Lead Software Engineer in Woking

Purpose of the Role

We are looking for a world‑class Lead Software Engineer to drive the systems that power our Formula 1 team. You will work to develop the tools that are used by our engineers at the racetrack and at the McLaren Technology Centre to analyse and improve car performance at the sharp end of the sport. You will analyse, design, implement, and support business‑critical software systems aligned with the requirements of McLaren Racing. As a senior member of the department, you will provide technical leadership across a range of software projects, contribute to initiatives beyond your own team, drive process improvement & culture, and support the development of other team members. You will partner with our Racing colleagues and Platform Engineering team to ensure the highest standards of operational excellence for our platforms including monitoring, alerting, and problem resolution.

Due to the nature of track and tunnel operations, some flexibility to work out of office hours and weekends will be required. The role will be primarily based at the McLaren Technology Centre with a proportion of the time spent working from home.

Accountabilities and Responsibilities

• Exhibit exemplary leadership and alignment to McLaren’s culture of engineering, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Work closely with the Software and Data Science Leadership team and our development teams to contribute to the department’s vision for software in Racing, ensuring that our software products are cohesive.
• Help to define the team’s technical roadmap, ensuring alignment with the priorities driven by the business and development team manager. Planning up to a year in advance, while remaining flexible and adapting to changing circumstances.
• Build a significant network of strong trust with multiple functional team members and leadership, and proactively drive feedback, planning, and prioritisation discussions that are pragmatic, realistic, and which deliver the right performance projects for the team.
• Make key decisions on technologies in the context of an agreed strategy. Lead the development and adoption of technologies, tools and techniques within the team to promote standardisation across the department and optimise efficiency and re‑use.
• Drive continuous improvement in the team’s software development practices, guiding the evolution of our standards and procedures to ensure that we consistently deliver high‑quality software which is maintainable and simple to support.
• Work closely with Racing colleagues to fully understand business processes and requirements to inform designs and ensure that requirements are met.
• Balance delivery of their allocated work items while supporting and guiding the work of the wider team.
• Guide the team in finding the appropriate balance between building the right solution, building it fast, and building it right.
• Ensure that systems are supported in line with Racing’s needs.

Essential

• BSc in Computer Science or equivalent discipline (2:1 or above) or equivalent industry experience.
• A successful track record as a tech lead on a variety of substantial software development projects working with agile/lean methodologies.
• Highly experienced in full‑stack enterprise software development using C# (or Java), and Python with a deep understanding of object‑oriented design and architectural patterns for high performance and availability.
• Web development experience using technologies such as JavaScript, TypeScript, and React.
• Good understanding of distributed systems design theory and practical application in a cloud or Kubernetes environment.
• Using git in a collaborative environment (pull requests, branches).
• Experience with SQL and document databases.