Lead Software Engineer

HM Land Registry; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 59,000 - 73,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave

Flexi-time scheme

Cycle to work scheme

Employee assistance programme

Interest-free season ticket loan

Social and sports club

Job summary

HM Land Registry is seeking a Lead Software Developer to provide technical leadership and guide engineering teams across England and Wales, delivering digital services and transformation projects. The role combines hands-on coding with people management and close collaboration with architects, product owners and delivery teams across the full software development lifecycle.

A strong leadership profile and broad software experience are essential.

Qualifications

• Strong software development experience across multiple projects.
• Experience operating at senior developer level with mentorship.
• Experience maintaining and improving brownfield systems.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to software design, technical decisions andRequirements refinement.
• Collaborate with architects, product owners and delivery teams to provide effective technical solutions.
• Support the full software development lifecycle, including development, testing, deployment and maintenance.
• Lead and support a team of software developers, providing technical direction and guidance.
• Mentor and coach developers to build capability across the team.

Skills

Strong software development experience

Senior developer guidance

Experience with brownfield systems

Full SDLC knowledge

Job description

Lead the teams transforming digital services that support land and property ownership across England and Wales.

HM Land Registry “HMLR” are looking for a Lead Software Developer to provide technical leadership, support engineering teams and help improve how software is designed, developed and maintained. Permanent role, salary £58,500 - £72,700 (based on assessment at interview), 29% employer pension contribution plus full Civil Service benefits. Flexible, hybrid working from 14 UK locations.

OPEN SESSION

If you would like to find out more about the role, the Software Engineering profession and what it’s like to work at HMLR, a Hiring Manager Q&A session where you can virtually 'meet the team' will be held via MS Teams on Tuesday, 1st September at 12:30pm.

About Lead Software Developer Role

As a Lead Software Developer, you will lead a team of developers working across a range of digital services and transformation projects. The role combines technical leadership with people management, supporting developers while helping to shape technical decisions and the delivery of high-quality software.

You will work closely with architects, product owners, delivery teams and other stakeholders, contributing across the full software development lifecycle. The work will include both existing services and new development, so experience working with and improving established systems will be important.

While the role has a strong leadership focus, you will remain close to the technology and will have opportunities to contribute technically where appropriate.

Technology

No specific programming language or technology is required, as strong software development skills are considered transferable. The current technology environment includes HTML, CSS, Python, Flask, Java, Spring Boot, REST APIs, RabbitMQ, DB2, AWS.

Responsibilities of a Lead Software Developer

• Contribute to software design, technical decision-making and the refinement of requirements.
• Work closely with architects, product owners, delivery colleagues and other stakeholders to deliver effective technical solutions.
• Support the full software development lifecycle, including development, testing, deployment, maintenance and continuous improvement.
• Lead and support a team of software developers, providing technical direction and guidance throughout delivery.
• Mentor and coach developers, supporting their development and helping build capability across the team.

Essential skills of a Lead Software Developer

• Strong professional experience in software development
• Experience operating at senior developer level, including providing technical guidance, mentoring or supporting other developers.
• Experience working with brownfield systems, including maintaining, supporting and improving existing applications.
• Broad software development experience across multidisciplinary teams, ideally covering multiple areas of the technology stack.
• Strong experience across the full software development lifecycle, from requirements and design through to development, testing, deployment and ongoing support.

Alongside your salary of £58,500 plus any allowance up to £72,700, HM Land Registry contributes £16,947 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Plus:

• Annual leave of 28.5 days’ paid holiday during each holiday year plus 8 days public holidays
• A clear progression pathway inc. personalised training and development plans including expensed accreditations with training days set aside
• Flexi-time scheme (You decide what working hours work best for you)
• Opportunity to work condensed hours
• Social and sports club
• Access to our employee assistance programme for counselling and support on a wide range of issues
• Interest-free loan for season tickets
• Cycle to work scheme (salary sacrifice).

HMLR have a strong and positive culture, a commitment to inclusivity, an emphasis on continuous learning and development and flexible ways of working.

Office locations

The role is open across 14 of HMLR’s locations:

Birkenhead, Croydon, Coventry, Durham, Weymouth, Gloucester, Kingston upon Hull, Leicester, Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Warton, Swansea and Telford.

Additional Requirements

• HMLR expect everyone to spend 60% of their working time in one of the offices.
• Occasional travel will be required to HMLR offices, supplier sites and other government departments, which may include overnight stays
• This role operates under the flexible working hours agreement, supporting a positive work-life balance
• The post is subject to BPPS level clearance
• This role does not meet the category to offer visa sponsorship

An opportunity to lead and develop engineering teams, influence technical direction and work across established services and major transformation programmes. You’ll stay close to the technology while benefiting from dedicated development time, technical training and support to grow your leadership and engineering capability.