Lead Software Engineer

BAE Systems; Preston; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading defense manufacturer in the UK is seeking a Software Engineer to join their team in Warton. This role involves active participation in the software lifecycle, including gathering requirements, designing solutions, and managing application environments. Candidates should have proven software engineering experience and familiarity with relevant programming languages. The position offers hybrid working arrangements and a competitive salary starting at £49,400, along with various benefits including a pension Scheme and employee share plans.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Flexible health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Proven experience working as a software engineer.
• Experience in developing applications in a relevant programming context.

Responsibilities

• Participate in various stages of the software lifecycle, including requirement gathering and testing.
• Manage environment configuration and support development and production environments.
• Carry out application deployment and data migration activities.

Skills

Software engineering experience

Experience in relevant programming languages

Education

Relevant software or computing qualifications

Tools

SQL Server

CATIA

Visual Studio

Job description

Job Title: Software Engineer

Location: Warton - we offer a range of hybrid and flexible working arrangements - please speak to your recruiter about the options for this particular role.

Salary: £49,400 + depending on experience

What you’ll be doing:

• Active participation in various stages of the software lifecycle, such as gathering requirements, designing appropriate solutions and ensuring that the end product meets the requirements through varied levels of testing
• Environment configuration and management for applications such as SQL Server, CATIA, Visual Studio
• Support, enhance and develop the documentation knowledge base
• Carry out data migration activities
• Take application deployment into development environment
• Support of development, testing and production environments

Your skills and experiences:

Essential:

• Proven experience working as a software engineer
• Experience of a developing application in a professional context in relevant programming language

Desirable:

• Relevant software or computing qualifications
• Experience of C++, C#, Java, Blazor or other programming languages

Benefits

As well as a competitive pension scheme, BAE Systems also offers employee share plans, an extensive range of flexible discounted health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits, including a green car scheme, private health plans and shopping discounts - you may also be eligible for an annual incentive.

The Engineering Systems Competency Centre

The Engineering Systems Competency Centre have a history of writing highly mathematical software, with a specific focus on engineering software. From CAD customisation software and aerodynamic modelling applications delivered as native experiences to document viewing and electrical catalogue management delivered over the web.

Why BAE Systems?

This is a place where you’ll be able to make a real difference. You’ll be part of an inclusive culture that values diversity of thought, rewards integrity, and merit, and where you’ll be empowered to fulfil your potential. We welcome people from all backgrounds and want to make sure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. If you have a disability or health condition (for example dyslexia, autism, an anxiety disorder etc.) that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Closing Date: 2nd January 2026

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Due to the festive season, there may be a delay in the processing of your application. Your application is important to us, and we will respond as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding.