Head of Software Engineering

Head of Software Engineering

Location:

Bristol, GB, BS16 1EJ
Westminster, London, GB, W1U 1QX
GB Rosyth, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, GB, KY11 2YD
Leicester, GB, LE3 1UF
Portsmouth, GB, PO6 3EN
Devonport, Plymouth, GB, PL1 4SG

Onsite or Hybrid:
Hybrid

Job Title:
Head of Software Engineering

Location: UK, Hybrid

Compensation:
Competitive Salary + Benefits

Role Type:
Full time / Permanent

Role

Lead the Digital Engineering Vision Behind Critical National Capabilities

At Babcock, we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together. If you join us, you can play your part as a Head of Software Engineering at any of our main UK locations
, near your nearest commutable town and county
.

As a Head of Software Engineering
, you will shape and lead the future of AI‑enabled software development across Babcock’s Corporate Services. This is a senior technology leadership role where you will guide multiple development teams through a major transformation: moving from traditional engineering towards AI‑augmented, agent‑driven, high‑automation software delivery
.

You will build and lead a unified engineering capability that blends software development, quality engineering, Dev Sec Ops , AIOps, and intelligent automation. Your work will define how Babcock adopts Agentic AI systems and workflows, use of AI throughout the software development lifecycle, automated testing, and data‑driven delivery practices
.

Day‑to‑day, the impact of your work will directly shape how digital solutions support defence and critical national infrastructure programmes.

• Lead the design, implementation, and optimisation of software solutions across multiple business areas.
• Oversee a unified software development and assurance function, driving consistency, shared standards, and intelligent automation across engineering teams.
• Embed modern Dev Sec Ops  and AI Ops practices, ensuring agentic AI workflows are integrated into coding, testing, deployment, and monitoring.
• Grow capability across software, AI, and data engineering disciplines, building teams that confidently use AI tooling and automated development patterns.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, transparency, curiosity.
• Champion the adoption of software workflow tools and AI‑enhanced engineering pipelines across all our development teams.
• Lead and mentor team leaders, who in turn guide developers and quality engineers, ensuring each team effectively adopts AI‑powered tools and delivery practices.
• Work closely with senior stakeholders to align technical delivery, AI strategy, and digital transformation with wider business and IT objectives.

This role is full time (37.5 hours per week) and offers hybrid working arrangements, with a balance of onsite and remote working.

Strong knowledge of Azure Dev Ops and experience embedding AI‑assisted workflows within CI/CD pipelines.

• Hands‑on experience designing, implementing, and maturing Dev Ops, AIOps practices.
• Deep understanding of modern engineering practices including agentic AI systems, code assistants, test‑generation AI, and autonomous delivery patterns.
• Extensive experience leading, coaching, and developing multidisciplinary engineering teams through cultural and technical change.
• Excellent communication skills, able to explain complex engineering concepts clearly to stakeholders at all levels.

We value difference and don’t have a fixed idea when it comes to background or education, provided you can show the required level of experience and/or willingness to learn then we would like to hear from you.

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Standard (BPSS) / Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role. Must be Nationals / Passport Holders.

Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United…