Assistant Chief Software Engineer

Assistant Chief Engineer / Software Engineering Team Leader

We are seeking an experienced and driven Assistant Chief Engineer / Software Engineering Team Leader to play a key role in leading technical delivery and shaping high-performing engineering teams. This is a fantastic opportunity for a senior software engineer or technical lead looking to step into a strategic leadership role, combining hands on technical expertise with team leadership and project oversight.

The Role

As Assistant Chief Engineer, you will provide technical leadership across multiple engineering projects, ensuring high standards of quality, delivery, and performance. You will work closely with senior leadership and stakeholders to define technical direction, support project execution, and develop engineering capability across teams. You will act as a key technical authority, guiding teams through complex challenges while fostering a collaborative and high-performing engineering culture.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee technical delivery across multiple software engineering projects
• Provide technical guidance, architecture oversight, and best practice direction
• Act as a primary technical point of contact for internal and external stakeholders
• Support the planning and allocation of engineering resources across programmes
• Conduct technical and design reviews, ensuring alignment with requirements and standards
• Drive quality, governance, and continuous improvement across engineering activities
• Mentor and develop engineers, supporting career progression and capability growth
• Contribute to bid work, technical proposals, and strategic engineering initiatives
• Promote collaboration across multidisciplinary teams to ensure successful delivery

Skills & Experience Required

• Strong background in software engineering (e.g. C#/.NET or similar backend technologies)
• Experience leading engineering teams or acting in a senior technical leadership role
• Proven ability to deliver complex systems in a structured engineering environment
• Experience with cloud platforms (e.g. Azure) and modern DevOps practices (CI/CD, IaC)
• Strong understanding of system design, architecture, and scalable solutions
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Experience working in Agile environments
• A proactive, strategic mindset with strong problem solving capabilities

Desirable Experience

• Experience in regulated or high assurance environments (e.g. defence, aerospace, government)
• Knowledge of infrastructure as code (e.g. Terraform)
• Experience contributing to technical governance and engineering standards

Why Apply?

• Opportunity to step into a senior leadership role with real technical influence
• Work on complex, meaningful engineering programmes
• Shape engineering standards, tooling, and best practices
• Support and develop high-performing engineering teams
• Be part of a collaborative, forward thinking engineering environment

If you're a senior engineer ready to take the next step into technical leadership, or an experienced team lead looking for broader impact, we'd love to hear from you.