Lead Software Developer

Reference: TQ2526_2134_492 Vacancy: 1 Job title: Lead Software Developer Location: Leicester Job Purpose: TESTQ Technologies is an IT services and Solutions Company whose offerings span over a variety of industry sectors with strong technical, domain, and process expertise helping clients grow their businesses and decrease operational costs on a continuous basis in an ever-changing business environment. The Lead Software Developer will be responsible for designing, developing, and leading the implementation of complex, AI-enabled software solutions. This role involves providing technical leadership, mentoring a team of developers, and ensuring high-quality code delivery aligned with business goals. The ideal candidate will combine strong hands-on development expertise with architectural insight, fluency in modern AI-assisted engineering practices, and a collaborative approach to team leadership. Job Description (Main Duties and Responsibilities): ● Lead the design, development, and deployment of scalable and maintainable software applications. ● Collaborate with product managers, architects, and stakeholders to define technical requirements and system designs. ● Oversee end-to-end software development lifecycle, including coding, testing, code reviews, and deployment. ● Set and enforce best practices for coding standards, testing, documentation, and responsible use of AI-assisted development tools. ● Mentor and guide a team of developers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement. ● Troubleshoot, debug, and optimise application performance, scalability, and reliability. ● Ensure system security, data integrity, and compliance with enterprise and industry standards. ● Evaluate and implement new tools, technologies, and methodologies - including AI/LLM tooling - to enhance development efficiency. ● Participate in sprint planning, estimation, and agile ceremonies. ● Contribute to architectural decisions, including AI/agentic system integration, and help define the technical roadmap. ● Champion the safe, ethical, and effective adoption of AI coding assistants and automation across the team. Key Skills, Qualifications and Experience Needed [The candidate must demonstrate these in all stages of assessment] ● Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field. ● 7-10+ years of professional software development experience, including at least 2-3 years in a technical lead or senior developer capacity. ● Proven experience designing and delivering complex, scalable software systems. ● Strong communication and leadership skills with the ability to mentor and motivate a development team. ● Hands-on experience with agile development processes and collaborative tools. ● Strong proficiency in modern programming languages such as Java, C#, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, or Go, depending on the technology stack. ● Experienced in frameworks and technologies such as Spring Boot, .NET Core, Node.js, Angular, React, or Vue.js, with a solid understanding of object-oriented programming (OOP), design patterns, and software architecture principles (e.g., microservices, event-driven architecture). ● Experience working with RESTful and GraphQL APIs, and integrating with third-party services. A deep understanding of databases - both SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL (MongoDB, Cassandra, Redis) - is required. ● Proficiency in DevOps practices and tools such as Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or Azure DevOps, along with familiarity in cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). ● Hands-on experience with version control (Git), CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing frameworks (JUnit, NUnit, PyTest, Selenium, Cypress, etc.). Understanding API security, OAuth 2.0, and authentication/authorization mechanisms is expected. ● Practical experience building with Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative AI - prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and integrating LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) into production applications. ● Familiarity with AI agent frameworks and orchestration tools such as LangChain, LangGraph, LlamaIndex, or the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and experience evaluating agentic workflows. ● Daily working fluency with AI-assisted coding tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor) and an understanding of their code-review, testing, and security implications. ● Working knowledge of MLOps fundamentals - containerising and deploying models, monitoring drift/performance, and building automated training and deployment pipelines. ● Awareness of AI/LLM-specific security considerations (prompt injection, data leakage, model governance) alongside core application security practices such as the OWASP Top 10. ● Experience in agile software development methodologies (Scrum or Kanban) and using tools like Jira, Confluence, and GitLab. Strong analytical, problem-solving, and debugging skills are essential for this role. Other Key skills: ● Good analytical and Problem-solving skills ● Good communication skills ● A thorough approach and Self starter ● Focus on quality and delivery ● Working together in teams. ● Leadership and effective decision making. ● Flexible Attitude ● Excellent customer service Qualifications: Bachelor's degree or above in the UK or Equivalent. Salary: GBP 40000 to GBP 54700 per annum Published Date: 01 September 2026 Closing Date: 30 September 2026 Evaluation: CV Review, Technical Test, Personal and Technical Interview and References Job Type: Full-time, Permanent [Part time and Fixed Term option is available] Pay: £40,000.00-£54,700.00 per year Work Location: In person