Principal Software Engineer

Job Description

Job Title: Principal Software Engineer

Location: Portsmouth Broad Oak

Salary: Up to £64,600 dependent on skills and experiences + bonus scheme

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading a team of software engineers implementing torpedo tactical software against an incrementally defined algorithm specification

• Being responsible for maintaining a configured software design and providing periodic software release

• Implementation of software changes

• Allocation of software implementation tasks to the team and reviewing completed work. Arranging peer review of software implementations as appropriate

• Reviewing of software defects and allocation of resolution tasks

• Working initially with an existing toolset and development approach to support on-going project delivery requirements

• Supporting and influencing migration and modernisation of the current software implementation approach and toolset to support longer term maintainability and spiral development

Your skills and experiences:

• Experienced software engineer that has worked in a de-facto leadership or primary role within a software development team

• Ability to manage day-to-day work of engineers within the team and allocate and oversee individual software tasks to ensure a consistent approach

• Experience of using a high-level design methodology

• Strong experience in the application of all aspects of the software lifecycle and good knowledge of software lifecycle models (e.g. Waterfall, Agile)

• Able to seek, assess and prosecute opportunities to improve processes, tooling and infrastructure as well as software design

Benefits:

As well as a competitive pension scheme, BAE Systems also offers employee share plans, an extensive range of flexible discounted health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits, including a green car scheme, private health plans and shopping discounts – you may also be eligible for an annual incentive.

The BAE Systems Torpedoes Software and Simulation team:

The Software and Simulation team consists of approximately 30 systems and software engineers developing on-board torpedo software, developing real time and off-line simulators and conducting performance assessments for the Sting Ray and Spearfish torpedoes. This includes on-going development and support for in-service products and the development of the next generation of torpedo products.

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will focus on driving end-to-end software delivery, from architecture to implementation, with hands-on leadership, smart task allocation, and seamless coordination across teams, tools, and tech.

Why BAE Systems?

This is a place where you’ll be able to make a real difference. You’ll be part of an inclusive culture that values diversity of thought, rewards integrity, and merit, and where you’ll be empowered to fulfil your potential. We welcome people from all backgrounds and want to make sure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. If you have a disability or health condition (for example dyslexia, autism, an anxiety disorder etc.) that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Closing Date: 12th August 2025

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

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