Software Engineer

Government Recruitment Service; North East; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A government agency in North East England is seeking a Software Engineer to enhance critical systems supporting the UK’s welfare infrastructure. The role involves maintaining legacy applications and migrating systems to cloud platforms like AWS and Azure. Candidates should have expertise in legacy technologies and modern programming languages. This position offers a unique chance to contribute to digital change in government, balancing stability with innovation.

Qualifications

• Experience with cloud platforms is a plus.
• Strong understanding of security and compliance in government systems.
• Ability to work in complex environments.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and develop legacy systems to ensure operational continuity.
• Respond to and resolve incidents and problems.
• Support service management and knowledge management processes.

Skills

Legacy technologies Actian Ingres

AWS

Java

C++

SQL

Shell scripting (KSH, Bash)

Service management

Job description

Overview

Are you ready to engineer solutions that directly impact millions of lives across the UK? Do you thrive in complex environments where legacy meets innovation?

Join DWP Digital as a Software Engineer in our application development and maintenance teams, where your expertise will help maintain and evolve the backbone of the UK’s welfare infrastructure. You’ll work on critical systems that support frontline operations, ensuring they remain secure, resilient, and fit for purpose as we transition to modern cloud-based platforms.

This is more than just a technical role; it’s a chance to make a real difference. You’ll be part of a collaborative team that values innovation, continuous improvement, and service excellence.

What you’ll work on

• Supporting and enhancing complex legacy applications in live environments.
• Maintaining and configuring Linux servers using shell scripting (KSH, Bash).
• Writing and optimising SQL scripts for relational databases.
• Application modernisation - rewriting applications and code.
• Contributing to the migration and integration of systems into cloud platforms (AWS, Azure).
• Ensuring service continuity through effective incident and problem management.

Please note this role requires you to pass Security Check clearance. For further information, please see "Selection process details".

Responsibilities

• Maintain and develop legacy systems to ensure operational continuity.
• Respond to and resolve incidents and problems, ensuring minimal disruption to services.
• Support service management and knowledge management processes.
• Implement essential legislative and business changes.
• Remediate technical and security debt in line with application roadmaps.
• Ensure compatibility with evolving hosting and desktop environments.
• Work across a diverse and evolving technology landscape, integrating legacy platforms with modern cloud-based services.

Transformation and objectives

• Modernisation of core systems through cloud migration and service re-architecture.
• Improved service resilience and agility by embedding DevOps and automation practices.
• Enhanced citizen experience by ensuring systems are responsive, reliable, and future-ready.

Qualifications and experience

• Legacy technologies Actian Ingres, OpenROAD.
• Modern platforms including AWS, Azure, and containerized services.
• Programming languages like Java, C, C++, .NET and JavaScript.
• Service management tools and practices.
• Experience with cloud platforms and a strong understanding of security and compliance in government systems is a plus.

This is a unique opportunity to be at the heart of digital change in government, balancing the stability of legacy systems with the innovation of modern engineering.