Lead Software Engineer - Secure Environment

Sanderson Government & Defence; Cheltenham; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Sanderson Government & Defence is seeking an experienced Software Engineer to help build secure backend platforms used by National Security and Defence customers. You will work on modern cloud-based systems across private and public cloud environments.

Key tasks include designing, building and deploying backend services, delivering feature-rich releases, and shaping user stories within an Agile team, while maintaining CI/CD pipelines and production support.

Qualifications

• 5+ years designing and delivering production-grade cloud solutions.
• Strong Java experience with JVM languages like Kotlin or Scala.
• Experience with Kafka or similar messaging platforms.
• Background in Agile DevSecOps and Zero Trust architectures.
• Experience integrating PostgreSQL, Redis and S3 services.
• Solid engineering fundamentals: clean code, testing, documentation, reviews.
• Proficient with GitHub, GitLab and Atlassian toolchain.
• Hands-on with microservices and distributed systems.
• Exposure to Big Data technologies.

Responsibilities

• Designing, building, deploying and improving backend services and platforms
• Delivering features meeting functional and non-functional requirements
• Estimating and shaping user stories as part of an Agile team
• Shipping small, frequent releases to maintain momentum
• Collaborating with engineers in cross-functional teams
• Building, optimising and running CI/CD pipelines
• Owning and supporting services in production

Skills

Java

Kotlin

Scala

TDD

Microservices

Distributed systems

CI/CD

Agile DevSecOps

Zero Trust

Cloud engineering

Tools

Kafka

PostgreSQL

Redis

S3

GitHub

GitLab

Atlassian tools

Job description

We're looking for an experienced Software Engineer to help build and scale secure backend platforms used by National Security and Defence customers. You'll work on modern cloud‑based systems using a mix of commercial and open‑source technologies across private and public cloud environments.

What you'll be doing

• Designing, building, deploying and improving backend services and platforms
• Delivering features that meet both functional and non‑functional requirements
• Estimating and shaping user stories as part of an Agile team
• Shipping small, frequent releases to keep momentum high
• Working closely with other engineers in cross‑functional teams
• Building, optimising and running CI/CD pipelines
• Owning and supporting the services your team delivers in production

What we're looking for

• 5+ years' experience delivering production‑grade cloud solutions
• Strong Java experience, with exposure to JVM languages such as Kotlin or Scala
• Experience with Kafka or similar messaging platforms
• Background in Agile DevSecOps environments and Zero Trust architectures
• Experience integrating with services such as PostgreSQL, Redis and S3
• Solid engineering fundamentals: clean code, testing, documentation, code reviews and continuous delivery
• Comfortable using GitHub, GitLab and Atlassian tools
• Strong TDD experience
• Hands‑on experience with microservices and distributed systems
• Exposure to Big Data technologies

Reasonable Adjustments:

Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.

If you need any help or adjustments during the recruitment process for any reason, please let us know when you apply or talk to the recruiters directly so we can support you.