Job Description

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About us

At National Grid, we keep people connected and society moving. But it's so much more than that. National Grid supplies us with the environment to make it happen. As we generate momentum in the energy transition for all, we don't plan on leaving any of our customers in the dark. So, join us as a

Lead Software Engineer

, and find your superpower.


National Grid is hiring a

Lead Software Engineer

for our Technology team. This role can be based at our

Warwick, Bristol, or Cardiff

offices, with

hybrid working

. You'll play a key role in designing and developing secure, scalable software solutions that support critical operations across our enterprise.

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About The Role

We're looking for a

Lead Software Engineer

to guide a team of engineers in designing, implementing, and maintaining secure, scalable software solutions across both cloud and on?premise environments. Reporting to the Head of Software Engineering, you'll shape platforms, tooling, and systems that support our wider development and technology teams.


You'll play a key role in architectural decisions, defining and upholding engineering standards, and actively managing technical debt to keep our technology estate modern and efficient. As a core contributor to project delivery, you'll ensure work is well?coordinated, timelines are met, and engineering output aligns with the strategic goals of the business.


Alongside technical leadership, you'll support the growth and development of your engineering team through mentoring, coaching, and role modelling. You'll champion Agile ways of working, act as a subject matter expert, and help foster an inclusive, collaborative culture across the Technology department.

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What You'll Do

You'll lead and develop a

high?performing software engineering team

, providing technical direction, coaching, and opportunities for growth while building capability and embedding a culture of continuous improvement and excellence.

Design and deliver

scalable, high?performance software

aligned with long?term business and operational goals. Guide

architectural decision?making

, ensuring solutions are modular, reliable, secure, and built for reusability and maintainability. Define, document, and enforce

engineering standards

, best practices, and high?quality delivery across the team. Proactively identify and manage

technical debt

, embedding prevention and reduction into planning and implementation. Monitor and optimise

large?scale distributed systems

to ensure performance, stability, and continuous uptime. Build and enhance

automation

for configuration management, provisioning, and deployment to streamline operations. Implement strong

security practices

, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and modern security protocols. Lead incident resolution, performing

root cause analysis

and implementing long?term fixes to prevent recurrence. Collaborate closely with

QA, Systems Engineering, IT Operations, and Product

teams to deliver aligned, high?quality outcomes. Own

project delivery

, coordinating resources, managing timelines, and ensuring successful execution. Maintain clear, comprehensive

documentation

to support knowledge sharing and long?term maintainability. ###

About You

You're an inspiring technical leader who thrives on developing high?performing engineering teams. You combine deep hands?on engineering expertise with the ability to coach, mentor, and elevate those around you. You're passionate about building scalable, secure, and resilient software--and you're just as committed to driving excellence in how your team delivers it.


You'll succeed in this role if you:

Bring strong experience designing and delivering

scalable, high?performance software solutions

. Have a solid grasp of

architectural principles

, creating modular, maintainable, secure systems. Champion

engineering standards and best practices

, ensuring quality and consistency. Confidently manage and reduce

technical debt

, taking a proactive, long?term view of platform health. Understand large?scale distributed systems and know how to

optimise performance and reliability

. Are skilled in

automation

, CI/CD, deployment tooling, and streamlining engineering workflows. Demonstrate strong knowledge of

security practices

and compliance requirements. Stay calm under pressure and can lead

incident resolution

with a focus on prevention. Collaborate naturally with cross?functional teams and thrive in a

fast?paced, delivery?focused

environment. Bring strong organisational skills, managing

project timelines, priorities, and resources

effectively. Value clarity and maintain high?quality

documentation

that supports your team and the wider business.

You're also someone who role?models Agile principles, fosters an inclusive and collaborative culture, and brings energy, curiosity, and a continuous?improvement mindset to everything you do.

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What you'll Get

Competitive Salary: circa 75,000 - 85,000 per annum (based on capability, and experience)

Additional benefits:

A competitive contributory pension scheme where we will double match your contribution to a maximum company contribution of 12% You will receive a bonus based on personal and company performance Flexible benefits such as a cycle scheme, share incentive plan, technology schemes Access to apps such as digital GP service for round the clock access to GP video consultations and NHS repeat prescriptions, wellbeing app to support your health and fitness
Access to Work + Family Space, providing support and resources for work and family life, including paid emergency childcare and eldercare

More information

Every quarter, you'll attend a 2-3 day in?person planning event held at one of our office locations.


This role is offered on a full time basis.



This role closes on 30th January however we strongly encourage candidates to submit their application as early as possible.

Please note that in most cases, National Grid is unable to offer sponsorship for employment under the UK points-based immigration system. As such, applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship now or in the future under the UK points-based immigration system. However, in exceptional circumstances where there is a clear and demonstrable need for specialist skills that cannot be sourced from the local labour market, National Grid may consider offering sponsorship. All applications are welcome from candidates who meet these requirements, regardless of race, nationality, or ethnic origin.

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