Lead Software Developer - National Crime Agency - G7

Location

Bristol, London, Warrington

For roles based in London, your contractual place of work will be Stratford. While the Stratford site is expected to become operational from November 2025 – March 2026, you will be required to carry out your contractual duties from Vauxhall or another reasonable location on a temporary basis during the interim period. Please note that, as Stratford will be your contractual place of work, any subsequent move from a temporary location will not entitle you to payments for travel time or costs under the Relocation and Excess Travel Policy.

About the job

Job summary

Join the expanding National Data Exploitation Capability (NDEC), part of the National Crime Agency’s Data and Analysis Hub,and help place data at the centre of the fight against serious and organised crime (SOC). NDEC delivers advanced analytical and exploitation capabilities that generate operational insight, inform strategic decision‑making, and provide a critical edge against increasingly technology‑driven threats.

As a Lead Software Developer, you will play a key role in shaping and delivering high‑quality software solutions that unlock the value of complex and rapidly growing datasets. We are looking for proactive, inquisitive problem‑solvers who thrive in a dynamic environment, enjoy variety, and work effectively as part of a collaborative, multi‑disciplinary team.

Job description

As the Lead Software Developer, you will provide technical leadership across NDEC and the wider NCA, driving the design, development and delivery of high‑quality software solutions that directly support mission‑critical operational and analytical needs. Working within a multi‑disciplinary technical team, you will contribute to the creation of next‑generation tools and platforms that enhance the Agency’s ability to detect, disrupt and prevent SOC. This role places you at the cutting edge of law enforcement technology, helping to shape capabilities that address some of the most complex and high‑impact threats facing the UK.

You will set engineering standards, define best practice and ensure the team consistently delivers secure, scalable and maintainable software. A key part of your role will be leading, coaching and mentoring a team of developers, supporting their technical growth, fostering a positive and collaborative culture, and ensuring their work aligns with NCA priorities. You will champion modern development approaches and agile delivery methods, promoting DevOps practices, automation and continuous integration/continuous deployment to ensure rapid and reliable delivery.

Your responsibilities will include guiding technical decision‑making, selecting appropriate technologies and architectural approaches, and making informed judgments about when to build bespoke solutions or adopt existing tools. You will work closely with data scientists, analysts, product managers and operational teams to ensure that complex mission requirements are translated into robust, user‑centred technical solutions. In doing so, you will ensure that software developed within NDEC integrates effectively with operational workflows and delivers real‑world impact.

You will also play a key role in strengthening the developer community across NDEC and the wider Agency, promoting knowledge sharing, encouraging experimentation and driving the adoption of good practice in security, testing, automation and documentation. Through strong technical leadership and a commitment to continuous improvement, you will help build a high‑performing software engineering capability that delivers meaningful outcomes in a fast‑moving and demanding environment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Team Leadership - Lead, manage and inspire a software development team to design, build and deliver high‑quality data services that address complex operational challenges. Provide clear direction, set standards and foster a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement.

Relationship Building - Develop strong, collaborative relationships across the NCA technical community. Promote shared learning, knowledge exchange and cross‑functional working to build collective capability and support the effective delivery of Agency priorities.

User Engagement - Champion user‑centred design by defining effective approaches for understanding user needs and guiding others in eliciting and interpreting user stories. Distinguish clearly between genuine user needs and stakeholder wants, ensuring research is applied appropriately and recommending the most suitable tools and methods.

Modern Development Standards - Apply and promote modern engineering standards and practices across complex projects and programmes, ensuring solutions are robust, secure, maintainable and aligned with organisational best practice.

Programme and Build (Software Engineering) - Maintain technical oversight across all stages and iterations of the software development lifecycle. Provide expert advice to stakeholders, set team‑wide standards for programming tools and techniques, and ensure appropriate application of methods, frameworks and compliance requirements.

Information Security - Design solutions with embedded security controls, ensuring they are purposefully engineered to mitigate relevant security threats and meet NCA and national security requirements.

Systems Design - Develop systems that balance risk, impact and technical complexity, selecting suitable design patterns and standards. Review and assure the designs of others, ensuring appropriate technology choices, efficient resource use and effective integration across multiple systems.

Systems Integration - Coordinate integration activities across systems, defining integration approaches and supporting teams in undertaking integration testing. Ensure components interact reliably and support the delivery of end‑to‑end operational capability.

Person specification

Software Engineering - Demonstrable industrial experience designing, developing and testing complex object‑oriented software applications. Strong proficiency in object‑oriented programming languages, with experience applying robust engineering principles in production environments. Deep understanding of the full software development lifecycle, including discovery, design, build, testing, deployment and maintenance.

Development Practices & Delivery - Hands‑on experience working within agile delivery environments, applying iterative development, continuous feedback and prioritisation techniques. Practical experience with modern DevOps practices, automation and CI/CD pipelines to ensure consistent, reliable and secure deployment. Ability to translate user and business requirements into technical solutions, managing expectations and making informed, collaborative trade‑offs.

Cloud, Infrastructure & Environments - Knowledge of designing, deploying and maintaining software across cloud and on‑premise environments. Understanding of how to build scalable, secure and resilient systems that integrate effectively within complex technical landscapes.

Technical Design & Architecture - Experience contributing to technical design decisions, architectural patterns and standards. Ability to assess technology options, ensure alignment with best practice, and contribute to long‑term technical strategy.

Technical Leadership - Experience operating in a technical leadership role, providing direction, coaching and assurance to software developers. Ability to build a positive engineering culture, promote knowledge sharing, and drive continuous improvement across a multi‑disciplinary team.