Lead Software Engineer

Williams Racing; Vale of White Horse; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holidays

Staff events

Onsite restaurant discount

Job summary

Atlassian Williams F1 Team is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to head a small, highly capable team and deliver high-performance software for Aerodynamics, Vehicle Dynamics and Performance functions.

You will set architectural standards, contribute hands-on, and work across diverse stacks including C++, Rust, Python, React/TypeScript, and cloud-native services. This role blends leadership with technical excellence.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software development experience, with senior/lead exposure.
• Strong low-level and performance-focused coding in C++ or Rust.
• Experience with Python for data analysis and workflows.
• Familiarity with functional programming concepts (F#).
• Proven ability to design scalable, maintainable systems.
• Experience with CI/CD and containerisation.
• Exposure to cloud-native data platforms and real-time data systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical direction of the team, make architecture decisions, review code, and contribute hands-on.
• Mentor engineers through coaching, knowledge sharing, and feedback.
• Manage dependencies and risks across concurrent projects, balancing delivery and debt.
• Bridge engineering with performance functions to translate problems into software.
• Contribute to technology strategy across Performance Technology and the software group.

Skills

C++

Rust

Python

F#

Kafka

WebSockets

CI/CD

Containerisation

Leadership

Architectural design

Education

Computer Science / Engineering degree

Job description

Job Description

For almost 50 years, Atlassian Williams F1 Team has been at the forefront of one of the fastest sports on the planet, being one of the top three most successful teams in history competing in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. With an almost unrivalled heritage of engineering and racing F1 cars and unforgettable eras that demonstrate it is a force to be reckoned with, the British squad boasts 16 F1 World Championship titles to its name.

Since its foundation in 1977 by the eminent, late Sir Frank Williams and engineering pioneer Sir Patrick Head, the team has won nine Constructors’ Championships, in association with Cosworth, Honda and Renault. Its roll call of drivers is legendary, with its seven Drivers’ Championship trophies being lifted by true icons of the sport: Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. The team has made history before and is out to make it again with a long-term mission to evolve and return to the front of the grid.

Job Description

Write code that shapes what happens on track.

Atlassian Williams F1 Team is looking for a Lead Software Engineer to join our Performance Technology group. This is a rare opportunity to lead a team of engineers building bespoke, high-performance software that directly supports our Aerodynamics, Vehicle Dynamics, and Vehicle Performance functions. At Williams, software and data are central to our mission of advancing up the grid, and this role puts you at the heart of both.

The Role

You’ll lead a team of 3-5 engineers, taking ownership of technical direction, architecture, and delivery across a diverse and sophisticated software estate. From real-time data systems and state-of-the-art simulations to bespoke analysis tools and cloud-native modernisation, the problems you’ll solve are genuinely complex and genuinely consequential. You’ll remain hands-on, contributing directly to design and code while setting the technical standard for those around you.

Our stack is deliberately broad: desktop applications in C++ and C#, web applications in React/TypeScript, Python-based analysis tools, and backend services in C++, Rust, F#, and C#. We use the right tool for the right job, and we’re on an exciting journey adopting cloud-native technologies and modern data platforms.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading the technical direction of your team: making architectural decisions, choosing frameworks and patterns, and setting quality standards through code review and hands-on contribution
• Mentoring and developing your engineers through coaching, knowledge sharing, and regular feedback
• Managing technical dependencies and risks across concurrent projects, balancing feature delivery against technical debt
• Acting as the bridge between engineering and the performance functions you support, translating their problems into deliverable software
• Contributing to technology strategy across Performance Technology and the wider software group

Qualifications

What we’re looking for

• 10+ years of software development experience, with at least 2 years in a senior or lead engineering role
• Comfort working across the full stack, including performance-critical low-level code in C++ or Rust, as well as Python for data analysis and exploratory workflows
• Strong architectural knowledge across distributed systems, real-time streaming technologies (Kafka, WebSockets), and data persistence strategies spanning relational, document, and time-series stores
• Familiarity with or genuine curiosity around functional programming, including languages such as F#
• A proven track record designing and delivering scalable, maintainable systems with end-to-end technical ownership
• A pragmatic, outcome-driven approach with a strong desire to engage directly with users and stakeholders
• Experience with modern DevOps practices including CI/CD, containerisation, and infrastructure-as-code

Nice to have

• A degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related discipline
• Experience in motorsport, aerospace, engineering, or other domains where software performance has direct physical-world consequences

Additional Information

• generous holidays
• vibrant staff events
• a subsidised onsite restaurant
• a range of car schemes
• 24/7 access to our gym
• free fitness classes like outdoor boot camps, Pilates, and Yoga
• free parking
• sprawling green spaces

Join a fast-paced, future-thinking team that’s driving innovation and pushing past engineering boundaries.

Atlassian Williams F1 Racing Team is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and inclusion. We are happy to discuss reasonable job adjustments.

Atlassian Williams F1 Team is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and inclusion. We are happy to discuss reasonable job adjustments.