Lead Software Engineer

DWP Digital; Blackpool; Hybrid; GBP 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading government digital service provider is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to guide engineering standards and teams. The role involves shaping the technical vision, driving innovation across multiple teams, and fostering best practices. The candidate will enjoy a competitive salary of up to £92,522, including a generous benefits package with a civil service pension and flexible working arrangements. Join a community dedicated to improving services for millions across the UK.

Benefits

Generous leave package

Brilliant civil service pension

Flexible working policy

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Proven software engineering expertise in design, development, and support of complex systems.
• Leadership experience managing multiple engineering teams.
• Strong knowledge of modern engineering practices.

Responsibilities

• Set engineering standards and promote best practices.
• Influence technical vision and resolve blockers.
• Drive innovation and problem-solving across engineering teams.

Skills

Software engineering expertise

Leadership experience

Knowledge of microservices

Stakeholder management

Coaching skills

Job description

DWP. Digital with Purpose.

This is a great opportunity to join our community of experts at DWP Digital as a Lead Software Engineer.

DWP is the UK's largest government department. We offer support and services to over 20 million daily users, and make payments worth over £195bn a year.

Our Lead Software Engineers are experts in their field, role models in software craft and have proven experience in the design, development, and support of software products.

Our DWP Digital community is building solutions that impact millions of people every day. We're doing it with modern engineering practices, cloud-native platforms, and tools that rival the best in industry.

We'd love you to join us.

The skills, knowledge and experience you need:

• Proven software engineering expertise in design, development, and support of complex systems.
• Leadership experience managing multiple engineering teams, setting standards, and driving consistency.
• Strong knowledge of microservices, event‑driven architectures, and modern engineering practices.
• Ability to define priorities, delegate effectively, and coach teams to build capability.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, including explaining technical concepts to non‑technical audiences.
• Familiarity with technical governance, domain‑driven design, and continuous improvement in engineering practices.

You and your role

As a Lead Software Engineer, you'll set engineering standards, promote best practices, and enable teams to deliver high‑quality software.

You'll use your leadership and collaboration skills to influence the department's technical vision, resolve blockers, and foster collaboration across the engineering community.

This role is about leading multiple engineering teams within DWP Digital, making sure the right people are working on the right problems, and shaping how we build future technology solutions that deliver real value to millions of users. You'll work across citizen‑facing products, contact centre solutions, and platform services, driving innovation and problem‑solving at scale.

You'll also play a key role in advancing engineering practices across DWP and government, accelerating the adoption of microservices and event‑driven architectures, and supporting the next generation of engineers through coaching and recruitment.

This is a senior leadership position where you'll be able to be strategic and hands‑on, and help us shape services that really work for people all across the UK.

Details. Wages. Perks.

Location: You'll join us in one of our brilliant digital hubs in Blackpool, Leeds, Manchester or Newcastle, whichever is most convenient for you. Regular travel between digital hubs is expected as part of the role (travel counts as working time, and your travel and expenses are paid).

Hybrid Working: We work a hybrid model - you'll spend some time working at home (40%) and some time collaborating face to face in a hub (60%).

Pay: We offer competitive pay for this role of up to £92,522. The maximum salary for the grade is £80,267, however a Digital Allowance of up to £12,225 per annum is also available for exceptional candidates.

Pension: You'll get a brilliant civil service pension with employer contributions of 28.97%, worth up to £23,253 per year.

Holidays: A generous leave package starting at 26 days rising to 31 days over time. You can also take up to 3 extra days off a month on flexi‑time. You'll also get all the usual public holidays.

We have a broad benefits package built around your work‑life balance which includes:

• An award‑winning environment and culture: Employer of the Year 2023 (Women In IT Awards), Founders Award for Outstanding Digital Leadership 2023 (Digital 100)
• Flexible working including flexible hours and flex‑friendly policies
• Time off volunteering and charitable giving
• Bring your authentic self to work with 'I Can Be Me in DWP'
• Discounts and savings on shopping, fun days out and more
• Interest‑free loans to buy a bike or a season ticket, so it's even easier for you to get to work and start making a difference
• Sports and social activities
• Professional development, coaching, mentoring and career progression opportunities.

Process:

We know your time is valuable so our application and selection process is just two stages:

1. Apply: complete your application on Civil Service Jobs. There'll be full instructions when you click through.
2. Interview: a single stage face‑to‑face interview.

CLICK APPLY for more information and to start your application.