Operational Software Engineer

Our Capability Development team develops bespoke software for our clients in the Cyber Security domain. We may be building assured software that prioritises engineering rigour and reliability, rapid cyber solutions that stitch together tooling for high‑impact results, or blended operational systems that address real-world challenges in the field. Common to all is commitment to technically led decisions, to meaningful technical challenge, and to engaging career paths where your work makes it off the shelf and into the hands of our customers.

All of our roles demand strong technical expertise, meticulous attention to detail, and a commitment to delivering robust, dependable solutions that our clients can rely on when it matters most. Our Operational Technology (OpTech) projects are typically focused on novel communications and analytics, targeting a variety of platforms from bare‑metal through to large‑scale Android and Linux deployments. We’re looking for full‑stack developers who thrive on diverse requirements, capable of jumping from front‑end design to embedded platform development throughout their working week.

While much of our existing work uses Python, with a strong understanding of languages such as C, C++, Kotlin, JavaScript and Rust, you’ll fit right in. The OpTech team focuses on user‑driven applications, often involving bespoke hardware solutions. While not required, the best candidates are those with strong fundamentals in Radio Frequency (RF) communications and a desire to learn more. We are led by engineers and empowered to optimise our (lightweight!) development processes with the knowledge gained from each project. We are ideally looking for a candidate who holds an active Security Clearance to join our team, however, we will consider sponsoring new clearances for candidates that meet our technical requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Designing a new clean‑slate product with complete autonomy over its architecture.
• Adding new capabilities to, or replacing a core component of, an existing product.
• Throwing together a quick‑and‑dirty prototype to confirm the feasibility of a proposed technical approach; iterating until it meets requirements.
• Hands‑on in the day‑to‑day delivery of projects, typically working with one or two other colleagues at a time.
• Taking an active role in unlocking the potential of junior colleagues: encouraging idiomatic code, demonstrating engineering rigour, and sharing hard‑won knowledge with your peers.
• Driving our engineering processes to maintain code quality while balancing realistic delivery timescales and client requirements.

Desirable Skills

• Experience leading a team of developers through a complete project lifecycle, engaging in requirements capture, design review, implementation, and assurance.
• Commitment to code correctness and quality assurance through static analysis, code review, automated testing, and continuous integration.
• Comfortable with operating under limited guidelines and requirements.
• Hands‑on experience targeting FPGA and Software‑Defined Radios and knowledge of traditional Telecommunications and Satellite communications systems.
• Demonstrable Android development (native or multiplatform).
• Design, development and maintenance of live micro‑service platforms.

This vacancy is for experienced software engineers and will require skills and experience in several of the areas listed as well as the ability to lead technical projects.

Work Benefits

• Promotions are based on technical excellence and reviewed regularly.
• 25 days holiday per year (with bank holidays on top), option to buy up to 5 days per year.
• Level up with an extra day of holiday per year, up to an extra 5 days, starting from 2 years’ service.
• Financial support to cover HMRC allowable costs of relocating if you’re moving to the area.
• Training and development opportunities to support your career aspirations.
• O'Reilly books subscription which provides access to huge range of technical books.
• Regular events including internal technical conferences, company socials and pizza‑fuelled lunchtime seminars.
• Free seasonal fruit, tea, coffee, milk, squash and hot chocolate.

Health Benefits

• Private Medical Including Access To Private online GP, and a helpline to speak with various healthcare professionals.
• Physiotherapists, osteopaths or chiropractors for muscle, bone, and joint pain.
• Mental health - counselling, and specialist consultations and treatment with psychologists and cognitive behavioural therapists.
• Annual Health assessment.

Financial Benefits

• A company bonus scheme so that everybody is rewarded for company success.
• This is an annual award that is based on the company hitting its targeted forecast.
• 8% company contribution to pension with no minimum requirement for employee contribution.
• Death in Service cover of 4x base salary.

Lifestyle Benefits

• Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption leave: 12 weeks maternity leave at full pay as soon as you join, further enhanced to 20 weeks full pay from 2 years’ service.
• 2 weeks paternity leave at full pay as soon as you join, further enhanced to 4 weeks full pay from 2 years’ service.
• Enhanced cycle‑to‑work scheme including the ability to purchase a bike over £1,000 (e‑bikes, specialist cycles and trikes allowed).

Salary

We are recruiting staff at all levels in this team, and are able to support market‑leading salaries for every grade within our sector/location. We reward staff based on technical excellence and not years of experience, so it's important to us to speak with you to see which grade you would fit into – it's not always obvious from a CV! Your interviewer will spend time during your first interview speaking with you about how your skills and experience map against our grades, and discuss a salary band so that you know early what you can expect if you receive an offer from us. The technical interview will provide a deeper assessment of your skills against your mapped grade which ultimately determines whether you receive an offer and the exact salary.

Location

We are based in the centre of Cheltenham in a stunning new build contemporary office, 5 minutes walk from the local shops and cafes.

Additional Details

Our interview process is quick and to the point: if you look like a good fit for the role, we’ll schedule a brief call to discuss it in more detail and answer any questions you may have. If that goes well, we’ll arrange a technical interview to understand your level of experience. We aim to get back to you with an answer within a couple of days of the technical interview.

If you’re looking for a challenging role where you can make a real impact in the world, in a friendly environment and with all the support to advance your career, click apply.