Chief Software Architect

Jonathan Lee Recruitment
Sl63Ud, United Kingdom
4 days ago
£90,000 – £105,000 pa

Salary

£90,000 – £105,000 pa

Job Type
Permanent
Work Pattern
Full-time
Work Location
On-site
Seniority
Director
Education
Degree
Security Clearance
Required
Posted
27 May 2026 (4 days ago)

Are you ready to redefine defence technology and lead innovative software solutions that truly make a difference? This is your chance to join a company at the forefront of pioneering advanced cryptographic and key management solutions. As a **Chief Software Architect**, you will lead and shape the software engineering strategy for advanced cyber and defence systems, overseeing a team of 20–30 engineers across multiple high-security projects. The position focuses on defining software architectures, driving best-practice development processes, and ensuring collaboration across software, hardware, systems, and firmware teams to deliver secure, scalable, and high-quality solutions. The role requires deep expertise in embedded and application software development using technologies such as C/C++, Rust, Linux, and RTOS environments, alongside experience with DevSecOps, automated testing, and secure development standards. In addition to technical leadership, the architect will mentor engineers, support bids and proposals, influence organisational software standards, and contribute to the delivery of mission-critical defence technologies requiring DV security clearance.

What You Will Do:

- Provide technical leadership across multiple projects, ensuring optimal approaches, architecture, and tool chains are selected.

- Collaborate with stakeholders to develop software requirements, architectures, and designs that meet system and security needs.

- Work closely with software leads and project managers to create development plans that deliver value early to customers.

- Mentor and coach software engineers, sharing knowledge and driving process improvements for technical excellence.

- Specify, design, and review software using UML and SysML modelling tools, ensuring high-quality, modular, and compliant solutions.

- Champion best practices in software development, including continuous integration, automated testing, and secure coding standards.

What You Will Bring:

- Advanced knowledge and experience in C/C++, Rust, or embedded product development, including RTOSes.

- Expertise in software engineering practices, methodologies, and technology trends.

- Proven track record of delivering complex software solutions to schedule while exceeding customer expectations.

- Experience with tools such as version control systems, change control, bug tracking, and automated testing frameworks.

- Familiarity with defence or high-assurance development standards, including coding standards like MISRA.

This company is committed to delivering innovative solutions that empower decision-making at both tactical and strategic levels. As a **Chief Software Architect**, you will be instrumental in driving technical excellence and ensuring the success of critical programmes that protect lives and enhance global security. Your contributions will align with the company's values of trust, collaboration, and innovation, making a real impact in the defence industry.

Location:

The role is an onsite role in Maidenhead, offering good flexibility with working hours.

Interested?:

If you're ready to take your career to the next level and lead transformative software projects, apply now to become the **Chief Software Architect**. Don't miss the opportunity to make a difference in the future of defence technology.

Your CV will be forwarded to Jonathan Lee Recruitment, a leading engineering and manufacturing recruitment consultancy established in 1978. The services advertised by Jonathan Lee Recruitment are those of an Employment Agency.
In order for your CV to be processed effectively, please ensure your name, email address, phone number and location (post code OR town OR county, as a minimum) are included.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

Where to Advertise Edge Computing Jobs in the UK (2026 Guide)

Where to advertise edge computing jobs UK in 2026: the specialist boards and channels that reach embedded, IoT, 5G MEC and edge AI engineering talent. Edge computing sits at the intersection of embedded systems, networking, cloud infrastructure and real-time data processing — and the professionals who specialise in it are a small, highly technical community not well served by general job boards. Candidates with genuine edge and IoT expertise are rarely browsing general platforms, and roles in this space are frequently misunderstood or miscategorised by non-specialist recruiters. This guide, published by EdgeComputingJobs.co.uk, covers where to advertise edge computing roles in the UK in 2026, how the main platforms compare, what employers should expect to pay, and what the data says about hiring across different role types.

Edge Computing Jobs UK 2026: What to Expect Over the Next 3 Years

Edge Computing Jobs UK 2026: roles, salaries and the IoT, 5G and edge AI hiring trends shaping UK edge computing careers over the next three years. Edge computing is quietly becoming one of the most consequential technology shifts of the decade — and the jobs market is starting to reflect that. As the limitations of centralised cloud infrastructure become apparent across industries that require real-time processing, ultra-low latency, and data sovereignty, the demand for professionals who can design, build, and manage computing at the edge has moved from niche to mainstream. But the edge computing jobs market of 2026 is not yet the mature, well-defined landscape that cloud computing has become. It is still forming. New architectures are emerging, standards are being established, and the range of industries deploying edge infrastructure is expanding rapidly — from manufacturing and telecommunications to healthcare, retail, autonomous vehicles, and smart cities. That creates a particular kind of opportunity for job seekers: the chance to build deep expertise in a discipline that is growing faster than the talent pipeline serving it. The candidates who will thrive over the next three years are those who understand where edge computing is heading — which use cases are driving commercial deployment, which technologies are defining the architecture of distributed systems, and how the skills required to work at the edge differ meaningfully from those that served professionals well in centralised cloud environments. This article breaks down what the UK edge computing jobs market is likely to look like through to 2028 — covering the titles emerging right now, the technologies driving employer demand, the skills that will matter most, and how to position your career ahead of the curve.