Senior Software Engineer

Thales people provide armed forces customers with operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defence mission systems solutions at land, sea, and air. Our platforms extend across the battlespace including Above and Sonar, Electronic Combat, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space.

Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Applications for an exciting role are now open in our Underwater Systems Business Line: Senior Software Engineer / Architect - Linux & C++ & Python.

The job:

Due to business growth and increased demand, an additional Senior Software Engineer / Architect is required to support the business in delivering the current and next generation of Mine Counter Measures capabilities. The successful applicant will be involved in a wide range of activities from defining/updating the technical solution, contributing to system requirements, meeting with customers and key stakeholders, guiding and advising the development team, and supporting the entire project team from start to end.

In this particular instance (due to the small scale of the team), the SW Architect will be expected to participate in some of the SW development activities. Training and mentoring will be provided, however this is a senior role and the individual is expected to be self-driven and able to drive others rather than be told what to do. This role will involve bids, architecture and design, development, and support. Occasional travel to sister company and client sites is expected, as projects demand. The role is a full time on site role, based at our site in Cheadle Heath.

The candidate will report to the portfolio Chief software architect and Head of SW Delivery, with in feeds to senior management, customers, engineering delivery managers, project managers, and developers.

The selected candidate will require the following core skills:

• Self-driven problem solver (Taking ownership as needed and calling on other expertise and network contacts so you can act as an unblocker for others and providing steerage)
• Demonstrable experience with software architecture of large systems or development of large complex systems
• Confident and commercially aware when presenting to senior management and senior customers
• Able to adjust the level of technical detail being conversed to suit the audience; you'll be expected to work closely with developers, engineering delivery managers, other architects, product line architects, & customers
• Confidence and ability using modelling tools such as Enterprise Architect - training in the actual tool used will be provided if necessary
• Ability to show strategic awareness and make balanced, thought through, defendable decisions.
• Confidence to challenge others and open to be challenged
• Must be able to consider the whole system and understand the impact of software outside of the software system i.e. System level requirements and behaviour and Hardware requirements and behaviour
• Able to describe and hold detailed conversations at every level from development, component interaction and architecture, hardware interaction, system interaction, and business strategy.
• Able to balance the short term goals of the project with the longer term goals of the product roadmap

The following technical skills are mandatory:

• C++, Java, Python (Detailed knowledge of C++, with an appreciation of Java and Python)
• Networking (routing, firewalls, switch config)
• Linux (ideally Red Hat)
• Hardware (Basic knowledge of the components, connectors and hardware architecture of a solution)
• SW development and Architecting of real time systems

Experience or an appreciation of some of the following technical skills would be greatly beneficial:

• Security (SELinux, STIG / CIS lockdown, cryptographic principles, TPM)
• Software build process (Make, CMake, Maven, Gradle, Jenkins, git, artifactory)
• Embedded SW Development
• Rhapsody or Enterprise Architect

The ideal candidate would also have some of the following experience in Industry:

• Experience in the Defence, Telecommunications or other Engineering industry
• Experience of Radio Communication systems

The Software Architect is responsible for the definition of a feasible, maintainable and scalable software architecture consistent with the solution/system architecture.