Principal Software Engineer - eDV Cleared

Searchability NS&D; City Of London; On-site; GBP 108,000 - 132,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options

Compressed fortnight

Private healthcare

Cash health plan

Holiday purchase/sell scheme

Performance-based bonus opportunities

Specialist training and career dev

Wellbeing benefits

Relocation assistance may be available

Job summary

Searchability NS&D in London is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead delivery on mission‑critical systems and shape technical direction in a high‑security environment.

You will own end-to-end delivery across multiple teams, mentor engineers, and collaborate with customers and partners to meet complex requirements.

Qualifications

• Senior technical leadership experience
• Proven ability to own deliverables across multiple teams
• Experience with scalable software architectures
• Strong communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of deliverables across multiple engineering teams
• Define technical approaches to meet customer requirements
• Act as a key technical contact for area of responsibility
• Coordinate with customers and partners
• Mentor engineers and develop engineering capability
• Contribute to architecture, design and delivery planning
• Help teams overcome complex technical challenges

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Python

JavaScript

TypeScript

React

CI/CD practices

DevOps

Agile

Technical leadership

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS

Job description

PRINCIPAL SOFTWARE ENGINEER - eDV CLEARED

NEW PERMANENT OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE IN LONDON FOR AN eDV CLEARED PRINCIPAL SOFTWARE ENGINEER

• Salary: Up to £120,000 + Clearance Bonus
• Location: London
• Clearance: Active eDV clearance required for high-side IT access
• Type: Permanent

I'm currently working with a leading technology organisation operating across National Security and Defence, who are looking for an experienced Principal Software Engineer to join their growing engineering function.

This is a senior technical leadership position where you'll be working on complex, mission-critical systems, taking ownership of technical delivery across multiple teams and helping shape solutions that have a genuine impact.

THE ROLE

As a Principal Software Engineer, you'll act as a senior technical authority, working closely with engineering teams, technical leads, customers and external partners.

You’ll be responsible for:

• Taking ownership of deliverables across multiple engineering teams and defining technical approaches to meet customer requirements.
• Acting as a key technical point of contact for your area of responsibility.
• Working with senior customers and external partners, coordinating technical activity across organisations.
• Providing technical leadership, mentoring engineers and supporting the development of engineering capability.
• Contributing to technical architecture, design, development and delivery planning.
• Helping teams overcome complex technical and delivery challenges.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

We're looking for an experienced Software Engineer who has progressed into a senior/principal-level technical leadership role.

You’ll ideally have strong experience across one or more of the following:

• Backend: Java, Spring Boot, Maven and/or Python
• Frontend: JavaScript, TypeScript, React and npm
• Designing, developing and deploying scalable software systems.
• DevOps and CI/CD practices.
• Containerisation technologies including Docker and Kubernetes.
• Cloud technologies, ideally AWS.
• Agile software development environments.
• Leading, mentoring or providing technical direction to other engineers.

Strong communication and problem-solving skills are essential, alongside the ability to work with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

WHY JOIN?

You'll be joining an organisation working on highly sensitive, technically challenging projects where your work will directly contribute to critical national security capabilities.

Alongside a salary of up to £120,000, the role offers a strong benefits package including:

• Flexible working options, including a compressed fortnight.
• Private healthcare.
• Cash health plan.
• Holiday purchase/sell scheme.
• Performance-based bonus opportunities.
• Specialist training and career development programmes.
• A range of wellbeing, financial and lifestyle benefits.
• Relocation assistance may be available.

SECURITY CLEARANCE

You must currently hold an active eDV clearance to be eligible for the high-side IT access required for the position.