Lead Specialist - Software Development in Derby

Location: Flexible (Warrington, Derby or Manchester with hybrid working)

Our Mission: At Rolls-Royce SMR, we are pioneering a new era of clean, affordable nuclear energy. Our Small Modular Reactor programme is designed to deliver low-carbon power at scale, helping to tackle climate change and support global energy security. We are bringing together world-class engineering, manufacturing, and digital innovation to transform how nuclear power is delivered.

The Team: You will join our Engineering organisation, working within a highly collaborative, multi-disciplinary environment that spans structural analysis, thermal, fluid dynamics and beyond. As part of the Engineering Specialist Capability, you will operate across teams, providing leadership and influencing how software is used to enable smarter and more efficient engineering analysis. This role sits at the centre of technical excellence and capability development, working alongside engineers, analysts, and digital specialists to support programme delivery and long-term strategy.

The Role: As Lead Specialist – Software Development, you will provide technical leadership in the creation and application of software solutions that enhance engineering analysis across the organisation. You will shape how software is developed and used to automate methods, improve quality and enable multi-disciplinary integration. Acting as a recognised technical authority, you will ensure that solutions meet the highest standards of validation, verification and regulatory expectations in a highly regulated nuclear environment. This is a strategic and hands-on role, combining deep technical expertise with leadership, mentoring and cross-functional collaboration.

What We’ll Need You to Do:

• Provide technical leadership for the development, verification and implementation of software solutions supporting structural and multi-disciplinary analysis.
• Define and drive the strategic direction for engineering software development, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, quality and integration across analysis domains.
• Act as the technical authority for software quality, ensuring robust validation and verification across internally developed and supplier-delivered tools.
• Lead the resolution of complex and ambiguous technical challenges, enabling effective decision-making across multi-disciplinary engineering teams.
• Strengthen organisational capability by coaching, mentoring and developing engineers engaged in software development activities.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal teams, supply chain partners and external forums to influence technical direction and incorporate emerging technologies into strategy.

What You’ll Bring:

• A degree (or equivalent experience) in Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science or a related discipline, alongside Chartered Engineer status or progress towards it.
• Strong experience in developing, verifying and implementing software tools for engineering analysis, ideally within structural or defect tolerance applications.
• Solid understanding of software development environments such as Python and Azure DevOps, with familiarity in tools such as Abaqus or Ansys.
• Experience working across the full product lifecycle within a regulated industry, including knowledge of relevant standards, quality management and compliance frameworks.
• Demonstrated technical leadership capability, with experience providing oversight across teams and supply chain partners while driving continuous improvement.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to mentor others and contribute to shaping technical strategy through awareness of industry trends and innovation.

Location: This role offers flexible and hybrid working, with a requirement to attend one of our key sites in Warrington, Derby or Manchester as needed for collaboration. We are committed to supporting flexible working patterns that enable both individual success and successful programme delivery.

Salary and Package: The salary band for this role will be between £60,000 – £78,750 dependent on the skills, values and knowledge you bring. There may be flexibility with the starting salary in exceptional cases, and the role may develop further as the programme grows.

Benefits include:

• Bonus – Performance‑related target opportunity up to 12.5%
• Benefits Allowance – £2,200 per annum for a bespoke package
• Pension – 12% employer and 6% employee contributions
• Holidays – 28 days (+ public holidays) with the ability to buy or sell up to 4 days
• Private Medical Insurance – BUPA single cover
• Life Assurance – 6× pensionable pay
• Home Office Support – £250 one‑off payment for new starters

Why Join Us? You’ll be joining a forward-thinking organisation that values transparency, fairness, and innovation. We offer:

• A flexible, inclusive, and supportive working environment.
• Opportunities for career growth in a rapidly scaling business.
• A culture that values diversity, innovation, and continuous learning.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds. Inclusivity is important to us, and as a Disability Confident organisation, we are committed to fair, supportive, and continually improving recruitment practices that ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Confidence can sometimes hold us back from applying for a job. But we'll let you in on a secret: there's no such thing as a 'perfect' candidate. If you feel you meet 75% of the requirements for this role, we would love to hear from you. Also, if you are considering a career move or a sector-jump, please get in touch – we welcome applications from people with transferable skills.

Our Application Process: Due to the safety regulations within the nuclear industry, applicants will be required to participate in additional screening. These are:

• Obtaining Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance
• Satisfactory completion of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
• Satisfactory completion of a basic financial probity check