Lead Engineering Manager - Python

Job summary

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) helps businesses invest, innovate, export and grow across the UK. The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate helps to deliver this by designing, building and running the services, platforms and technology that businesses and colleagues rely on every day.

Our teams work on a wide range of services and technologies, including:

• digital services that help businesses access government support, guidance and opportunities

• data and AI products that support decision making and enable innovation

• internal tools and services that help colleagues work more effectively

• secure technology and platforms that support critical government services

• cyber security services that protect systems, data and users

By joining DDaT, you'll work on services used by businesses, colleagues and citizens across the UK. You'll be part of multidisciplinary teams focused on improving services, solving complex problems and delivering better outcomes for users.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive workplace. In recognition of this, we were named Best Public Sector Employer at the Women in Tech Employer Awards 2025!

Job description

This role aligns to the Lead Developer (Management) profile in the GDaD Capability Framework combining software development credibility with responsibility for people leadership, capability development, resourcing, standards adoption and community leadership.

Are you passionate about growing individuals, community and leadership? If so, BIST is looking for an individual who can support and manage a group of developers in one of our portfolios. You will work with our Tech Leads, Head of Profession and Delivery Managers to help drive standards, policies and strengthen the profession.

You will initially lead the software development profession, a team of 25 developers, within the Trade and Regulatory Services portfolio helping multidisciplinary teams build and operate reliable digital services that support the UK’s trading system.

Working with portfolio senior management, and alongside Tech Leads you will develop a clear view of software development capability, workforce risks and future needs. You will use this insight to shape recruitment, succession planning and investment in people, while making sure development priorities and concerns are represented in portfolio decisions.

Your credibility will be grounded in software development experience. You will understand modern web development, testing, continuous delivery and operating services in the cloud, enabling you to offer informed constructive advice and make sound judgements about developer capability and team effectiveness.

Main responsibilities

• Drive change in Software Engineering to facilitate and improve delivery, technical capability, staff satisfaction and customer engagement.

• Manage the recruitment of software engineers (Both permanent and contractors)

• Work with the Head of Profession to carry out long term workforce development and planning.

• Creating, setting and supporting engineers on developing objectives covering the software development profession.

• Deputise for the Head of Profession on an as and when basis.

• Act as a joint practice head of software engineering community, facilitating team meetings and other activities.

• Maintain a good understanding of current and future technology and practice (focusing on development and testing) to guide your teams and keep engineering practices current.

• Leading on improvement activities to our Engineering Practices.

• Develop relationships within BIST and Partner organisations to increase collaboration.

• Work with your peers to improve our tools, technologies, guidance and standards. Work with the developer community and Tech Leads to define and document technical standards.

• Support sharing of methods and technologies across teams, government, and the industry by helping to organise events

• Line-manage, mentor and coach developers to deliver great results, learn and grow, and progress their careers

• Build relationships across the portfolio with Delivery Managers, Product Managers, Technical Architects and Lead Developers to develop a portfolio-level view of engineering capability, team health, risks and gaps. Use this to produce concise recommendations that help senior leadership make informed decisions on people, priorities and investment.

Person specification

It is essential that you have:

• Experience leading, managing and developing software engineering teams, including performance management, coaching, mentoring and supporting professional development (LEAD)

• Strong understanding of modern software engineering practices, including web application development, APIs, databases, cloud platforms (AWS and/or Azure), Git and branching strategies, code review, automated testing, continuous integration and deployment, observability, incident management, and secure-by-design software delivery. (LEAD)

• Experience assessing engineering capability across teams and identifying skills gaps, development needs and opportunities to strengthen technical expertise, career progression and workforce planning.

• Experience establishing, promoting and embedding engineering standards, best practice and quality assurance approaches across multiple development teams.

• Experience identifying technical risks, issues and dependencies across services and teams, and working collaboratively to implement effective solutions and continuous improvements.

• Experience communicating complex technical concepts, risks and trade-offs to a range of technical and non-technical stakeholders, influencing decisions and supporting successful delivery outcomes.

• Experience working effectively within agile, multidisciplinary teams and building strong relationships with Business Analysts, Architects, Product Managers and Delivery Managers to deliver reliable, user-centred digital services.

It is desirable that you have:

• Basic appreciation of budget management and forecasting

• Familiarity with AI-assisted coding tools such as GitHub Copilot and an understanding how Engineering Managers can support their reasonable adoption within development teams.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Availability and capacity management
• Development process optimisations
• Modern standards approach
• Programming and build (software engineering)

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encou