Principal Software Developer - Ministry of Justice - G6

Location

East Midlands (England), East of England, London (region), North East England, North West England, Scotland, South East England, South West England, Wales, West Midlands (England), Yorkshire and the Humber

Please note this role requires you to pass Security Check clearance.

We're recruiting for three Principal Software Developers here at Justice Digital, Data and Science, to be part of our warm and collaborative Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), Legal Aid Digital (LAA) and Prisons and Probation Digital (HMPPS) designing and delivering digital services that make a genuine difference to people's lives, alongside championing the adoption of emerging technologies.

The Principal Developer will work under the Chief Engineer and alongside the Head of Profession for Engineering and will drive the product teams within OCTO, LAA and HMPPS, as well as acting as a leader within the software development profession across the MOJ.

This is a hands‑on technical role where you'll work directly with product teams across the department, bringing your expertise to help deliver solutions that reduce friction and improve engineering practices across Justice Digital, Data and Science. You'll guide the Chief Engineer's product teams while providing leadership to the wider software development profession ond delivery, you'll also be expected to horizon scan and experiment with new products and tools in an R&D capacity, identifying emerging technologies that could benefit the organisation.

This role aligns against the Principal Developer role from the Government Digital and Data Framework.

• Work with the Chief Engineer to define, maintain and own CTO’s engineering strategy, aligning with its wider business objectives.
• Oversee and guide technical teams, influence technical choices and seek out opportunities for digital transformation.
• Lead the Developer Assurance team, comprised of Staff Engineers, to ensure that development standards are maintained across Justice Digital, Data and Science.
• Lead the Engineering Standards team to develop and deliver a world‑class development portal that documents Justice Digital, Data and Science engineering standards.
• Work alongside the Principal Dev Ops Engineer to work with the DevX team on R&D projects to scope out new and emerging technologies to adopt across the department.
• Mentor, coach, and line‑manage lead and senior developers.
• Look for opportunities to collaborate and reuse common components, communicating with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Build and maintain an inclusive culture across the software development community.
• Manage recruitment and allocation of developers to teams, identifying gaps in capability, ensuring a good balance of skills and seniority.
• Work with the engineering principals across other agencies to help break down silos and work on cross‑cutting initiatives.

• Experience leading and growing software development teams and technical capability and fostering an inclusive, high‑performing team culture.
• Expertise designing, building and operating reliable, secure, and maintainable digital services.
• Experience coaching, mentoring and line‑managing senior developers or technical leads.
• Confidence working within agile environments to iteratively work software designed around the user’s need.
• Confidence working across teams and reaching out across organisational/team boundaries to understand common technical approaches and patterns.
• Experience supporting live services and managing technical risks.
• Code review.

Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for SC clearance.

We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring and do not discriminate based on culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor.

Base salary for this role is from £71,381 to £80,419 (National) or from £75,674 to £85,257 (London).

• New entrants to the Civil Service joining the MoJ are expected to start at the minimum of the pay…