Software Development Engineer

Location: Pitsea

Our Client based in Basildon are looking for an experienced Software Development Engineer to join a specialist engineering team delivering secure Windows-based software systems for safety-critical and defence-related applications. This is a Temporary position until April 2026 with the possibility of extension.

This role would suit a self-motivated engineer who is comfortable joining a project mid-stream, investigating existing code, and contributing to the next phase of development within a structured software lifecycle.
You will receive an initial onboarding period, followed by hybrid working with occasional on-site access to specialist test hardware.

Key Responsibilities

Develop and maintain Windows applications using C#/.NET
Contribute to secure communications software, including WCF-based components
Review, understand, and reverse engineer existing code where documentation may be limited
Work within a formal software development lifecycle (requirements, design, implementation, verification, compliance)
Participate in design reviews and technical discussions
Collaborate with other engineers using iterative / Agile-style development
Ensure software meets quality, safety, and user expectations

Essential Skills & Experience

Strong professional experience in C# and .NET
Working knowledge of C++ (reading and understanding existing code)

Experience with Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)
Proven ability to investigate and understand legacy or in-flight codebases
Familiarity with software development life cycles, ideally within aerospace, defence, or other regulated environments
Comfortable working to coding standards, processes, and documentation requirements
Self-driven, proactive, and able to work with minimal supervision

Desirable Experience

Background in aerospace, defence, or safety-critical systems
WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) for UI development
Agile tools such as Jira or Azure Dev Ops
Configuration management tools
Exposure to embedded or systems-level software

Security Requirements

Must be eligible for UK Security Clearance (SC)
UK national or NATO dual national required

Meridian Business Support is a recruitment specialist acting on behalf of our client as an Employment Business for this vacancy