Technologist / Staff Engineer in Cheltenham

Are you an experienced engineer who enjoys getting hands-on with technology, solving complex problems and exploring what could be possible with emerging technologies?

We are working with an engineering-led technology business in Cheltenham that is growing its capability across defence, national security and other secure environments. They are looking for a Technologist / Staff Engineer to play a key role in that next stage of growth.

This is a broad technical role for someone who enjoys variety. You will continue to engage with engineering, but will also work with the Business Development team, contribute to bids, investigate emerging technologies and help shape technical solutions for real-world problems.

This is not a sales role. There are no sales targets or account management responsibilities.

The role

The role sits across engineering, technical innovation and business development, giving you the opportunity to influence both how technical solutions are delivered and where the organisation develops its capabilities next.

You could be working on a technical bid one week, exploring an emerging technology the next, and helping develop an MVP or proof of concept after that.

You will:

• Contribute to the technical aspects of bids and proposals, helping develop and articulate credible technical solutions.
• Work alongside Business Development colleagues to understand customer requirements and translate them into technical approaches.
• Research and evaluate emerging technologies, particularly those relevant to defence and secure environments.
• Develop prototypes, MVPs and proof-of-concepts to explore new ideas and technologies.
• Continue to work closely with experienced software engineers and provide technical input and knowledge sharing.
• Help identify technologies and capabilities that could create new opportunities for the organisation.
• Participate in technical discussions with clients and prospective customers where appropriate.
• Support the development of new technical capabilities across the engineering function.
• Keep up to date with developments across software engineering, cloud, AI and other emerging technology areas.

The role will develop over time, so we are looking for someone who is comfortable with a degree of ambiguity and enjoys working across different technical challenges.

The technology

You don't need to be an expert in everything below. We are more interested in your breadth, curiosity and ability to learn.

Areas of interest include:

• C / C++
• Rust
• Python
• Java
• Distributed systems and architecture
• Cloud-native technologies
• AI and machine learning
• NLP and image processing
• Observability
• Message broker technologies
• Secure and mission-critical software

You may have particular strengths in one or two of these areas, with experience across several others.

What we're looking for

We are interested in engineers who have developed beyond a purely delivery-focused role and want to have greater influence over technology, solutions and future capability.

You could currently be working as a:

• Senior Software Engineer
• Principal Engineer
• Technical Lead
• Lead Software Engineer
• Software Architect
• Technical Architect
• Systems Architect
• Technologist

You will ideally have:

• Strong commercial software engineering experience.
• Experience working across more than one technology or programming language.
• A good understanding of large-scale or distributed technical architecture.
• Experience working in a Linux environment.
• Experience with cloud technologies such as AWS, Azure or GCP.
• The ability to investigate and adopt new technologies where appropriate.
• An interest in how technology can solve real-world problems.
• An ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Some understanding of the bid, proposal or pre-sales process, or an interest in developing this experience

SC clearance is preferred, particularly given the organisation's growing work across defence and secure environments.

Why consider it?

This is an opportunity to move beyond a conventional software engineering role without leaving engineering behind.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Work on technically interesting and mission-critical projects.
• Explore emerging technologies and their practical applications.
• Influence technical bids and future opportunities.
• Work alongside experienced engineers.
• Gain exposure to clients and technical decision-making.
• Help shape the next stage of a growing engineering business.
• Develop a role around your own technical strengths and interests.

Employment: Permanent

Clearance: SC preferred

If you're an experienced engineer who enjoys learning, experimenting and solving difficult technical problems, I'd be interested in having a conversation.