Specialist, Software Engineer - 12 Month FTC

At McLaren, our mission is to set the standard for high performance in sport. Everyone, in every part of the team, has a role to play. High performance starts with you.

Purpose of Role

The purpose of this role is to analyse, design and engineer innovative software solutions to projects aligned with the requirements of McLaren Racing.

Role Dimensions

The Software & Data Science department is responsible for the analysis, design, and delivery of bespoke software tools and methodologies which help improve our Formula 1 car's performance. This starts with aerodynamicists submitting designs via the CFD Portal, through wind tunnel data acquisition, processing, and analysis, to simulation and car setup optimisation, to trackside operational decision-making tools such as race strategy. We are a cross‑functional group, bringing together data science, machine learning, software engineering, and DevOps to deliver performance focused platforms and solutions.

Responsibilities

• To be involved in all stages of the development life cycle: initial analysis, design, implementation, build, integration, testing, deployment, debugging and support.
• To take ownership and lead on assigned projects (with support from your manager) in order to deliver project solutions on time and budget.
• To capture and understand project requirements, define specifications, and to architect robust, scalable and testable software and system solutions.
• To work collaboratively with your team, the department, and stakeholders in line with the Software & Data Science Guiding Principles.
• To accurately estimate activity timescales and provide regular progress reports.
• To raise awareness of and mitigate against potential technical risks.
• To confidently analyse and overcome technical challenges with workable and innovative solutions.
• To contribute to and maintain consistent standards and approaches adopted by the team.
• To efficiently manage your workload.
• To keep up to date with the latest software development technologies and methodologies.
• To freely share knowledge, insight, best practice, and ideas.

Knowledge, Skills and Experiences

Essential

• BSc in Computer Science or equivalent discipline (2:1 or above) or equivalent industry experience.
• Substantial commercial experience delivering projects using agile/lean methodologies.
• High proficiency with C#/.NET in a commercial setting.
• Experience with frontend technologies such as JavaScript, TypeScript, React, and CSS.
• Experience using git in a collaborative environment (pull requests, feature branches).
• Experience with relational and document databases e.g. SQL Server and MongoDB.
• Experience building maintainable codebases using the SOLID principles and design patterns.
• High competency in written and oral English language.

Desirable

• Experience with Linux and running containers on Kubernetes.
• Exposure to data stream processing techniques and technologies e.g. Kafka.
• Familiarity with MATLAB and Python for mathematical processing.
• Using ALM tools like Azure DevOps to organise and track your work.

Personal Attributes

• Self‑motivated with high levels of initiative.
• Highly productive with the proven aptitude to understand and apply technology.
• You enjoy working with people to solve problems, choosing the simplest and most elegant approach then iterating.
• You're flexible and adaptable, detail‑orientated, and get satisfaction from delivering to a high standard.
• Able to work autonomously under pressure and to tight deadlines.
• You recognise the importance of continuous learning and sharing that knowledge with others.
• Approachable, with balanced judgment and a high level of personal integrity.

What can McLaren offer?

We constantly strive to be better tomorrow than we are today. Our ambition is to be the most pioneering and exhilarating racing team in the world, and our collective task is to set the standards for high performance in sport. We show up every day with energy and enthusiasm, ready to play our part. We encourage and support diversity, equity and inclusion. We will actively promote a culture that values difference and eliminates discrimination in our workplace.

McLaren Racing is based at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) near Woking. Here at McLaren, we offer hybrid working with 3 days a week based in the MTC. Our state of the art, sustainable campus offers many facilities including a gym, restaurant and indoor and outdoor break‑out areas, as well as direct access to park and common land. The MTC is connected to Woking mainline station via regular shuttle buses, from which London Waterloo is a 30 minute train ride. We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including private healthcare, car schemes, life insurance and generous pension contributions.