Vacancy: Lead Software Developer

We are looking for a Lead Software Developer who is responsible for leading the design, development, and delivery of high-quality software solutions that meet business needs and technical standards. The role
combines hands-on development with technical leadership, ensuring robust architecture, code quality, and efficient delivery through agile practices. They will work with others in technology to Lead the technical evolution of BCS’s bespoke applications towards a modern, cloud-native architecture that supports SaaS and integration across the organisation.

Role responsibilities:

Technical Leadership

• Lead the technical design, development, and implementation of software systems and applications.
• Define and uphold engineering best practices, coding standards, and quality assurance processes.
• Make architecture recommendations for review with the Application Development Manager, ensuring alignment with BCS technical standards.
• Conduct code reviews and provide constructive feedback to maintain technical excellence.
• Stay informed on emerging technologies, recommending innovations that improve capability and efficiency.
• Own the technical roadmap for modernising legacy applications (e.g. PHP and older .NET frameworks) towards sustainable cloud hosted platforms.
• Champion CI/CD pipelines and automation to accelerate delivery and improve reliability.
• Define and maintain coding standards, documentation practices, and code review processes to raise engineering maturity.

Software Development

• Develop, test, and deploy high-quality code using modern frameworks and tools.
• Work closely with Product Owners, Business Analysts, and Designers to translate requirements into robust technical solutions.
• Troubleshoot, debug, and optimise applications for performance and scalability.
• Ensure adherence to security, compliance, and data protection standards in all development activity.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Provide technical guidance, coaching, and mentoring to developers, supporting professional growth and performance.
• Demonstrate a continuous improvement mindset by seeking opportunities to enhance processes, performance, and outcomes.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and agile delivery within the team.
• Coordinate workload, set priorities, and ensure timely delivery of development projects.
• Work collaboratively across Product, Infrastructure, and QA teams to deliver seamless, integrated solutions.
• Work closely with the QA team to embed test automation and shift-left practices.
• Collaborate with the BI and Data Governance teams to ensure application data integrity, consistency, and compliance.
• Communicate clearly, work effectively with others, and contribute to team objectives.
• Remain flexible and adaptable in response to changing priorities, challenges, and work environments.
• Embrace change positively and support others through periods of transition.

Agile Delivery & Continuous Improvement

• Champion agile methodologies, supporting sprint planning, stand-ups, retrospectives, and backlog refinement.
• Identify and implement opportunities for process automation and workflow improvement.
• Monitor and report on development progress, risks, and quality metrics.
• Uphold BCS values by providing technical expertise, coaching others, and contributing to a culture of learning, innovation, and high performance.

BCS is dedicated to providing training and development to help all staff realise their potential, and also offer a generous benefit package.

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT are committed to promoting equality at every opportunity as an employer. This statement and our policies are designed to ensure our recruitment and employment practices and procedures actively promote equality of opportunity and value diversity.

All applicants must be eligible to work in the UK upon application.

PLEASE NOTE: This vacancy may be removed before any listed closing date once a sufficient amount of applications have been received.

In the event that we receive a high number of applications for this vacancy, we may be unable to provide an individual response to every candidate, therefore if you haven’t heard back from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful on this occasion.

No recruitment agencies please.

How to apply: Please apply by submitting your CV to careers@bcs.uk along with a cover note answering the following questions:

(a) Your area(s) of expertise & qualifications;

(b) Your experience and suitability for the role

We look forward to hearing from you!

What we offer