Principal Software Engineer (DevSecOps)

Leonardo; Lincoln; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Leonardo UK is seeking a Principal Software Engineer (DevSecOps) to accelerate secure, high-quality software delivery across defence and security programmes. You will shape our enterprise DevSecOps capability and lead modernization, automation and secure development practices.

In a software engineering community, you will mentor teams, drive automation across CI/CD pipelines, and ensure secure-by-design principles and robust operation across cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or related field.
• Experience delivering software in complex engineering environments.
• Experience with CI/CD practices and tooling.
• Knowledge of cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments.
• Experience with DevOps and DevSecOps tools.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the delivery and evolution of Leonardo's enterprise-wide DevSecOps platform.
• Support and mentor teams adopting DevSecOps practices, tools and ways of working.
• Contribute to the planning and implementation of DevSecOps capabilities across cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments.
• Design, deploy and maintain development, test and operational environments.
• Drive automation across software delivery and infrastructure provisioning to improve quality, consistency and efficiency.
• Develop and maintain automation frameworks, CI/CD pipelines and deployment processes.
• Apply effective change, configuration and release management practices.
• Support deployed services, ensuring high levels of performance, security and availability.
• Collaborate with engineers, platform teams and stakeholders to improve delivery capability and engineering practices.
• Champion secure‑by‑design principles across the software development lifecycle.

Skills

CI/CD

DevSecOps

Automation

Security

Mentoring

Agile

Cloud platforms

Education

Computer Science degree

Software engineering degree

Tools

CI/CD tooling

DevOps tools

Infrastructure-as-code

Job description

Salary Range £54,000 - £70,000

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

Your Impact

As a Principal Software Engineer (DevSecOps), you will play a key role in accelerating the delivery of secure, high-quality software across Leonardo's defence and security programmes. You will help shape and evolve our enterprise DevSecOps capability, enabling teams to deliver features and updates rapidly, reliably and securely. Working within our software engineering community, you will champion modern engineering practices, drive automation, and embed security throughout the software development lifecycle. Through your technical leadership and mentoring, you will help build a collaborative DevSecOps culture focused on innovation, continuous improvement and operational excellence.

What You'll Do

• Contribute to the delivery and evolution of Leonardo's enterprise-wide DevSecOps platform.
• Support and mentor teams adopting DevSecOps practices, tools and ways of working.
• Contribute to the planning and implementation of DevSecOps capabilities across cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments.
• Design, deploy and maintain development, test and operational environments.
• Drive automation across software delivery and infrastructure provisioning to improve quality, consistency and efficiency.
• Develop and maintain automation frameworks, CI/CD pipelines and deployment processes.
• Apply effective change, configuration and release management practices.
• Support deployed services, ensuring high levels of performance, security and availability.
• Collaborate with engineers, platform teams and stakeholders to improve delivery capability and engineering practices.
• Champion secure‑by‑design principles across the software development lifecycle.

What You'll Bring

You will have a degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related discipline, together with experience delivering software solutions within a complex engineering environment.

• Experience designing, building and operating secure‑by‑design environments.
• Hands‑on experience with Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) practices and tooling.
• Knowledge of cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments, including associated security considerations.
• Experience with enterprise DevOps and DevSecOps tools supporting modern software delivery.
• A background in software engineering, platform engineering, IT operations or a related discipline.
• Experience with requirements management, configuration management and version control tools.
• Knowledge of infrastructure‑as‑code, automation and deployment technologies.
• Experience working within Agile development environments.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to mentor and influence technical teams.
• A passion for automation, continuous improvement and engineering excellence.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre‑employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

As part of our commitment to diversity, inclusion and accessibility, if you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Location and Working Details

• Primary Location: GB - Luton - Cap. Green 300
• Additional Locations: GB - Basildon, GB - Edinburgh, GB - Lincoln, GB - Newcastle, GB - Southampton
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Hybrid Working: Hybrid