Inzpire - Lead Software Developer

THE COMPANY

We are a highly innovative and rapidly growing defence and technology company that design, develop, and deliver some of the world’s most advanced defence related training, products, and services.

We were recently crowned Employer of the Year at the British Ex-Forces in Business Awards 2023. We have been listed as one of the ‘100 Best Large Companies to Work For’ in the UK and Midlands by Best Companies several times as well as achieving ‘Best Companies 3 Star Accreditation’ and a rating of ‘world‑class’ for our employee engagement on a number of occasions.

We are also proud to have been honoured with two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in Innovation, for our next‑generation GECO military mission planning system.

As part of a unique and specialist defence company, our friendly team consists of experienced and highly capable individuals, working together with a mature ‘can do’ work ethic. Our central business functions are located in an easily accessible, bright and modern head office to the west of Lincoln, alongside our mission systems team, while the majority of our operational specialists are embedded alongside our Defence customers.

Our award‑winning Mission Systems team design, develop and deliver some of the world’s most advanced aviation IT systems from our office in Lincoln. As a result of our continued success and business expansion, we are delighted to offer a Lead Software Engineer opportunity to take on a business‑critical role in supporting the development and delivery of our flag ship product, the GECO Mission Support System.

The role offers exposure to a diverse range of technical authoring, leadership and guidance opportunities. Once you are up to speed with the product knowledge, technology, team dynamics, and the (adapted AGILE) delivery process you will primarily lead the development effort for the GECO Mission Support System, supporting and mentoring a team of 4 other experienced Software Engineers (line‑management responsibility is NOT a part of this role).

You will be expected to guide and lead the team, working across all aspects of the software, including backend, Windows desktop and tablets, Android tablets, UI, and consuming external APIs.

• Development and delivery of new GECO features within a SCRUM-based Agile framework.
• Writing unit tests for all new code, ensuring adequate coverage to ensure code confidence.
• Assisting team members in resolving difficult code problems.
• Fixing bugs identified during testing or reported from other channels.
• Ensuring all code adheres to our documented coding standards.
• Conducting regular code reviews with other Software Engineers, to identify potential defects and deviations from standard patterns and practices.
• Mentoring colleagues about best practices in software development.
• Communicating effectively with Product Owners, the Software Engineering Manager and other vital colleagues during the development process.

This is very much a ‘hands‑on’ development role that sits across two SCRUM teams. You should expect to be coding or talking about code for the majority of your time during the day.

Product development is primarily in C# .NET 10. The team covers all aspects of product development such as user interface design, 3D rendering, math‑intensive geographic algorithms, hardware communication, and microservice APIs. The team is also responsible for development of associated tooling (e.g. test tools, automation tools, etc).

We are looking for a proactive, flexible, and confident individual with excellent attention to detail and the discipline and commitment to lead the development effort as part of a highly skilled software team.

The ideal candidate will:

• Have a coaching mindset to help build the skills and confidence of the team.
• Be a strong communicator, with confidence and credibility to contribute to high level technical and architectural discussion.
• Have a proactive and ‘can do’ attitude, taking a flexible, constructive and timely approach to meeting the diverse needs of the business.
• Have an inquisitive and analytical mind, able to research issues independently and suggest pragmatic, business‑focused…