Senior Software Engineers Ref. 3261

Department Technology Roles Location(s) Central Manchester, Cheltenham, Greater Manchester Salary £46,448 - £55,412 dependent on skills and experience (package includes basic salary and a skills payment). Job description

Salary:You’ll also receive a one-off recruitment bonus of £3,500. Plus the opportunity to qualify for an increased skills payments of up to £19,113 once you’re in the role, following a successful skills assessment.

Flexible Working: we offer a strong work-life balance and support full-time, part-time, and flexible hours. You can expect to be predominately office-based, with working from home limited and subject to business need.

About Us

GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting-edge technology, ingenuity, and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber-attacks, and espionage. At GCHQ you’ll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

The Role 

As a Senior Software Engineer using your experience of a range of software engineering methods, you’ll work with and often lead a team, working to solve mission problems. Excited by innovation and eager to discover new techniques, you’ll bring fresh ideas to the team, influencing leaders and working diligently to build close relationships as you work with customers and stakeholders. Your work is at the core of our operations. Put simply, your contribution will directly or indirectly help our ongoing mission to keep the UK safe.

You’re familiar with a range of software engineering methods, languages, and frameworks, such as JavaScript, Java, C++, Node, Python, Rust, Go and .NET. You’ll set the standard for what good looks like, sharing digital and innovative ways of working, framing problems and setting priorities for the team, growing them through recruitment and upskilling. A clear and engaging communicator, you’ll be comfortable working with technical and non-technical customers, and you’ll love solving problems, sharing your knowledge, and mentoring other colleagues. 

Whether you’re reviewing pull requests or defining review, branching and deployment strategies, you’ll assist key projects and in doing so, influence the wider engineering community. This is a practical role with plenty of opportunity to develop yourself and others. And whilst this role is uniquely complex and requires a level of sensitivity due to the nature of the work, it will always be rewarding.

About You

As aSenior Software Engineer, you’ll demonstrate your knowledge of modern computer languages and frameworks such as C++, Golang, Java, JavaScript, NET, Node, Python, Rust, or Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP) enabling you to contribute to the architecture and design of new and existing systems – and deliver positive outcomes for the business.

We welcome applications from experienced candidates who currently work within a related role, such as multi-skilled Software Engineering, Cloud Engineering and Security, UX, Site Reliability Engineering, Front-End design, Agile, Solution Architecture, RF Software Engineering, Data Engineering, and Machine Learning Operations. 

You don’t need to be the “finished product”, but we’ll want you to show us your potential and aptitude. You may have experience working in, and leading, Agile project teams. This isn’t an ordinary software engineering job; you’ll often be required to be creative and innovative to solve problems with no precedent in other industries. 

And, with your previous experience in technology, you’ll establish best working practises and confidently evaluate customer business requirements. And you’ll keep up with new and emerging technologies, looking to lead in their adoption to solve mission problems.

A resilient problem-solver and self-motivated, you’re comfortable thinking strategically, and bringing innovation to the team, you can work with minimal guidance and can critically assess your outputs, as well as the work of others inside and outside the team.

Training and Development

At GCHQ, we’ll invest in your skills and adapt to the way you like to learn, we’ll support and encourage you every step of the way, helping you to become an integral part of our world-class team. If you have an affinity for technology, a keen desire to learn and the ability to adapt to the ever-evolving challenges and adversaries we face, we’ll give you all the training and development you need to thrive.

We’re dedicated to allowing you the space and resources for development, innovation and experimentation and we encourage you to spend up to 30% of your time to achieve this. We value your ability to learn and adapt to new challenges, so we’ll invest in you: from books, study, courses, and conferences to stretching work with the support of the team.

When you start, you’ll have a full induction to our organisation, which will give you knowledge on how we operate. You’ll be encouraged to drive and shape your own personal development and you’ll have access to learning and development opportunities tailored to your role. We’ll cover the cost and provide you with the time and support to gain professional qualifications and certifications.

Our training covers a multitude of software disciplines including Front end design, RF Software Engineering, Site Reliability Engineering, Data Engineering, Solutions architecture, Machine Learning Operations, UX, Agile, Cloud Engineering & Security. 

From day one, you’ll have access to mentors and subject matter experts. We’ll help you create a structured development and career plan that’s right for you.

Our culture is centred on embracing a growth mindset, equality, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day.

During the recruitment process, you may be given access to a funded and dedicated training programme, though the Cloud Academy.

Examples of potential training for a Senior Software Engineer once in role include:
• AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification
• AWS Developer Certification / AWS Solution Architect Certification
• Certified SCRUM Master
• Microservices Architecture Training
• Advanced Fundamentals / Patterns
• Advanced Linux & CLI
• User Experience
• Internal Training – for example Team Leadership (difficult conversations, leading a team etc.)
• Cloud Academy / Pluralsight / O'Reilly Subscription.

Rewards and Benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of £46,448 - £55,412 dependent on skills and experience with an additional one-off recruitment bonus of £3,500, plus other benefits including:

• 25 days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays
• Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• Interest-free season ticket loan (parking and travel)
• Excellent pension scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Facilities such as a gym and restaurant, and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
• Paid parental and adoption leave

Equal Opportunities

At GCHQ diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.