Lead Developer - SC or DV Cleared; Azure​/.NET​/Microservices

SC or DV Cleared Lead Developer (Azure / .NET / Microservices)

Location: London / Manchester / Bristol / Glasgow (Hybrid)

Clearance: Active SC Clearance (essential)

Rate: £550-6500 per day (Inside IR35)

We’re supporting a major government programme building out scalable, cloud‑native platforms to support critical national services.

This role sits within a growing engineering function focused on modernising legacy systems, delivering microservices architectures, and embedding Dev Ops‑first delivery practices.

We are looking for a hands‑on Lead Developer who can set technical direction, lead teams, and deliver complex solutions in highly regulated environments
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As a Lead Developer, you will:

• Lead and mentor engineering teams across full‑stack development
• Architect and deliver cloud‑native, microservices‑based solutions
• Drive best practices across Dev Ops, CI/CD, and Agile delivery
• Work closely with architects and stakeholders to define technical roadmaps
• Oversee integration with government platforms (e.g. payments, notifications, identity services)
• Contribute hands‑on to development where required

• Strong experience with C# / .NET (Core, 6, 7, 8+)
• Deep knowledge of REST APIs, Web APIs, and distributed systems
• Experience building event‑driven microservices architectures
• Strong understanding of design patterns, SOLID principles, and clean architecture

• Proven experience with Microsoft Azure (App Services, Functions, Service Bus, AKS, etc.)
• Exposure to AWS environments (desirable)
• Strong Dev Ops capability:
  • CI/CD pipelines (Azure Dev Ops)
  • Infrastructure as Code (Bicep / Terraform)
  • Containerisation Docker, Kubernetes

• Experience designing:
  • Microservices & event‑driven systems (CQRS, Event Sourcing)
  • API integrations (REST, GraphQL)
• Experience integrating with third‑party and enterprise platforms (e.g. CRM, payment systems)

• Experience with Angular or React
• Strong understanding of modern JavaScript/Type Script frameworks

• Strong experience with:
  • TDD / BDD (Spec Flow, Gherkin)
  • Unit & integration testing frameworks
• Commitment to engineering best practice and code quality

• Proven experience leading Agile teams
• Ability to mentor engineers and provide technical guidance
• Experience working alongside Solution Architects and Product teams

• .NET Core / .NET 8+
• Azure (Functions, Service Bus, AKS, Key Vault, etc.)
• Microservices & event‑driven architecture
• Docker / Kubernetes
• Azure Dev Ops (CI/CD)
• GraphQL / REST APIs

• A strong technical leader who remains hands‑on
• Someone comfortable working in complex, fast‑moving government environments
• Experience delivering at scale across multiple systems and teams
• A pragmatic approach to engineering and problem‑solving