Principal Software Engineer (DevSecOps)

Leonardo UK Ltd; Luton; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Leonardo UK Ltd. is seeking a Principal Software Engineer (DevSecOps) in Luton, with responsibility for accelerating secure software delivery across defence programmes.

You will champion modern engineering practices, drive automation and embed security throughout the lifecycle, contributing to enterprise DevSecOps capabilities across cloud and on-prem environments. The role emphasizes leadership, hands-on CI/CD, security-by-design, and collaboration with platform teams and stakeholders to raise

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering or related discipline.
• Experience delivering software solutions within a complex engineering environment.
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD practices and tooling.
• Knowledge of cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments, including security considerations.
• Experience with enterprise DevOps and DevSecOps tools supporting modern software delivery.

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.
• Plan and implement 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

Cloud & Hybrid

Security by design

Mentoring

Agile

Automation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Software/Systems Engineering

Tools

CI/CD tooling

Infrastructure as Code

Deployment automation tools

Job description

Principal Software Engineer (DevSecOps) - Salary Range: £54,000 - £70,000

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

• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering or related discipline.
• 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 security considerations.
• Experience with enterprise DevOps and DevSecOps tools supporting modern software delivery.
• Background in software engineering, platform engineering, IT operations or 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 ability to mentor and influence technical teams.
• 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). Additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, including The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV).

Location & Contract

Primary Location: Luton (Cap. Green 300). Additional Locations: Basildon, Edinburgh, Lincoln, Newcastle, Southampton. Contract Type: Permanent. Working arrangement: Hybrid.

Equal Opportunity

We are committed to building an inclusive, accessible and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers.