Lead Software Developer

Overview

Using your experience and skills, you may be asked to work on our Flood services – developing government digital services to share information about current and future flood risk with the public. Alternatively, you could be involved with our Farming and Countryside Programme, which focuses on delivering services to make farming sustainable, increase biodiversity, promote high animal health and welfare standards, and contribute to the Government’s Net Zero commitment, ensuring public money is spent for public good.

A wide range of other projects requires us to maintain and develop externally facing digital services and internal applications. As part of a multidisciplinary team, you will have responsibility for owning the functionality that you develop.

If you would like to join us in building great solutions for Defra and our Arm’s Length Bodies, this could be the job for you. As a Lead Developer, you will also play a key role in shaping modern development practices across teams, including the adoption of AI‑assisted coding tools such as Git Hub Copilot. You’ll use these tools to support faster delivery, improved code quality and better outcomes for users, whilst ensuring that strong engineering judgement, code review, testing and security remain central.

You will review colleagues’ design and development thinking, helping teams to make good technical decisions to select the most appropriate technologies. You will lead the integration of multiple systems and services, collaborate with senior stakeholders and suppliers, and provide direction and constructive challenge to ensure that solutions are secure, maintainable and sustainable.

This is an opportunity to be part of an organisation actively modernising how software is built in government, combining strong engineering fundamentals with the responsible use of new tooling, including AI, to improve delivery at scale.

We use a modern, cloud‑based technology stack, and follow continuous delivery and Dev Sec Ops  best practice.

• Runtime & web development:
  Node.js, HAPI
• API development: REST, OpenAPI
• Databases & caching:
  Postgre
  
  SQL, Mongo
  
  DB, Redis
• Unit testing:
  Jest, Lab
• Source control:
  Git, Git Hub
• Cloud hosting:
  Azure and AWS
• Containerisation & orchestration:
  Docker, Kubernetes, ECS
• CI/CD & release management:
  Azure Dev Ops, Jenkins, Git Hub Actions
• Work management:
  Jira, Azure Dev Ops
• Developer productivity tools: AI‑assisted coding tools such as Git Hub Copilot (where appropriate), alongside established code review and quality controls

Please note for this role you will require SC Clearance. To gain SC clearance all applicants are required to have been a UK resident for a minimum of 5 years. If this requirement is not met, the individual will not be able to progress their application further.