The Opportunity

We’re looking for a Lead Software Engineer who wants to stay close to complex engineering while helping a talented team achieve more. You’ll combine the technical challenge of developing advanced defence technology with the opportunity to grow people, ensuring that the day to day team output contributes to long-term goals.

Reporting to the Head of Software Engineering, you’ll help keep delivery on track, resolve day-to-day challenges and give engineers the confidence and space to take ownership of their work.

This role would suit a highly driven software engineer with strong people and organisational skills who enjoys developing others, bringing clarity to competing priorities and maintaining momentum in a growing business.

Who We Are

OpenWorks is a rapidly growing business operating globally with a passion for exceptional engineering and building on a legacy of defence innovation in the North East of England.

Our products provide ultra-high performance, real-time detection, tracking, identification and targeting of dynamic aerial threats. They have been deployed internationally to protect high profile military and civilian assets, and contribute towards the defeat of nuisance, misguided and maliciously deployed drones during operations.

We are very proud to have supported a wide range of law enforcement and military operators, protecting many of the most high profile sites and individuals around the world.

The amazing things we do are only possible because of a dedicated and passionate team.

Security Vetting Information

OpenWorks Engineering operates within the defence sector. As part of our recruitment and onboarding processes, we collect information that may be required to support future security vetting and clearance requirements, should these become necessary during employment.

Why You’ll Love Working With Us

Join a high-energy, collaborative team where great ideas thrive, challenges are embraced, and people genuinely love what they do.

Here’s what our benefits have to offer:

Rewarding Success - Competitive salary, starting from £70,000, plus a discretionary annual bonus of up to 25% of salary alongside a structured pay progression framework.

Enhanced Pension – Up to 8% employer-matched contributions to help you plan for the future.

More Time to Recharge – 25 days’ holiday plus public holidays, long-service rewards, and the option to buy up to 5 extra days.

Breakfast & Lunch on Us – Enjoy team breakfasts and freshly prepared lunches every day courtesy of Chef Mark and his team.

Health & Wellbeing – Private healthcare and life assurance for added peace of mind.

Sustainable Travel – Salary sacrifice schemes, including EV car and Cycle to Work options.

Team Socials – Regular events, from quiz nights and football to board games and more.

Learning & Growth – A culture that empowers you to challenge, grow and make an impact, plus a £250 annual learning budget to invest in the development that matters most to you.

What you’ll be doing:

• Lead and develop the team: Line manage software engineers, holding regular one-to-ones, setting clear objectives and supporting individual development, progression and accountability.
• Enable performance: Provide timely feedback, address routine performance, behaviour, attendance and wellbeing matters, and involve the Head of Software Engineering and People team where appropriate.
• Coordinate day-to-day delivery: Turn priorities agreed with the Head into achievable plans, balancing workloads, capability, development needs and available capacity. Keep progress, blockers and delivery risks visible.
• Empower engineers to deliver: Help the team maintain focus, make sound decisions and follow through on commitments. Encourage ownership, constructive challenge and direct access to colleagues with the right expertise.
• Contribute to the engineering: Provide practical technical guidance, support design and code reviews, and contribute to development and problem-solving where needed, while maintaining focus on your people leadership responsibilities.
• Put standards into practice: Work with the Head and Principal Software Engineers to embed agreed approaches to code review, source control, testing, release, documentation and configuration management.
• Keep teams connected: Coordinate dependencies with Project Management and colleagues across Hardware & Systems, Intelligence & Autonomy, Product, Production Engineering, Operations and Customer Support. Resolve routine issues and involve the Head or Principals when wider decisions are needed.
• Strengthen the team as we grow: Support recruitment, interviewing, onboarding and probation reviews. Give the Head a clear view of team capability, morale, workload and skills gaps, and improve delivery without unnecessary process.

What we’re looking for:

Essential

• Relevant qualification: A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Engineering, Physics or a related technical discipline.
• People leadership: Experience leading team members, with responsibility for driving performance and project delivery - underpinned with exceptional communication and team building skills.
• C++ and embedded experience: A software engineering background, including strong C++ development experience.
• Design and Architecture: Experience developing software deployed on real-time embedded platforms, including architecture design, hardware and OS specification, code development and review, source control and release management.
• Full lifecycle delivery: Experience across software development, code review, source control, testing and software release management.
• Technical judgement and communication: The credibility to guide and challenge experienced engineers, make effective decisions and collaborate across technical and non-technical teams, while giving others ownership of detailed delivery.
• Organisation and adaptability: Confidence working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can change, with the resilience and organisation to balance workloads and maintain delivery focus.

Desirable

• Relevant product technologies: Experience in electro-optical, autonomous systems, radar, surveillance or counter-UAS technologies.
• Linux and development tools: Experience with Linux hardware drivers, network configuration, TCP/IP, CMake and DevOps practices.
• Additional technical skills: Experience with Python, cyber security and/or video streaming technologies.
• Regulated engineering: Experience in highly regulated, safety-critical or quality-focused engineering environments.
• Defence standards: Knowledge of relevant defence engineering standards and compliance requirements.
• Further qualifications: A Master’s qualification in a relevant Computer Science, Software Engineering or Engineering field.
• Professional recognition: Chartered Engineer status or equivalent recognition through a relevant professional institution.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship.

More about us:

Vision

Help protect the territory and airspace of NATO countries and their allies.

Mission

Be a world-leading provider of autonomous technology for Surveillance applications and Defence

Values

Be a Good Egg: Earn respect, have mutual trust and be honest

Do cool stuff: We develop cool tech with an awesome team, and we get stuff done

Be empowered: We are autonomous, reliable and take personal responsibility

We are one team: Look out for each other and the team

Things go wrong: Fail fast, learn and move on

Have fun: We’re doing amazing things with passionate people

We Get It Done: Focus on what matters and work with energy to bring ideas to life