Principal Software Engineer

Morson Edge; England; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent technical consultancy in the UK is seeking a Contract Software Engineer specializing in real-time embedded systems using Ada. This hybrid role requires engineering expertise in high-integrity applications within the defence sector. You will design, develop, and validate mission-critical software, collaborating closely with hardware teams. Strong debugging skills and experience in mature development frameworks are essential. A 12-month contract with competitive hourly pay awaits the successful candidate.

Qualifications

• Recent high-integrity or safety-critical industry experience in defence or aerospace.
• Comfortable within a mature, governed development framework.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, debug, and test real-time embedded software in Ada.
• Own complex work packages from requirements through integration and delivery.
• Produce high-integrity, mission-critical software to defined engineering standards.
• Work collaboratively across disciplines while retaining autonomy.
• Support current platforms and contribute to future capability development.

Skills

Expert-level Ada (including OO design principles)

Debugging embedded real-time systems with COTS RTOS

Solid understanding of UML and structured design

Knowledge of Verification & Validation techniques

Requirements engineering, integration, target testing

Job description

Contract Software Engineer (Ada) Real-Time Embedded

Location: Luton (Hybrid 4 days on-site)
Contract Length: 12 months
IR35: Inside IR35
Rate: £57.72 p/h PAYE (£66.11p/h inc. holiday rate) OR £78.70 p/h Umbrella

We seek an engineer with recent high-integrity or safety-critical industry experience (defence, aerospace, or similar), or eligible for UK security clearance.

The Opportunity

We re looking for an experienced real-time embedded Ada engineer to work on mission-critical defensive systems within a highly technical electronic warfare environment. This is a hands-on role developing, integrating, and testing high-integrity software that directly supports operational capability.

You’ll be trusted with complex problems, work closely with systems, hardware, and firmware teams, and play a key role across the full software lifecycle.

What You’ll Do

• Design, develop, debug, and test real-time embedded software in Ada
• Own complex work packages from requirements through integration and delivery
• Produce high-integrity, mission-critical software to defined engineering and quality standards
• Work collaboratively across disciplines while retaining autonomy and technical ownership
• Support current platforms and contribute to future capability development

What You Bring

• Expert-level Ada (including OO design principles)
• Strong experience debugging embedded real-time systems using a COTS RTOS
• Solid understanding of UML and structured design
• Deep knowledge of Verification & Validation techniques and when to apply them
• Experience with requirements engineering, integration, and target testing
• Comfortable working within a mature, governed development framework