Lead Software Engineer

About us

At National Grid, we keep people connected and society moving. But it’s so much more than that. National Grid supplies us with the environment to make it happen. As we generate momentum in the energy transition for all, we don’t plan on leaving any of our customers in the dark. So, join us as a Lead Software Engineer and find your superpower. 

National Grid is hiring a Lead Software Engineer - This position is based from our Warwick office however we offer flexible hybrid working options.

Job Purpose

As a Lead Software Engineer, you will report directly to the Head of Software Engineering and take charge of an enthusiastic team of software engineers. Your mission? To design, implement, and manage innovative, scalable, and secure software solutions across both cloud and on-premise environments.

In this exciting role, you will not only deliver high-quality technical solutions but also play a vital part in shaping the architectural design of our systems. You will ensure that engineering standards are clearly defined, documented, and adhered to, while actively identifying, prioritising, and reducing technical debt to keep our systems at the forefront of technology.

Additionally, you will take on the rewarding responsibility of line management and professional development for your team. By providing technical leadership and mentorship, you will foster a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration, empowering your team to reach new heights. Join us and be a key player in driving our technological advancements forward!

What you'll do

• Design and deploy scalable, high-performance software that aligns with the company’s long-term operational and business goals. 
• Guide and support architectural decision-making, ensuring designs meet standards for performance, modularity, reliability, maintainability, reusability, and accessibility.
• Ensure engineering standards, documentation, and best practices are defined, maintained, and consistently followed across the team.
• Identify and manage technical debt, ensuring proactive steps are taken to reduce and prevent it during project planning and implementation.
• Monitor, analyse, and enhance the performance and reliability of large scale distributed software platforms to ensure continuous uptime and efficiency.
• Develop automation solutions for configuration management, system provisioning, and deployment to streamline operations and reduce manual interventions.
• Implement and maintain security protocols, ensuring software is compliant with regulatory standards and best practices, including data encryption, access control, and vulnerability management.
• Lead the resolution of platform outages or performance degradation issues, conducting root cause analysis and implementing preventive measures.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including QA engineering, Systems Engineering, IT operations, and Product Management to ensure solution alignment and delivery.
• Take ownership of project delivery timelines, coordinating resources and tasks to ensure successful, on-time delivery.
• Maintain detailed documentation of system configurations, procedures, and troubleshooting steps to facilitate knowledge sharing and future reference.
• Support, coach, and develop a team of software engineers, conducting regular one-to-ones, performance reviews, and career development planning.
• Champion Agile frameworks (Scrum and Kanban), ensuring that Agile principles are consistently practiced and understood by the team and stakeholders.
• Take ownership of own personal development and career progression. Identify, own, and manage the risks involved in running our business appropriate to your role, in line with the company risk framework.

About You

• Proven experience leading software engineering teams, with demonstrated ability to mentor, develop, and line manage engineers.
• Strong knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), containerisation technologies, automation tools, and orchestration tools.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps methodologies.
• Proficient in scripting/programming languages such as Python.
• Proficient in test-driven development and behaviour-driven development practices.
• Deep understanding of large-scale distributed systems, network architectures, storage solutions, and compute resource management.
• Proven ability to troubleshoot complex system issues, perform root cause analysis, and apply solutions in a timely manner.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence and engage technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience supporting architectural planning and solution design.
• Experience in managing technical debt and ensuring sustainable long term code health. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to synthesise data and insights into clear actions.
• Ability to manage complex projects and operate effectively in fast paced environments. 

• Expertise in security frameworks, compliance standards (e.g., ISO27001, NIST, GDPR), and best practices for securing large-scale infrastructure.
• Proficiency with monitoring and logging tools (e.g., Splunk, Grafana, ELK stack).

What you'll get

A competitive salary between £70,000 – £90,000 dependent on capability

As well as your base salary, you will receive a bonus of up to 30% of your salary for stretch performance and a competitive contributory pension scheme where we will double match your contribution to a maximum company contribution of 12%. You will also have access to a number of flexible benefits such as a share incentive plan, salary sacrifice car and technology schemes, support via employee assistance lines and matched charity giving to name a few.

More Information

The closing date for this vacancy is 21st September. However, we encourage candidates to submit their applications as early as possible and not to wait until the published closing date. National Grid’s recruitment periods can and may vary. We reserve the right to remove this advert or close it to further applications at any point during the recruitment process.

 
DE & I statement 

At National Grid, we work towards the highest standards in everything we do, including how we support, value and develop our people. Our aim is to encourage and support employees to thrive and be the best they can be. We celebrate the difference people can bring into our organisation, and welcome and encourage applicants with diverse experiences and backgrounds, and offer flexible and tailored support, at home and in the office.
Our goal is to drive, develop and operate our business in a way that results in a more inclusive culture. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, the innovation from diverse teams & perspectives and business need. We are committed to building a workforce so we can represent the communities we serve and have a working environment in which each individual feels valued, respected, fairly treated, and able to reach their full potential.
 
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