Specialist, Software Engineer - 12 Month FTC in Woking

At McLaren, our mission is to set the standard for high performance in sport. And everyone, in every part of the team, has a role to play. So if you want to test your ideas with the world watching, measure your progress in milliseconds, and play your part in racing history, you belong here. 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 that 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.

As a Specialist Software Engineer, you will be involved in all stages of the development life cycle from initial analysis right through to deployment, monitoring, and support. 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.

Key Responsibilities

• Be involved in all stages of the development life cycle: initial analysis, design, implementation, build, integration, testing, deployment, debugging, and support.
• Take ownership and lead on assigned projects (with support from your manager) to deliver solutions on time and within budget.
• Capture and understand project requirements, define specifications, and architect robust, scalable, and testable software and system solutions.
• Work collaboratively with your team, the department, and stakeholders in line with the Software & Data Science Guiding Principles.
• Accurately estimate activity timescales and provide regular progress reports.
• Raise awareness of and mitigate potential technical risks.
• Confidently analyse and overcome technical challenges with workable and innovative solutions.
• Contribute to and maintain consistent standards and approaches adopted by the team.
• Efficiently manage workload.
• Keep up to date with the latest software development technologies and methodologies.
• Freely share knowledge, insight, best practice, and ideas.

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Experiences

• 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 such as 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 such as Kafka.
• Familiarity with MATLAB and Python for mathematical processing.
• Experience using ALM tools like Azure DevOps to organise and track work.

Personal Attributes

• Self‑motivated with high levels of initiative.
• Highly productive with the proven aptitude to understand and apply technology.
• Enjoy working with people to solve problems, choosing the simplest and most elegant approach then iterating.
• Flexible and adaptable, detail‑orientated, and derive satisfaction from delivering to a high standard.
• Capable of autonomous work under pressure and to tight deadlines.
• Recognise the importance of continuous learning and sharing that knowledge with others.
• Approachable, with balanced judgement and a high level of personal integrity.

What McLaren offers

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 encourage and support diversity, equity and inclusion, actively promoting a culture that values difference and eliminates discrimination in the workplace. McLaren Racing is based at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) near Woking. Here 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/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.