiple workstreams, ensuring work is sequenced, risks are managed, progress is unblocked, and the programme maintains momentum. This role blends technical leadership, delivery ownership, and stakeholder management, and is ideal for someone with a...

Lead Software Engineer Rate: £600 a day IR 35 Determination: Outside IR35 Location: Bristol Working Pattern: 20% onsite Clearance: SC Clearance required Overview: Technical Leadership, Operational and People Management, Technical direction of complex projects A global defence technology consultancy OLE are looking for an experienced Lead Software Engineer to provide hands-on leadership across a high-priority software delivery programme. This is a senior contractor role requiring a self-starter who can quickly understand a complex problem domain, translate requirements into actionable deliverables, and drive engineering teams to successful outcomes. You will act as the technical and delivery focal point for multiple workstreams, ensuring work is sequenced, risks are managed, progress is unblocked, and the programme maintains momentum. This role blends technical leadership, delivery ownership, and stakeholder management, and is ideal for someone with a...

Lead Software Engineer Rate: £600 a day IR 35 Determination: Outside IR35 Location: Southampton Working Pattern: 20% onsite Clearance: SC Clearance required Overview: Technical Leadership, Operational and People Management, Technical direction of complex projects A global defence technology consultancy are looking for an experienced Lead Software Engineer to provide hands-on leadership across a high-priority software delivery programme. This is a senior contractor role requiring a self-starter who can quickly understand a complex problem domain, translate requirements into actionable deliverables, and drive engineering teams to successful outcomes. You will act as the technical and delivery focal point for multiple workstreams, ensuring work is sequenced, risks are managed, progress is unblocked, and the programme maintains momentum. This role blends technical leadership, delivery ownership, and stakeholder management, and is ideal for someone with a...

Lead Software Engineer 6 month contract Based in Bristol Offering £80ph Outside IR35   Do you have experience in AI/ML development or model-based engineering? Do you have experience in Python, C#, or .NET? Do you want to work with an industry-leading company?   If your answer to these is yes, then this could be the role for you!   As the Lead Software Engineer, you will be working alongside a market-leading Defence and Aerospace company who are constantly growing and developing. They are always looking to bring on new talents such as yourself and further develop your skills to enable you to grow within the company and industry. Do you the nature of the work you will be involved in, you will be required to go through MOD SC clearance.   You will be involved in: Own end-to-end technical delivery across the programme Make time-critical delivery decisions in the absence of programme leadership...

Contract Lead Software Engineer Cloud/Serverless (Outside IR35) Hybrid Nottingham (max 2 days per month onsite) 6 Months Initial Contract We are currently supporting a leading UK digital transformation consultancy on the search for an experienced Lead Software Engineer to join a high-performing delivery team on an enterprise-scale programme click apply for full job details

Lead Software Engineer (Backend) JavaScript/TypeScript, AWS, Kafka Outside IR35 Contract My London based client is urgently looking for an experienced Lead Software Engineer with a strong Back End focus to lead the build and evolution of scalable, cloud-native services. You'll set technical direction, mentor engineers, and stay hands-on delivering production code. What you'll do: Lead Back End design and development (Node.js, TypeScript/JavaScript) Build and operate event-driven microservices using Kafka Own AWS-based delivery (scalability, performance, reliability, security) Drive engineering standards: code reviews, testing strategy, CI/CD, observability Partner with Product/Architecture to translate requirements into robust solutions Key skills: Strong commercial Back End experience with JavaScript/TypeScript (Node.js) Kafka experience (event-driven systems, distributed messaging) Strong AWS experience across modern cloud services Microservices/distributed...

This is a chance to join a newly formed product engineering squad focused on shaping smarter pricing experiences for a global digital platform. You'll play a key role in building features that directly impact how users discover value. Role Overview: Location: Remote (London/Edinburgh) Package: £450 - £500 per day (Outside IR35) Industry: Technology What You'll Be Doing: Building and enhancing customer-facing features using modern JavaScript frameworks Developing components that surface dynamic pricing, discounts, and price changes Collaborating with product and design teams to shape new functionality as the roadmap evolves Contributing to a newly formed squad with a focus on experimentation and innovation Working in an AI-enabled development environment, integrating tools into daily workflows Ensuring performance, accessibility, and compliance standards are met across the platform Main Skills...

This is a chance to join a newly formed product engineering squad focused on shaping smarter pricing experiences for a global digital platform. You'll play a key role in building features that directly impact how users discover value. Role Overview: Location: London / Hybrid Package: £450 - £500 per day (Outside IR35) Industry: Technology What You'll Be Doing: Building and enhancing customer-facing features using modern JavaScript frameworks Developing components that surface dynamic pricing, discounts, and price changes Collaborating with product and design teams to shape new functionality as the roadmap evolves Contributing to a newly formed squad with a focus on experimentation and innovation Working in an AI-enabled development environment, integrating tools into daily workflows Ensuring performance, accessibility, and compliance standards are met across the platform Main Skills Needed:...

Location: Bristol (20% onsite) Duration: 6 month contract Rate: £81.75ph LTD (Outside IR35) Role details: Our client, a prominent entity in the Defence & Security sector, is currently seeking an experienced Lead Software Engineer to provide hands-on leadership across a high-priority software delivery programme. Based in Bristol, this contract role requires a self-starter who can swiftly comprehend complex problem domains, translate requirements into actionable deliverables, and drive engineering teams to successful outcomes. Key Responsibilities: Delivery & Execution Own end-to-end technical delivery across the programme. Make time-critical delivery decisions in the absence of programme leadership. Break down high-level requirements into structured deliverables for engineering teams. Sequence work, set priorities, and maintain delivery plans. Act as escalation point for blockers, risks, and technical issues. Drive tangible progress across multiple...

3 month contract - Outside IR35 London - Hybrid (2/3 days a week in the office) A leading UK financial services provider is seeking a highly experienced Software Engineering Manager on a 3 month contract to lead multiple squads within their retail engineering function. This role will be pivotal in ensuring delivery excellence, technical oversight, and strong alignment with business and regulatory priorities. You will be the primary escalation point for delivery and technical challenges, accountable for sprint outcomes, prioritisation, and risk management. While this role is not hands-on coding, you will provide technical guidance, architectural insight, and oversight, ensuring solutions are scalable, maintainable, and delivered to high standards. Key Responsibilities: Lead multiple engineering squads, providing technical direction and oversight Drive delivery accountability, unblock issues, and manage dependencies across teams Collaborate with Product Owners, IT...

3 month contract - Outside IR35 London - Hybrid (2/3 days a week in the office) A leading UK financial services provider is seeking a highly experienced Software Engineering Manager on a 3 month contract to lead multiple squads within their retail engineering function. This role will be pivotal in ensuring delivery excellence, technical oversight, and strong alignment with business and regulatory priorities. You will be the primary escalation point for delivery and technical challenges, accountable for sprint outcomes, prioritisation, and risk management. While this role is not hands-on coding, you will provide technical guidance, architectural insight, and oversight, ensuring solutions are scalable, maintainable, and delivered to high standards. Key Responsibilities: Lead multiple engineering squads, providing technical direction and oversight Drive delivery accountability, unblock issues, and manage dependencies across teams...

Are you a Senior DCS Engineer looking for your next contract opportunity? If so, please read on... Senior DCS Engineer Aberdeenshire £50-55 per hour (Outside IR35) 12-month initial contract Key Responsibilities: Lead the design, development, and commissioning of automation systems based on ABB 800xA and AC800M. Manage and deliver full project lifecycle activities, including concept design, software configuration, FAT, SAT, and offshore installation. Collaborate with project teams and clients to ensure technical requirements and deadlines are met. Support offshore commissioning and maintenance activities as required. Essential Skills & Qualifications: Proven experience programming and configuring ABB 800xA and AC800M systems. Strong background in automation and control engineering with full project lifecycle involvement. Offshore Survival Certificate (BOSIET or equivalent). Strong documentation and communication skills. Experience...

Software Engineer — Secure, Mission‑Critical Systems Defence & Security Programme | Bristol (Hybrid) Contract | Outside IR35 Build Software That’s Actually Used — and Actually Matters This role isn’t about vanity features, throwaway prototypes, or code that never leaves a demo environment. We’re building secure, high‑integrity software systems used across Defence & Security programmes — platforms where quality, reliability, and correctness genuinely matter . If you’re a Software Engineer who wants to: Work on real production systems Learn from strong technical leadership Build software the right way in a high‑trust environment …then this project will stretch and reward you. What You’ll Be Working On As part of a multidisciplinary delivery team, you’ll be hands‑on in designing, building, and improving software that supports mission‑critical operations . You’ll: Design and develop high‑quality software components within a...

Senior Machine Learning Engineer (Outside IR35) | 6‑Month Contract 📍 Bristol (Hybrid – ~20% onsite) Build Machine Learning that Actually Matters This isn’t another recommender system. This isn’t ad‑tech. And it definitely isn’t “just moving notebooks into production”. We’re looking for a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to help design, build, and deploy mission‑critical ML systems used across defence, security, and high‑integrity public sector programmes . You’ll be working on problems where correctness, robustness, and trust matter as much as raw performance — and where your work has real‑world impact at national scale . 🔥 Why This Role Is Different Real ML engineering : production systems, not demos Work on secure, high‑integrity platforms where ML decisions matter Influence architecture , not just implementation Join a team that treats ML as software engineering , not science experiments Hybrid working with minimal onsite...

Databricks Architect/Engineer (Salesforce) Contract Role Up to £650/day (Outside IR35) Initial 8 weeks (likely extensions) We're looking for a Databricks Architect/Engineer to lead the design and delivery of a Single Source of Truth data platform. This role will focus on building a GOLD data product , centred around a sophisticated customer matching engine , enabling high-quality, unified customer insights across systems. Key Responsibilities Architect and build scalable data solutions using Databricks Design and implement star schema data models for analytics and reporting Develop a customer matching engine to unify and deduplicate customer records Integrate and model data from Salesforce as the core data source Deliver a high-quality GOLD layer data product for downstream consumption Ensure data accuracy, consistency, and governance across the platform Collaborate with stakeholders to align data models with business needs...

Job Title: Lead Network Architect Contract Dates: ASAP - 24/08/2026 Location: Ashby Outside IR35 Role Description:  This role is for a Network Comms Architect, capable of developing a networks design for various projects. The role will involve taking approved template network architectures and customizing them for the requirements of a project, focusing on that project’s connectivity and cybersecurity requirements along with the performance characteristics of the application system hardware. The jobholder will be capable of building and maintain strong communication links with telecoms specialists and project delivery teams and will learn to interpret the views of these group and influence delivery strategy, based on the needs of these stakeholders. The Network Comms Architect will report to the Design Manager and will participate with, and contribute to, the project to achieve the maximum output in producing outline and detailed networks...

Network Engineer Cardiff On-site 18 Months £400 to £450 Outside IR35 Your new company A large organisation based in South Wales. Your new role The role focusses on deploying Fortinet infrastructure, including Fortigate firewalls, Fortiswitches, and FortiManager. You will lead the network deployment, ensure alignment across business teams, and build strong internal relationships to provide a smooth handover once the implementation is complete. Key Responsibilities Creating Implementation plans using the LLD provided, planning, and installing local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN) Implementing firewalls, switches, taps and centralised mgmt. As required on 2 new sites Testing new implementations and monitoring network performance, analysing data, and performing updates as required to ensure the best possible delivery. Following the successful build of 2 new DC's, there will be a migration exercise out of the existing DC. Review and apply...