Lead Python Developer

Sanderson Recruitment; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 130,000 - 137,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Job summary

Sanderson Recruitment seeks a Lead Python Engineer to drive Python-based tooling for a data-focused programme in the UK. The role combines hands-on delivery with technical leadership, engaging governance and architecture stakeholders to set standards and guidance.

Active SC clearance is required, with a mix of on-site and hybrid work, approximately two days per week on site. The initial contract runs until November 2026, offering a challenging, impact‑driven environment for delivery and

Qualifications

• Expert-level Python development experience.
• Experience operating at Lead Engineer level.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Experience contributing to technical governance and architecture discussions.
• Ability to combine technical leadership with hands-on delivery.
• Active SC Clearance that can be transferred prior to commencement.
• We cannot consider applications without active SC clearance.
• Technical architecture experience is desirable.
• Data governance and data quality experience is desirable.
• Experience with data anonymisation and obfuscation solutions is desirable.
• Security-focused software development experience is desirable.
• Experience in government or wider public sector environments is desirable.
• Mentoring and coaching engineering teams is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and enhancement of Python-based tooling.
• Remain actively involved in software engineering and delivery.
• Engage with governance forums and architecture stakeholders.
• Produce technical guidance, standards, and supporting documentation.
• Support initiatives relating to data privacy, governance, and secure data usage.
• Work closely with stakeholders to build consensus and drive adoption of recommendations.
• Mentor and support engineers within the wider team.

Skills

Python development

Lead Engineer experience

Stakeholder engagement

Governance discussions

Mentoring engineers

Tools

Python

Django

PostgreSQL

AWS

Cloud

Job description

Salary: £130,000 - 136,500 per year

Requirements

• Expert-level Python development experience.
• Previous experience operating at Lead Engineer level.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Experience contributing to technical governance and architecture discussions.
• Ability to combine technical leadership with hands‑on delivery.
• Active SC Clearance that can be transferred prior to commencement.
• We cannot consider applications without active SC clearance.
• Technical architecture experience is desirable.
• Data governance and data quality experience is desirable.
• Experience with data anonymisation and obfuscation solutions is desirable.
• Security-focused software development experience is desirable.
• Experience in government or wider public sector environments is desirable.
• Mentoring and coaching engineering teams is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and enhancement of Python-based tooling.
• Remain actively involved in software engineering and delivery.
• Engage with governance forums and architecture stakeholders.
• Produce technical guidance, standards, and supporting documentation.
• Support initiatives relating to data privacy, governance, and secure data usage.
• Work closely with stakeholders to build consensus and drive adoption of recommendations.
• Mentor and support engineers within the wider team.

Technologies

• Support
• Python
• Security
• AWS
• Cloud
• Django
• PostgreSQL

More

We are hiring a Lead Python Engineer for a data-focused programme aimed at improving the safe use of production data within development environments. Our project centres on data anonymisation, obfuscation, and sanitisation, and we are building the tooling, governance, and technical standards needed to support secure software delivery. This is a hands‑on leadership role within a small delivery team, with hybrid working and an expectation of approximately two days per week on site. The initial contract runs until November 2026. We value respect and equality, and we are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.

last updated 40 week of 2026